 A good portion of 1979
was spend overseas headlining shows in Europe and Japan, the group could do no wrong.
Philip - "When we sold out five nights at Wembley in London, that's when I knew we
had transcended our U.S. success...."
Mid-'79 saw EWF topping the dance music charts; produced by Maurice and Al McKay,
"Boogie Wonderland" (featuring The Emotions) was "our contribution to
disco!" recalls Maurice. In a total musical contrast, EWF scored a No.2 pop and
r&b smash with the now classic ballad, Grammy-winning "After The Love Has
Gone", co-written by David Foster who co-wrote four other tracks for the
double-platinum, I Am. Verdine - "I Am was like our Abbey Road. It really scored
pop." Maurice - "I think of it as a milestone album. People stole stuff from
that album, whole careers came out of it. It was like: listen to I Am and see what you can
steel. All the pieces came together...."
1979 ended with a triumphant appearance at The United Nations for a UNICEF worldwide
benefit but Verdine notes, "Hollywood had a hold of EWF. We were getting a
little too commercial...." The pressures were mounting, still trying to oversee ARC,
producing other acts, and leading EWF was proving strenuous for Maurice. He took the
band on a vacation to Egypt, a country he'd visited twice before as a result of his strong
interest in Egyptology (reflected in the cover art of I Am and its predecessor All'n All)
"Half the band loved it. half of them hated it. Everybody didn't share the same
beliefs. I was into metaphysics and everyone else wasn't so that caused somewhat of a
separation within the core of the group...."
The group headed to the Caribbean island of Montserrat, to begin sessions for a double
album, Faces. Released in the autumn of 1980, the album proved to be a relative commercial
disappointment, reaching only gold status. Maurice - "The industry was going through
a major recession. Still, I felt that it was a strong album and a double album going gold
around that time was hardly a failure...."
Revitalized from some time off and undaunted, EWF headed back to the studios to
records the double-platinum Raise, but not before Al McKay had split to pursue production
interests, replaced by guitarist Roland Bautista who had left the group some seven years
earlier. Verdine - "We should have stopped after we did the Raise album...."
Philip - "Those years, 1980 to 1983, were the most difficult. We were battling the
giant. We were trying viciously to outdo ourselves. The pressure was on more and more. We
were expected to sell the volume and still be innovative. It got crazy and the band began
to grow apart...."
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While
Powerlight,
released in early 1983, reached the gold status with strong songs like "Fall In Love
With Me" and "Side By Side," it failed to ignite the same kind of reaction
to which the band had become accustomed. Group members were considering solo projects;
Maurice helped Philip get a solo deal with Columbia.
Maurice - "CBS wanted another "Let's Groove." Frankly, we did the album
Electric Universe too quickly. And then everything hit the fan. The album was a total bomb
- didn't even make it to gold. Personally, I'd had it. I'd been making albums for 12
years, non-stop, with almost no breaks from touring. I called a meeting and told everyone
where I was at." Verdine - "The break gave me a chance to find out who I was as
a person, to get with my family. I really needed it. I resigned myself to the fact that we
might not get back together again...."
From late 1983 to early 1987, there were no EWF records. Maurice produced tracks for
a diverse range of artists from Jennifer Holliday to Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond. In
1985, he finished his first self-titled solo album which gave him a top 10 r&b hit
with an update of the Ben E. King classic, "Stand By Me." Philip meanwhile had
enjoyed a No. 1 pop hit with "Easy Lover," a duet with Phil Collins, taken from
his second LP, Chinese Wall. He's also begun recording as a gospel artist winning a Grammy
award for 1986's Praise!. "Larkin Arnold at Columbia had kept bugging me about doing
another Earth, Wind & Fire record," recalls Philip. "I talked with Maurice
about it but he wasn't very receptive initially. But we talked some more...."
Maurice - "Touch The World sold two million copies, and when we came back together,
we found we'd really missed each other." EWF found themselves back on top of the
r&b charts in 1987 when "System Of Survival," the first single, was
released. A nine- month world tour reflected a new energy and excitement as Maurice,
Verdine, Philip, Ralph and Andrew were joined by guitarist Sheldon Reynolds who had spent
several years playing behind The Commodores and drummer Sonny Emory who had working with
The Crusaders to recreate the magic of EWF.
In 1989, after giving international audiences an opportunity to hear their string of hits
once more, EWF headed back to the studio for their last Columbia album, Heritage.
Maurice - "That was the first time I'd ever had someone else A&R one of our
records. Overall, I think it was a letdown although it was a good album...."
 Continues in A New
Beginning...
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THE
CBS YEARS [1974-1979]