| Got To You In My Life - Earth Wind & Fire From The 1978 The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 Enjoy & Comment Born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1941, bandleader and founder Maurice White moved to Chicago as a teenager and found work as a session drummer for Chess Records. By 1967, he was the new drummer in the Ramsey Lewis Trio, replacing Red Holt. In 1969, Maurice left the Ramsey Lewis Trio, and joined two friends in Chicago, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, as a songwriting team which wrote songs and commercials in the Chicago area. The three friends got a recording contract with Capitol, and called themselves the "Salty Peppers," and had a marginal hit in the Midwestern area called "La La Time." The Salty Peppers' second single, "Uh Huh Yeah," didn't fare as well, and Maurice decided it was time for a change of location - and a change in the band's name, which turned into Earth, Wind & Fire. This was based on the fact that White's astrological sign being Sagittarius, had a primary elemental quality of Fire but also had seasonal qualities which are Earth, and Air, hence the omission of water. White recruited Chicago singer Sherry Scott, along with local percussionist Phillard Williams, and then asked his younger brother Verdine whether he'd like to head out West. Verdine White joined the band in 1970 as their new bassist. Maurice held auditions in LA, adding Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington on reeds, Leslie Drayton for trumpet and initially the group's musical ... |
