This year marks 45 years since the release of ‘All ‘n All’, the Grammy winning eighth studio album by Chicago based R&B/Funk group Earth, Wind, & Fire. The album was released on November 21st, 1977 by Columbia Records. The album is recognized by hits such as “Love’s Holiday”, “I’ll Write A Song For You”,“Serpentine Fire”, “Jupiter” and the Grammy-nominated song “Fantasy”. ‘All ‘n All’ was the result of an intense soul searching journey following White’s trip to Egypt, Argentina, and Brazil.
Earth, Wind, & Fire became well known for their colorful sound inspired by R&B, Soul, and Funk, and their unity and peace inspired lyrical content that proved to be the antithesis to the dark, racially divided environment of the 1960s and 1970s. The foundation of their sound and image was created and cultivated by the vision of unity of their co-founder Maurice White. In a 1978 interview with Rolling Stone, White said, “I believe in goodness, I believe in truth, and I believe in love… I am not a man of any denomination because there’s too many things about each that I believe and disbelieve. So, I’ve found that the best thing for me is to try to love and understand life.”
The musical soundscape of the 1970’s had begun to transition into territory that reflected images of triumph and kaleidoscopic blackness. Aside from the imagery of protests, sit-ins, police dogs, and fire hoses, music, much like literature, film, art, began to reflect an avante-garde aesthetic addressing topics of afrocentrism, black liberation, and black identity. Earth, Wind, & Fire were the painters of this new soundscape along with other bands such as the Ohio Players, War, The Stylistics, and more.
To no surprise, the sound of ‘All ‘n All’ made a transition as well. Writer Steven E. Fleming, in his 2017 article for Albumism, “Earth, Wind, & Fire’s ‘All ‘N All’ Turns 40”, writes, “if the record is played with the context of the times in mind, it’s easy to see All ‘N All as light after a dark, trying time… taking the genre blurring of the competition to heights previously unimaginable, EWF brought listeners through the ages, from deeply personal African melodies to the most glamorous of dance music inclinations.”
‘All ‘n All’ proved to be one of the best offerings of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s discography. Released on November 21st, 1977, the album reached number one of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and was the recipient of the 1979 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group. The album paved the way for Earth, Wind & Fire’s subsequent albums ‘I Am’ (1979), ‘Faces’ (1980), and more.
In retrospect, it proved to be a seminal moment in the career of both Earth, Wind, & Fire, and Maurice White.
