Earth, Wind & Fire will be at the Peace Center May 3 playing all of their hits, including the billion-streaming favorite “September”
Earlier this year, “Pollstar” magazine, a trade publication for the concert and live music industry, gave out awards for the top tours of 2021. One of the awards was for Best R&B Tour, and the winner wasn’t some Johnny-come-lately star. It was Earth, Wind & Fire. After more than 50 years as a band, Earth, Wind & Fire can still pack houses when they tour.
Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, given the band has sold over 90 million albums and scored immortal R&B and pop hits like “Let’s Groove,” “September,” “Shining Star” and many, many more.
But for Verdine White, who has anchored the band on bass guitar since 1969, after all the millions of albums sold and awards won, the recognition from “Pollstar” meant a lot to him.
“It’s an honor that we were able to get that award,” White says. “Particularly because we’ve all been trying to come out of COVID. Our business took a tremendous hit, you know.”
But Earth, Wind & Fire persevered, selling out shows all over the country and around the world in 2021. Again, it probably helps that the band has so many hits they can’t fit them all into one show, which is a good problem to have. White says it takes a little work to figure out what they’re going to play when the band goes on tour.
“Well, you want to go through your songs that you have and then start figuring it out,” White says. “And of course, (singer) Philip (Bailey) figures it out because he has to sing the songs. And you have the big songs that, you know, you’ve got to do, like ‘Shining Star,’ ‘September,’ and those kinds of songs.”
Which reminds White of another honor that Earth, Wind & Fire received recently.
“‘September’ is in the billion club of streams now,” he says, still sounding a little shocked. “‘September’ has been streamed a billion times.”
White confesses that that number boggles his mind a bit.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around it,” he says, “but that lets you know how great that song is and how fortunate you are. I think because we have so much celebrity in our society, sometimes people think it’s easy. But you have to really have good fortune to be able to accomplish those things.”
All the recent accolades, not to mention the success of touring, have White in a thankful mood.
“I’m grateful,” he says. “This is what I love to do. And our ticket sales are phenomenal. We sell out everywhere. And that’s a testimony to the fact that the people love us.”
White isn’t just grateful to the fans; he’s also quick to praise his late brother Maurice, who played drums for Earth, Wind & Fire until his death in 2016. White says that his late brother was integral to the band’s success.
“We have to thank our leader and founder Maurice,” he says. “He was the one that was the catalyst to putting all this together and he understood before we did how valuable the songs, and our contribution, were to the world in general.”
Earth, Wind & Fire will be playing here in the Upstate at the Peace Center on Tuesday, May 3, and White says the crowd can expect a good time from start to finish.
“They’re going to hear the hits,” he says, “and have a great time. And, you know, audiences are so enthusiastic to see us because, don’t forget now, there were no tours for two years; not for anybody. It was actually quite a bit different because it’s the longest we’ve ever been off in my whole career. So I think anybody that goes out there has to be as grateful as we are.”
Fact file
- Earth, Wind & Fire was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 6, 2000.
- The band has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Earth, Wind & Fire has won 7 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. They’ve also won 4 American Music Awards.
- The group has 8 platinum and 11 gold albums, and they’ve sold over 90 million albums worldwide.
Want to go?
Earth, Wind & Fire
Tuesday, May 3
Peace Center, 300 S. Main St, Greenville
7:30pm
$55-$125
