The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire
Encyclopedia
The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire is a compilation album
of American
R&B
group Earth, Wind & Fire
. It contains several songs recorded between 1973 and 1983, and all the tracks were digitally remastered. It was released on July 30, 2002 by Columbia/Legacy as a double-disc
set, part of The Essential series. On September 27, 2005, it was re-released with a DVD
. The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire has been certified gold in the US by the RIAA.
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
group Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
. It contains several songs recorded between 1973 and 1983, and all the tracks were digitally remastered. It was released on July 30, 2002 by Columbia/Legacy as a double-disc
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
set, part of The Essential series. On September 27, 2005, it was re-released with a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire has been certified gold in the US by the RIAA.
Track listing
Credits
- Maurice WhiteMaurice WhiteMaurice White is a Grammy Award–winning American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger. He is the older brother of Verdine White and Fred White and the leader and founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, kalimbaMarímbulaA marímbula is a folk musical instrument of the Caribbean Islands . The marímbula is usually classified as part of the lamellophone family of musical instruments. With its roots in African instruments, marimbula originated in the province of Oriente, Cuba in the 19th century...
, timbalesTimbalesTimbales are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, compilation producer - Verdine WhiteVerdine WhiteVerdine White is the bassist for Earth, Wind & Fire and the younger brother of fellow band member Maurice White. White is known for his high energy and dancing while playing his bass guitar during Earth, Wind & Fire concerts.-Early life:...
– vocals, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Philip BaileyPhilip BaileyPhilip Irvin Bailey is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor, best known as one of the longtime members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Together with Verdine White, B. David Whitworth, and Ralph Johnson he forms the heart of the current EWF line-up on...
– vocals, congas, percussion - Larry DunnLarry DunnLarry Dunn is a keyboardist, musical director and one of the founding members of the music group Earth, Wind, & Fire. Dunn, along with other members of Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.-Career:...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, programming - Ken Yerke – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Harris Goldman – violin
- Rollice Dale – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Dennis Karmazyn – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Harry Schultz – cello
- Fred Jackson, Jr. – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Herman RileyHerman RileyHerman Riley was a tenor saxophone jazz performer. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, he was noted for his performances with, among others, Count Basie, Etta James and Jimmy Smith.-As Sideman:With Bobby Hutcherson...
– saxophone - Jerome RichardsonJerome RichardsonJerome Richardson was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet and piccolo...
– saxophone - Tommy Johnson – tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
- Harvey MasonHarvey MasonHarvey William Mason is an American jazz drummer. He has worked with many jazz and fusion artists such as Bob James, The Brecker Brothers, Lee Ritenour, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters and almost all the Mizell Brothers productions with Donald Byrd, Johnny Hammond, Bobbi Humphrey and Gary Bartz...
– percussion - Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da CostaPaulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
– percussion - Beloyd Taylor – background vocals
- Joe WissertJoe WissertJoe Wissert is an American record producer. His credits include albums by artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Helen Reddy, The J. Geils Band, Gordon Lightfoot, Boz Scaggs, The Sinceros and The Turtles....
– producer - Charles StepneyCharles StepneyCharles Stepney was a producer, arranger, songwriter and musician famous for his Orchestral Psychedelic soul sound with Chicago's Cadet/Chess records in the 1960s/1970s and afterwards with Earth, Wind & Fire....
– producer - Al McKayAl McKayAl McKay is a guitarist, songwriter, producer and former member of the American funk band Earth, Wind & Fire. Al used to lead his own group Al McKay's L.A...
– producer - Leo Sacks – compilation producer
Accolades
The following accolades attributed to The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire is adapted from Blender.com.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blender | U.S. | 500 CDs You Must Own: Rhythm & Blues | 2003 | Alphabetical order |