Earth, Wind & Fire Concerts Setlist

Earth, Wind & Fire, often abbreviated to EW&F or EWF, is an American band whose music spans many genres, including R&B, soul, funk, pop, and jazz. They were formed in 1969 in Chicago, Illinois. The founding members were vocalist and percussionist Maurice White (born in 1941 in Memphis, Tennessee, passed away in 2016), bassist Verdine White (Maurice’s brother, 1951, Chicago, Illinois), electric pianist Wade Flemons (1940, Coffeyville, Kansas, passed away in 1993), keyboardist Don Whitehead, trumpeter Leslie Drayton, trombone player Alexander Thomas, guitarist and harmonica player Michael Beal, percussionist Yackov Ben Israel aka Phillard Williams, vocalist Sherry Scott, and saxophonist Chester Washington.

In 1969, Maurice White, formerly of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, teamed up with Flemons and Whitehead in Chicago to form a songwriting team. Originally, they wrote commercial jingles, then got a record deal from Capitol Records, and they released some moderately successful songs under the name “The Salty Peppers”. After not achieving the desired level of success, they decided to move to Los Angeles, California. There, they expanded their line-up, to the 10 musicians listed above (including Maurice’s brother). They changed their name to “Earth, Wind & Fire”, after the natural elements associated with their individual zodiac signs in astrology. Soon, they were signed by Warner Bros. Records.

Their self-titled debut album, “Earth, Wind & Fire”, was released in February 1971. They managed to break into the famous Billboard 200 chart right off the bat, reaching the #172 spot. As a result, they provided the entire soundtrack for the 1971 movie by Melvin Van Peebles, “Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song”. Throughout the 1970’s, the band’s popularity gradually grew, originally starting with college students across America. In 1975, their sixth studio album, “That's the Way of the World” released in March, actually made it to #1 on Billboard 200. The same year, they got to go on their first international Earth, Wind & Fire concert tour.

Over their long and illustrious career, EWF has released a total of 21 studio albums. The best selling one among them is “All 'n All” from November 1977, which sold around 3.3 million copies worldwide. Meanwhile, the latest new Earth, Wind & Fire album came out in October 2015, with the title “The Classic Christmas Album”. They have sold over 90 million records throughout the years, making them one of the best selling bands of all time.

The biggest hits in the Earth, Wind, & Fire setlist to date are “September” (1978), “Boogie Wonderland” (1979), “After the Love Has Gone” (also 1979), and “Let’s Groove” (1981). After many changes over the many, many years, the band’s current line-up is made up of the sole remaining member from the original line-up, bassist Verdine White; as well as lead vocalist Philip Bailey, lead guitarist Morris O'Connor, rhythm guitarist Serg Dimitrijevic, percussionist Ralph Johnson, second percussionist B. David Whitworth, keyboardist Myron McKinley, drummer John Paris, and vocalist Philip Bailey Jr. Check when the next Earth, Wind & Fire concert is playing near you on our page above.