Download Instrumental   Time to get funky, folks!  And you don’t get much funkier (is that a word?) than Earth, Wind, & Fire.  This will please your crowd like nobody’s business, even if it’s a bunch of millennials.  They simply cannot resist this beat.

Maurice White wrote this piece for E,W&F while taking a stroll beneath a starry sky during a break in the recording of another one of their hits, “That’s the Way of the World”.  He came back into the studio with half the lyrics already in his head and the band finished the rest of it.  “Shining Star” was their first number one hit in 1975, and is a perfect example of “funk” finally breaking into mainstream music.  The song is noted for the ending, where after repeated choruses the band drops out and the group sings the final line a cappella and then suddenly, without warning, the song is over.  Surprise!

I had to use 15 tracks to get the instrumentation right.  They are, starting with track 1:  electric piano, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, voice lead, organ, another rhythm guitar, overdrive guitar, tuba (yes, tuba), drums, French horn, trumpet, brass section, trombone, and sax.  Whew!  If you download this sequence and intend to perform it, you’ll have an irresistible urge to tweak the mix.  Please don’t!  Like my Dad always says, don’t mess with what ain’t broke!  Thank you…