Shining Star by Philip Bailey

Author:Philip Bailey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA
Published: 2014-08-10T16:00:00+00:00

17

SHINING STAR

Between 1971 and 1976 Earth, Wind & Fire would release seven major-label releases, which meant we were constantly caught up in the cycle of recording and writing songs. After Open Our Eyes struck gold, we returned to the Caribou Ranch with our team in late 1974 to make our crucial follow-up album. This time we arrived with a new band member, Maurice having decided we needed more edge on the drums. As Reese put in more and more time writing and producing, he found less time to devote to actually playing the drums himself. He soon hired a logical successor—his younger half-brother Freddie White.

Freddie made his bones as a professional drummer at age sixteen playing with the late, great singer-keyboardist Donny Hathaway. You can hear Freddie on Hathaway’s finest record, a 1972 Atlantic release simply titled Live. Live is a record respected and revered by Donny’s fans and fellow musicians alike. Hathaway had a sweet, soulful singing voice, and a rousing, rhythmic keyboard style in the spirit of Stevie Wonder and Brian McKnight. He was also a monster bandleader. Live is ridiculously funky and tasteful. It contains cooking versions of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” and his signature live and audience-driven magnum opus, “The Ghetto.” Side one was recorded live at the Troubadour in Hollywood, and side two was cut at the Bitter End in New York City. Maurice’s Chicago friend Phil Upchurch plays guitar in Hathaway’s band on side one, and Cornell Dupree plays on side two, while Freddie drums on both sides. In addition to playing with Hathaway, Freddie also drummed briefly for Lowell George and Little Feat when he moved out to California from Chicago. Freddie’s credentials were very impressive. He wasn’t merely gravy-training on his older brother’s name. Prior to his joining the group, whenever we’d visit Chicago, he was just Verdine’s little brother. I had never suspected that he was such a gifted musician.

Combining Ralph and Freddie on drums was a fantastic idea. I liked playing with two drummers, and they meshed well. I had wondered how Freddie’s joining EWF would impact Ralph’s role, but apparently Ralph had a thick enough skin about it so that once they got the ego stuff out of the way, it was back to the groove. Besides, Ralph was a survivor. When he was first hired, on occasion Ralph and Maurice clashed. But soon they realized that in terms of playing, each musician had his own approach. The same rule held for Ralph and Freddie.

Since Maurice recorded a lot of the drum parts himself in the studio, Ralph wasn’t as active in the studio sessions. Reese orchestrated the tracks and was often the creator of the music, so he knew exactly how he wanted things played. Bringing Freddie in stirred the pot a little. Maurice employed Freddie mainly because he needed a more sustained, steady, and consistent groove. While Maurice himself was jazzy and fiery and could groove, as could Ralph, Freddie’s beat was downright infectious.

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