Earth Wind & Fire and The Emotions -- Boogie Wonderland

 

This being a Thursday, it's time for Reminiscings of Youth, and this being the first Thursday of 2023, we're getting a twofer since I didn't put up a ROY on New Year's Day. Also, and more importantly, over the Holidays, the music world lost two people who belonged to a couple of groups that I've reminisced about for the beloved tunes of yesteryear.

For this article, I read that percussionist Fred White of Earth Wind & Fire passed away right on New Year's Day at the age of 67. According to his Wikipedia biography, he was fellow EWF member and co-vocalist Maurice White's (who himself died in 2016) half-brother and the brother of another bandmate, Verdine White.

I've enjoyed doing the ROY articles on "Kayo Kyoku Plus" for a few years now because it's given me the opportunity to additionally talk about the non-Japanese songs that I've loved hearing since I was a kid. And it's always a joy to include the discography of Earth Wind & Fire as you've seen from some of the past entries by the guys. Their May 1979 single "Boogie Wonderland" that they share with the R&B vocal group The Emotions is another EWF legend that was created by songwriters Allee Willis and Jon Lind. Willis was also behind one of my other band favourites "September", and Lind is someone that I was surprised to discover would come up with a couple of tracks for Akina Nakamori's（中森明菜）"Femme Fatale" album almost a decade later including the title track.

The Wikipedia article for "Boogie Wonderland" relates the good times at the discotheques and house parties as conveyed through the song, and I have to admit that though it would take a Mac truck to drag me onto the dance floor now, "Boogie Wonderland" still may...just may...change my policy. It's that great a song. And it wasn't just the dancers and the partiers who agreed. I recall a number of movies and TV shows that used the hit such as the hilarious "Caddyshack" above. In fact, I think that I first heard it during segments of the regional hockey telecasts and I know that it was used as the ending theme for a Fuji-TV late-night information series. Yup, Japan really loves Earth Wind & Fire too!

The smashing horns, the cool and sexy vocals by Maurice and The Emotions, and those funky rhythms still have me shimmying in front of the computer screen almost 44 years following the song's release. "Boogie Wonderland" hit No. 11 in Canada while in the United States, it peaked at No. 6 on Billboard. My condolences to Mr. White's family, friends and fans.

Now, what was coming out in April and May 1979? Well, I found some stuff at Straw-Wara.

Hiromi Iwasaki -- Natsu ni Dakarete （夏に抱かれて）

Yutaka Mizutani -- California Connection （カリフォルニア・コネクション）

Circus -- American Feeling