The Earth, Wind & Fire Movie

HBO Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szznn02Nli0 People have no idea how hard it is to make it. Never mind sustain. The spin on this film is what an a**hole Maurice White was. But that's not what I took, because I know people who are icons are not like the average person, they're one-minded and dedicated, their dreams are almost too big to share, people will laugh at them, and every single one of them is f*cked up, they've got something to prove, they believe that success will solve all their problems, acknowledgement will connect them to people, make up for the heartbreak in their past, but this is untrue. And when most acts realize this, they can never do what made them great ever again, they just can't get up the motivation. I missed it. History is constantly being rewritten by those who weren't there. By time you hit the mid-seventies, actually a few years before, music was bifurcated, into FM rock and AM Top 40. Of course there was Black radio and country, but the first two were the behemoths. And rarely did they cross paths. No, an FM track could occasionally cross over to AM, but the reverse was impossible, Top 40 was everything FM stood against. FM was not only the song, but the story of the band, what it all meant, whereas on AM radio it was usually the hit only. And the big money in touring was hoovered up by the acts on the FM dial. Today pop hits can sell tickets, but not back then. Maybe coming off a few big hits, while you were still hot, you could play arenas, but sans a hit in the marketplace, better to look for dinner theatre, some other way to make bread. So if you were a dedicated follower of fashion, which in this case meant the same clothes bands wore on the street, you listened to FM rock and nothing else. Let's remember, by time we hit the mid-seventies, every car had an FM radio, and probably a tape deck too. In the late sixties, even though FM rock was breaking, most of its fans were still listening to AM in the car, that was all they had. But by the mid-seventies... Meaning, if it was a hit on the AM, there's a good chance I never even heard it. Oh, I was aware of Earth, Wind & Fire, if for no other reason than I saw their records in the bin. And the trade papers featured them, but... Black people in rock was rare, Prince made inroads and left his mark, but to this day, there ain't a lot of color in rock, which has marginalized the genre. But back then?? So when "Easy Lover" was a hit on MTV, I didn't know who Philip Bailey was, I didn't recognize him alongside Phil Collins. Oh, I knew what Maurice White looked like, and I could name their hits, I knew the titles, but other than "Shining Star," I couldn't sing them because I didn't know them. So... This movie was educational for me, I learned so much! This doc is not like Questlove's initial movie, "Summer of Soul." That film had something to prove, a point to make, whereas here the story stands alone, the band is well-known and what we've got is a deep dive. But not deep enough. I'd argue this could be a series. I want a whole episode on Maurice's upbringing in Memphis. At this late date most music fans are aware of Nashville and its country roots, but Memphis? Same state, totally different mind-set. Memphis is the south, and even today I wouldn't say it's totally integrated. But so much great music came out of the city, and the funny thing is almost all these cats knew each other growing up, at least the Black ones. Maurice's mother abandons him at age five and moves to Chicago and starts another family. After high school Maurice moves up north, goes to the conservatory, but then becomes a drummer for Chess, and then goes out on the road with Ramsey Lewis. If you're a child of the sixties, you know Lewis, if for no other reason than his version of "The In Crowd" was all over the radio. Chess? The English rockers always talked about it, but still...most people are unaware of what was going down there. So Maurice decides to strike out on his own and moves to Los Angeles... Where there are Black hippies, a whole different lifestyle, I'd like to see an episode on that too! And forms the original Earth, Wind & Fire, makes albums for Warner Bros. to no significant commercial success, and then... Fires the band and starts over. He knows it's not working, he's keeping his brother Verdine, the bassist, but nobody else. And they're PISSED! Because the band members had no warning. They didn't like how they were treated. They were blind-sided. This is a recurring theme when it comes to Maurice, because he hates confrontation. Most musicians do. They don't want to piss anybody off, and they let their handlers be the heavies. So Maurice forms a new band, with the members you know, and rehearses and they go do a show in Philly, where doo-wop groups were the openers, and when the crowd reacts negatively...the band sits on the floor in the lotus position, for minutes! Oh yeah, Maurice is really touchy-feely. From astrology to Egyptology to wacko food... If you think only white people were into this... But then the band opens for George Clinton-Parliament/Funkadelic and... Light applause for them, levitation when George hits the stage. They have footage, for those who only know P. Funk as a legend, this will clue you in on what was going on, the magic involved. So they go back to the drawing board, hire a rhythm guitarist, become funkified... And the hits begin. Now there's a huge focus on the live show, which doesn't really work in the era of the internet. In the old days you had to go to experience it, there was no YouTube, you'd come home and tell your friends the details and drag them to the next concert, this is how audiences were built, this was the magic of live performance. Oh, we've got tons of production today, but the audience expects it and is rarely wowed. Maurice hires a choreographer, and connects with Doug Henning for magic, and the show is legendary... But not in my circles. I actually remember pictures of the band on stage being encased in tubes, that are lifted to reveal them and set them free, but... So Maurice is driven. Working twelve hours a day. Pushing the envelope, afraid to fall behind. He brings in the arranger he met at Chess. He even brings in David Foster... The funny thing about Foster is he'll deliver hits, but it frequently causes dissension in the band, and in some cases breaks up the band. He brought Chicago back to the chart, but the band members didn't appreciate his efforts and never worked with him again. Foster delivered hits for the Tubes, and then the band broke up, they believed these records were not an accurate representation of who they were. So Earth, Wind & Fire are superstars, playing arenas and stadiums. But they come back from every tour $500,000 in debt. The band members are being paid $2,500 a week and... Sans Maurice, there's no success. He breaks up the band, Philip Bailey returns to Denver, Ralph Johnson sells stereo equipment at Federated. Everybody believed these stars were rich. It was oftentimes a misperception, cash might have come in, but expenses were stratospheric, never mind all the money wasted along the way. But Maurice can't make it on his own, so he reforms the band and... Maurice may be Black, he may be playing R&B, but he's definitely a rock star. He believes he's entitled to go on the road and screw other women. He needs to live like a king. Until Parkinson's knocks him off the road and ultimately kills him. So what have we learned? In my case, a whole hell of a lot more than I knew. And it's not like "Behind the Music," because this film was not done to set up a reunion tour, but to document the history, the travails of Maurice and the band. And it was Maurice's band. As Philip Bailey says, every band has a leader. Who is oftentimes resented for his control, his power, but it was Maurice's vision, and it worked. So, this film was not done on the cheap. There are animated effects to tell the story when there is no footage, it's extremely well done. And there was a ton of press when it came out, but now..? HBO is not like Netflix. HBO MAX's homepage is littered with all kinds of junk, whereas Netflix has one brand and promotes its best stuff and the algorithm will serve up stuff you might be interested in, that's up your alley. So if you watched music documentaries in the past... Now of course Boomers and Gen-X'ers who lived through the arc of Earth, Wind & Fire's career will be curious, but it's young-uns who will get the most from this flick. It demonstrates the twists and the turns on the road to success, what it takes. Even I am watching wondering how this all works financially, with nearly ten people in the band. Today, bands are rare, everybody's a solo act, you don't have to share the bread. And when old acts reunite, oftentimes there's only one or two key players, because they don't want to share the money. So if you're sitting at home, thinking you want to be a musical star... You've got GarageBand and Suno, maybe even Pro Tools, you have easy access to Spotify, et al. You've been exposed to TV competition shows. All this makes you believe that there's a highway, and if you just get on the road, you'll speed to success. No way. You've got to be a special kind of person, willing to play without a net, risking all the while. You've got to supersede the system. You can't wait for the suits to pick up on you, it only works if you're one step ahead of the business, delivering that which the usual suspects can't comprehend. And you have to be willing to sacrifice so much, relationships... Almost no one is willing to walk the razor's edge for the years it takes to align you with potential success. Maurice was a professional musician for years before he had a hit. The bottom line is it's even harder to be successful today, because the channel is clogged not only with music, but video games and social media and streaming television. And even the music of stars goes unheard by many. The music business is not for amateurs. If you're not willing to work hard and put everything on the line... Hell, if you get an entry level job, know that you'll be on call 24/7, there's really no such thing as the weekend. And you'll need to stay up late and oftentimes get up early. And as hard as the suits are working, the musicians are working that much harder. This film will keep your attention. It's not hagiography, it's the straightforward story. If I was a member of Earth, Wind & Fire would I be pissed at Maurice? Absolutely! But without him, good luck. This is the way it is. Maurice won. But did he really? Watch the movie and you can decide. -- Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/ -- Listen to the podcast: -iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj -Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp -- http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz -- If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter, http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1 If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25 To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25