September 23, 2024
Questlove will make sure everyone remembers the 21st day of September with the Earth, Wind & Fire documentary.
Questlove has an Earth, Wind & Fire documentary on the way, and it only made sense to announce it on the 21st day of September.
Following 2001’s Shining Stars: The Official Story of Earth, Wind & Fire, Questlove has an official documentary that will tell the success story of the legendary soul group, Deadline reports. The film will explore the band’s legacy, cultural impact, and body of work with an exclusive look into its visual, audio, and written materials archives.
The Roots drummer, who won an Oscar for his Summer of Soul documentary, reportedly received the full support of Maurice White’s estate and the band. White served as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and chief producer of Earth, Wind & Fire, as well as the band’s co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
“Having been baptized in the Afrocentric joy river of this powerhouse unit, I’ve learned about them, I’ve learned about us & more importantly, I’ve learned and rediscovered myself in the process,” Questlove said in a statement. “I’m so excited to be part of the process of preserving their positive but very vulnerable and real story of Soul, Self & Struggle.”
Throughout their five-decade career, Earth, Wind & Fire sold more than 90 million records, released 11 consecutive gold or platinum albums, and won six Grammy Awards. Maurice White formed the band in Chicago in 1969. Prominent members of the group include Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Freddie Ravel, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds, and Andrew Woolfolk, who passed away in 2022 at age 71.
Additional accolades include four American Music Awards, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, Hollywood’s Rockwalk, and a Hollywood Walk of Fame star. The band received an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, a Soul Train Legend Award, a NARAS Signature Governor’s Award, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2012 Congressional Horizon Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.
Rolling Stone credited Earth, Wind & Fire for being the band that “changed the sound of Black pop,” while VH1 described them as “one of the greatest bands” of all time. The group’s only inactive years were during a hiatus from 1984 – 1987. The band’s founder, Maurice White, passed away in 2016 at age
Questlove is producing the film with Maurice White’s son, KB White of Broken Halo Entertainment, and Arron Saxe of Kinfolk Management + Media. Other producers of the film, made in association with Sony Music Vision, include RadicalMedia, Questlove and Black Thought’s Two One Five Entertainment, and financing and sales from Fifth Season. Zarah Zohlman and Shawn Gee of Two One Five Entertainment will serve as executive producers alongside Jon Kamen of RadicalMedia, Cheo Hodari Coker, and Amos Newman.
RELATED CONTENT: Earth, Wind, & Fire’s Philip Bailey Launches Fundraiser In Support Of National Adoption Month
