Download    Maurice White named his band Earth, Wind, and Fire because those were the elements in his astrological chart.  Do you know what your elements are?  Me neither.  Name notwithstanding, this band has put out some mighty fine music over the span of several generations.

Maurice formed his first “cookin’ little band” in a Memphis high school with his childhood friend Booker T. Jones, who later formed “Booker T. and the M.G.’s” (Green Onions).  Maurice went on to play drums for the Ramsey Lewis Trio in the late 60’s, performing on nine of their albums.  He left the trio in 1969 and began writing commercials with two friends in the Chicago area.  Why anyone would ever leave Ramsey Lewis is beyond me, but Maurice had bigger things in mind.

The song I’m featuring here and begging you to put in your stage act is “That’s the Way of the World”.  Earth, Wind, and Fire were commissioned to write the theme song for a movie of the same name about the darker side of the recording industry.  The movie was a bomb and the band knew it.  Maurice elected to release this song before the movie actually premiered and that proved to be a shrewd move.  It became their breakthrough hit and the rest, as they say, is history.

Maurice White died peacefully in his sleep last Thursday morning from the effects of Parkinson’s disease.  Another great one gone, folks.  I’m afraid this is going to be a very rough year.