Graycap23 said:

phunkdaddy said:

Wow. When Maurice did his thing on the Kalimba you considered that pop.

The Phoenix horns. The funky interludes in between songs. Cmon Gray. I could

count on one hand songs by EWF i would consider pop and that's mainly After The

Love is Gone, Fantasy, and In The Stone. You could check out the majority of EWF's

audience during their heyday and you could tell they were an r&b band.

I'm not arguing that it is not R&b or funk. I'm saying when the materail came out back in the 1970's.......and I heard it, R&B was NOT what came 2 my mind and it was NOT what I was feeling.

Did I dig the music? Yes. Did I buy the music? Yes. Was it R&B 2 me? No.

Graycap mentioned earlier that PFunk was considered Funk, and EWF music was more on a pop edge...

What would you consider "Flashlight".....or "One Nation Under a Groove"?

Were they both pop, because they were more accessible or successful on the charts, or were they Funk because they were created by PFunk who is considered to be a Funk band and they had a funky sound?

And I absolutely second what Rebelenterprise said about Maurice....truly an innovator who does not get his due because IMO he was not a solo act like Stevie, the group he was part of was not called Maurice White and Earth Wind and Fire (ala Gloria Estephan or Frankie Beverly)...so the true fans were really the only folks out there who knew Maurice and what he brought to the table....

Stevie has already mentioned at a tribute to EWF and Maurice that he created I Wish after hearing "Shining Star"....and he was influenced by them....Prince name-checked EWF in one of his songs, Michael went to their shows to see how grand a spectacle they created when on tour........

It is a shame that some critics call EWF disco just because you could dance to their songs, or pop just because there was a real melody and polish to the production...

So back to the question, Maurice is a great singer and innovator....I love his voice, and would consider him one of the greatest, but even though I am biased, I would acknowledge that Sam and Donny H. would just top him in a category of greatest RnB singers....

[Edited 11/30/11 9:51am]

Allnall said:

Graycap23 said:

I'm not arguing that it is not R&b or funk. I'm saying when the materail came out back in the 1970's.......and I heard it, R&B was NOT what came 2 my mind and it was NOT what I was feeling.

Did I dig the music? Yes. Did I buy the music? Yes. Was it R&B 2 me? No.

Graycap mentioned earlier that PFunk was considered Funk, and EWF music was more on a pop edge...

What would you consider "Flashlight".....or "One Nation Under a Groove"?

Were they both pop, because they were more accessible or successful on the charts, or were they Funk because they were created by PFunk who is considered to be a Funk band and they had a funky sound?

And I absolutely second what Rebelenterprise said about Maurice....truly an innovator who does not get his due because IMO he was not a solo act like Stevie, the group he was part of was not called Maurice White and Earth Wind and Fire (ala Gloria Estephan or Frankie Beverly)...so the true fans were really the only folks out there who knew Maurice and what he brought to the table....

Stevie has already mentioned at a tribute to EWF and Maurice that he created I Wish after hearing "Shining Star"....and he was influenced by them....Prince name-checked EWF in one of his songs, Michael went to their shows to see how grand a spectacle they created when on tour........

It is a shame that some critics call EWF disco just because you could dance to their songs, or pop just because there was a real melody and polish to the production...

So back to the question, Maurice is a great singer and innovator....I love his voice, and would consider him one of the greatest, but even though I am biased, I would acknowledge that Sam and Donny H. would just top him in a category of greatest RnB singers....

[Edited 11/30/11 9:51am]

4 me music is 100% about the way I feel when I listen 2 it.

EW&F puts my mood in the "pop" zone. I can't explain it......they just do.

Graycap23 said:

Allnall said:

Graycap mentioned earlier that PFunk was considered Funk, and EWF music was more on a pop edge...

What would you consider "Flashlight".....or "One Nation Under a Groove"?

Were they both pop, because they were more accessible or successful on the charts, or were they Funk because they were created by PFunk who is considered to be a Funk band and they had a funky sound?

And I absolutely second what Rebelenterprise said about Maurice....truly an innovator who does not get his due because IMO he was not a solo act like Stevie, the group he was part of was not called Maurice White and Earth Wind and Fire (ala Gloria Estephan or Frankie Beverly)...so the true fans were really the only folks out there who knew Maurice and what he brought to the table....

Stevie has already mentioned at a tribute to EWF and Maurice that he created I Wish after hearing "Shining Star"....and he was influenced by them....Prince name-checked EWF in one of his songs, Michael went to their shows to see how grand a spectacle they created when on tour........

It is a shame that some critics call EWF disco just because you could dance to their songs, or pop just because there was a real melody and polish to the production...

So back to the question, Maurice is a great singer and innovator....I love his voice, and would consider him one of the greatest, but even though I am biased, I would acknowledge that Sam and Donny H. would just top him in a category of greatest RnB singers....

[Edited 11/30/11 9:51am]

4 me music is 100% about the way I feel when I listen 2 it.

EW&F puts my mood in the "pop" zone. I can't explain it......they just do.

Cool.........I get where you are coming from......

I do agree with others that hear more of a variety....Jazz, Latin, RnB, Funk......but I guess that because EWF music basically puts you in a happy place, the lyrics, the sentiment, the production, etc...I can see where you hear pop when EWF is on that radio or ipod or whatever...

Maybe because EW&F fit so well with the disco scene they seemed a little more pop. And they appealed to everyone, so they definitely had a pop audience. Also they did not have much of an edge.

But all pop comes from somewhere else. I'd say it isn't really a genre of it's own except in terms of audience.

NDRU said:

I'd say it isn't really a genre of it's own except in terms of audience.

Bobby Vee, John Denver, Motley Crue, Partridge Family, Run DMC, Benny Goodman, Fabulous Thunderbirds, & Men At Work were all "pop" at some point. Pop is just short for "popular music".

MickyDolenz said:

NDRU said:

I'd say it isn't really a genre of it's own except in terms of audience.

Bobby Vee, John Denver, Motley Crue, Partridge Family, Run DMC, Benny Goodman, Fabulous Thunderbirds, & Men At Work were all "pop" at some point. Pop is just short for "popular music".

Exactly, though with certain artists like Taylor Swift or justin bieber, it's hard to hear them as anything but pop, even if they are supposed to be country or R&B.

Some music is just meant to be pop, even if it takes a specific angle on it.

Graycap23 said:

Allnall said:

Graycap mentioned earlier that PFunk was considered Funk, and EWF music was more on a pop edge...

What would you consider "Flashlight".....or "One Nation Under a Groove"?

Were they both pop, because they were more accessible or successful on the charts, or were they Funk because they were created by PFunk who is considered to be a Funk band and they had a funky sound?

And I absolutely second what Rebelenterprise said about Maurice....truly an innovator who does not get his due because IMO he was not a solo act like Stevie, the group he was part of was not called Maurice White and Earth Wind and Fire (ala Gloria Estephan or Frankie Beverly)...so the true fans were really the only folks out there who knew Maurice and what he brought to the table....

Stevie has already mentioned at a tribute to EWF and Maurice that he created I Wish after hearing "Shining Star"....and he was influenced by them....Prince name-checked EWF in one of his songs, Michael went to their shows to see how grand a spectacle they created when on tour........

It is a shame that some critics call EWF disco just because you could dance to their songs, or pop just because there was a real melody and polish to the production...

So back to the question, Maurice is a great singer and innovator....I love his voice, and would consider him one of the greatest, but even though I am biased, I would acknowledge that Sam and Donny H. would just top him in a category of greatest RnB singers....

[Edited 11/30/11 9:51am]

4 me music is 100% about the way I feel when I listen 2 it.

EW&F puts my mood in the "pop" zone. I can't explain it......they just do.

Meaning it doesn't make you feel the way other R&B and other funk does? How does 'R&B' make you feel? I mean, in a way I agree with you; EW&F's music IS unique to me and the combo of their lyrical style, the kalimba, the bit of astrology ('and mysticism and so forth you dig?' lol), WITH the R&B and funk sets them apart. It feels like the most full-fledged, wholistically healthy, secular 'black' music ever to me. But to when you call them 'pop', it cuts them off from their source, which short-changes the fact they came from the same place yet produced such a unique vibe. Go put on 'Power' and see how that feels

To the o.g. question, Maurice White definitely belongs among the greats to me, it's just hard to hear his range sometimes through the instrumentation and layered vocals.

missfee said:

It depends on how you look at this. I can't see Maurice as an "r&b singer" because he's much more than just a singer or vocalist. He's definitely one of the great musician legends that's still living...though not completely healthy, but he's still with us.

True... have to agree. Arranger, composer, heart and soul of one of the most unique bands ever.

JumpUpOnThe1 said:

the bit of astrology ('and mysticism and so forth you dig?' lol), WITH the R&B and funk sets them apart. It feels like the most full-fledged, wholistically healthy, secular 'black' music ever to me.

To me, Earth Wind & Fire's image came from Sun Ra. So did Funkadelic's.

scriptgirl said:

Just out of curiousity, in their heyday, was EWF a crossover act?

They definitely crossed over from the r&b chart and topped the billboard chart. Were they a "crossover act"? Hmmm...