{"id":60778,"date":"2025-07-12T23:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T23:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/60778\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T23:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T23:20:10","slug":"earth-wind-fire-bring-joyful-night-of-funk-soul-and-spirituality-to-rady-shell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/60778\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth, Wind & Fire bring joyful night of funk, soul and spirituality to Rady Shell"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Earth,<\/a>Earth, Wind & Fire perform at the Rady Shell. (Photo by Donovan Roches\/Times of San Diego)<\/p>\n

Despite being down one original member \u2014 bassist Verdine White is temporarily sidelined for medical reasons \u2014 Earth, Wind & Fire<\/a> lit up The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park<\/a> with their signature blend of feel-good funk, sultry-smooth R&B, and spiritually infused soul.<\/p>\n

Torchbearers Philip Bailey Sr. (vocals, percussion) and Ralph Johnson (vocals, drums, percussion) guided the 12-piece ensemble through dance-friendly hits such as the pulsating opener \u201cShining Star\u201d and soulful \u201cSerpentine Fire\u201d (one of the best uses of cowbell in a song ever), along with crowd-pleasers like \u201cAfter the Love Has Gone\u201d and 1975\u2019s \u201cThat\u2019s the Way of the World\u201d on July 6.<\/p>\n

Early on, Bailey informed the crowd that they\u2019d be playing songs that reached the top of the charts as well as some that held a special place in people\u2019s hearts (poeticism intended). That proved especially true on the spiritual \u201cDevotion\u201d \u2014 during which they paid tribute to band founder, co-lead singer, and chief songwriter Maurice White, who passed away in 2016 \u2014 and \u201cKalimba Story\u201d \/ \u201cSing a Message to You<\/a>,\u201d when Bailey gently plucked his kalimba, an African thumb piano.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bailey\u2019s four-octave falsetto remains one of the most impressive instruments in music, and over Earth, Wind & Fire\u2019s remarkable 56-year career, it has greatly shaped the band\u2019s distinctive sound. On this night, he had many opportunities to reach for the sky, particularly on \u201cBrazilian Rhyme (Beijo).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That said, Bailey wasn\u2019t always pitch perfect \u2014 he faltered on some low-register vocals, such as during \u201cGot to Get You Into My Life,\u201d and struggled to hit some of the high notes on \u201cReasons,\u201d an intensely challenging song for any singer. Still, at least twice the 74-year-old unleashed such a piercing note that The Shell\u2019s choice of plastic wine cups seemed like a prudent decision.<\/p>\n

Though Verdine White\u2019s magnetic stage presence and masterful bass lines were missed, Ray McKinley held his own admirably, his solo brimming with funky flair and blending seamlessly into an instrumental interlude that let the band stretch its chops.<\/p>\n

Equally impressive, B. David Whitworth, who isn\u2019t an \u201coriginal\u201d member but has been with the band since 1996, deserves an all-purpose player award. With joyful abandon, the percussionist\/vocalist tossed tambourines into the air, smashed cymbals behind his back, took over tenor parts on \u201cLove\u2019s Holiday,\u201d and drew cheers for his comedic dance moves during \u201cBoogie Wonderland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, no discussion of this group would be complete without acknowledging the peerless Earth, Wind & Fire horns \u2014 Gary Bias (tenor sax), Reggie Young (trombone), and Bobby Burns Jr. (trumpet)\u2014and the band\u2019s omnipresent silky harmonies. The brass trio\u2019s tight, vibrant work powered songs like \u201cJupiter\u201d and \u201cSing a Song,\u201d while background vocals from Johnson and Bailey\u2019s son, among others, added polish to gems like \u201cAfter the Love Has Gone.\u201d Philip Bailey Jr. also stepped up to assume lead on \u201cSerpentine Fire\u201d and \u201cLet\u2019s Groove,\u201d allowing dad to concentrate on the congas \u2014 and perhaps laying the foundation for Earth, Wind & Fire\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

Maurice White founded Earth, Wind & Fire in 1969, drawing its name from the three elements in his astrological chart. Beginning with their self-titled debut in 1970, the band released 23 albums that spawned eight No. 1 singles, earned nine GRAMMY Awards, and sold 100 million copies worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists of all time. The were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2019 for their massive contribution to arts and culture.<\/p>\n

That legacy was abundantly clear throughout the group\u2019s hit-packed 90-minute set. This was not one of those shows where fans leave saying, \u201cBoy, I sure wish they played\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leaving it all on the stage, Earth, Wind & Fire wrapped up the joyful night with a dizzying disco-dance blitz that had nearly everyone on their feet \u2014 from the cosmic \u201cFantasy\u201d and \u201cBoogie Wonderland\u201d to \u201cLet\u2019s Groove\u201d and the anthemic \u201cSeptember.\u201d It felt like being on a funk-fueled rollercoaster\u2026and no one wanted to get off.<\/p>\n

As the crowd caught its breath and reveled in the ride, the band returned for the unlikely encore of \u201cIn the Stone,\u201d a lesser-known track from 1979\u2019s I Am. It may have seemed anticlimactic to some, given the explosive closer that preceded it, but if you centered on the song\u2019s lyrics\u2014\u201cDeep inside your heart for you to keep \/ Lies a spark of light that never sleeps \/ The greatest love you ever known \/ Love is, love is written in the stone\u201d \u2014 it made perfect sense. Earth, Wind & Fire is just the band to leave you with an uplifting message of love.<\/p>\n

Donovan Roche is a longtime music writer and frequent contributor to Times of San Diego. Send your story ideas to\u00a0droche617@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earth, Wind & Fire perform at the Rady Shell. (Photo by Donovan Roches\/Times of San Diego) Despite being…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":60779,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,43944,43945,23768,2290,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-60778","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-earth-wind-fire","12":"tag-funk","13":"tag-rady-shell","14":"tag-review","15":"tag-san-diego","16":"tag-sandiego","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114842830519051849","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}