‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ Review: Questlove’s Vibrant Tribeca Opener

The expansiveness of Questlove’s contact list is in full evidence in his new documentary chronicling the lengthy career of the legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire. Besides the many past and present band members on display, the film includes commentary by such figures as Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, H.E.R. and Flea, among others, all attesting to the band’s lasting influence. Oh, and there’s also Barack and Michelle Obama, commenting on such weighty issues as the intricacies of slow dancing to the band’s love songs.

The musician/filmmaker — who has demonstrated his cinematic bona fides with his Oscar-winning Summer of Soul and Sly Lives! — delivers another superb effort with the colorfully titled Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World), receiving its world premiere as the opening night film of the Tribeca Film Festival days before airing on HBO. 

What distinguishes Questlove’s documentaries is not only his obvious knowledge of his subject matter but also his sheer enthusiasm. He approaches these projects with the energy and excitement of a true fan, which proves infectious.

He has plenty to delve into with this effort about the six-time Grammy-winning band that is still touring more than a half-century after its 1971 debut album. The group was formed by Maurice White, whose troubled childhood is recounted in the film’s opening minutes. Growing up in racially segregated Memphis, he was raised by his grandmother when his single mother relocated to Chicago in order to find work. According to those who knew him, White never fully got over his feelings of abandonment.

After serving as a session musician at Chess Records, he became the drummer for the hit-making Ramsey Lewis Trio. He left that jazz group at the height of its success to form his own band, its name inspired by elements of his astrological chart (the word “wind” sounded better than “air”). The band initially struggled commercially, and White, already demonstrating his ruthlessly pragmatic approach, fired its original members and formed a new group featuring younger musicians including vocalist Philip Bailey.

This incarnation jelled, and the band’s fortunes started to take off when they were signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis. After being overshadowed by George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic when Earth, Wind & Fire served as their opening band, White became determined to make the group funkier. Because of their exposure on the televised 1974 “California Jam” festival, they began to cross over to white audiences.

“He was the visionary, and the power belongs to the visionary,” Bailey says of the endlessly ambitious White, who soon added sophisticated orchestrations and theatricality to the band’s mix. They had their first major pop hit with “Shining Star,” which we learn began as a simple jam. Questlove shows us various interview subjects grooving to the song, including Stevie Wonder, who says that it led him to compose his classic “I Wish.”

“My mind’s blown!” exclaims Questlove. “I didn’t see that coming!”

Inspired by his explorations into religion, philosophy, metaphysics and Afrofuturism, among other things, White kept expanding the band’s horizons. He added a horn section and elaborate costuming, hired Tony-winning choreographer George Faison (The Wiz) to stage their tour and magician Doug Henning to create illusions.  

“It wasn’t a show, it was musical theater,” comments a still-awed Lionel Richie. Mesmerizing footage from one concert shows bassist Verdine White (Maurice’s brother) not missing a note as he becomes levitated and continues playing his instrument while sideways.

Eventually, White’s ambitions got the better of him. He opened his own studio and production complex at a tremendous cost, and the band’s tours became so elaborate that they consistently lost money. Seeking hits, he embraced such trends as disco, with “Boogie Wonderland” as a result. The record did well, but not everyone was a fan.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it,” says songwriter/producer Jimmy Jam. “But it didn’t go into my soul like their music usually did.”

White also recruited David Foster as a collaborator, resulting in a more pop sound. But the move alienated the band’s members, who felt squeezed out, as if they were mere session musicians.

“The idea of a democracy is an illusion in our band,” Bailey says.

The film praises White’s musical genius without neglecting his faults, including serial adultery that resulted in several children with women other than his longtime partner, Marilyn White.

“I’m Maurice’s youngest son,” Eden White introduces himself, before adding with a laugh, “that we know about.” When Marilyn confronted Maurice about his infidelities, he excused his behavior by saying, “I’m a star.”

Darker times for the band followed in the 1980s, when musical tastes changed and record buyers gravitated to the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince. White treated his bandmates badly, denying them royalties and underpaying them. The quality of the music suffered, several of the members quit, and in 1984 he suddenly dissolved the band.

“He did to them what was done to him as a child,” White’s son KB (one of the film’s executive producers) explains.

White’s solo album Stand by Me failed, while Bailey achieved new heights with a solo career that included the smash hit collaboration with Phil Collins, “Easy Lover.” At the urging of his record label, White reformed a smaller version of the band a few years later, including five of the original members. But the power dynamics had shifted. “I said I would work with him, not for him,” Bailey says.

Audiences had moved on, however, and a subsequent tour flopped. The band found themselves playing in smaller and smaller venues, but they persevered. And thanks to their music being featured extensively in films and hip-hop samples, they’ve been performing ever since in what is essentially a decades-long victory lap. White, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, retired from touring and died in 2016.

Using a well-edited combination of vintage and recent interviews and copious amounts of archival footage, the documentary recounts the band’s story in compelling fashion, with Questlove providing enough imaginative stylistic flourishes to prevent it from feeling like an extended Behind the Music episode.

Most of all, the film vividly conveys the brilliance of the band’s innovative music, culminating with a joyous celebration of their hit “September” that will have HBO viewers rising from their couches to get up and dance.