Maurice White Was Blissfully Down To Earth

Tonight I'd like to pay tribute to Maurice White, the heart and soul behind Earth, Wind & Fire. His passing this past February 4th leaves our temporary island home a little bit less soulful, but his legacy cannot and should not be denied. His band embodied all that is good about music in general. The hits just kept on coming. When Earth, Wind & Fire threw a party we wanted theirs to be one party bound to last forever. Some of Earth, Wind & Fire's songs seemed to extend into the distant stratosphere. "Fantasy" counts as a jaw-dropping example. Not only that, you don't get much more life affirming. What a delectable soup of rhythms. Seconds, if you please. Horns aplenty lit up the track. "December" incorporated some of the most pitch perfect harmonies you'e likely to hear. "Let's Groove" needs to be put up on the funk pedestal that "Super Freak" owns so readily. Not that the entirety of Earth, Wind & Fire's catalog was cued up to R & B/funk workouts. "Reasons" took its own mid-tempo philosophic time and what emerged stands as a stupendous jam that gets heads swaying in zero seconds flat. Although squarely at home in the disco '70s, Maurice and friends melted hearts with the '80s standout "Fall In Love With Me". You really need to get your head examined if that track doesn't have you swiveling your hips in unbridled ecstasy. In a word that's what we hold Maurice forever grateful for...ecstasy, the spirit in which he conducted himself as a performer and funk mastermind. "Sing a Song" goes to show how R & B need not be crude and repressive to strike a chord in the public imagination. Theirs was truly an all-ages affair. I hold "Fantasy" up as a #1 favorite of mine. The luscious orchestration stands head and shoulders above what most modern era sounds are being trotted out. I don't claim this to be a fuddy duddy. It's simply an exemplary song from a band that gets what staying power's about. I feel like I'm sliding down a silky banister into the waiting arms of Phillip Bailey. Guitars to the left, horns to the right. Too cool for the room. Maurice definitely earned his rest. Wherever he is I hope he's smiling at the knowledge that his band's contribution to music will likely always be potent, far-reaching, and cause for rejoicing in big and small groups alike. Heaven was made for upstanding cats like him.