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Touch The World
''Touch the World'' is the fourteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in November 1987 on Columbia Records. The album reached No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B Albums chart and No. 33 on the ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums chart. ''Touch the World'' was certified Gold in the US by the RIAA. Overview ''Touch the World'' was produced by Earth, Wind & Fire leader Maurice White. Artists such as George Duke, Marc Russo and Ricky Lawson of Yellowjackets, Jeff Porcaro of Toto and Edwin Hawkins, Walter Hawkins, and Lynette Hawkins Stephens with the Hawkins Family appeared on the album. This LP ended a four-year hiatus for the band, with Maurice White reforming the group by bringing back longtime members Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Andrew Woolfolk and Ralph Johnson. ''Touch the World'' also marked the debut of former Commodores guitarist Sheldon Reynolds to the lineup while Sonny Emory went on to fill the drum chair. Singles " System of Survival" was writ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million records worldwide. The band was formed by Maurice White, originating out of the Salty Peppers; its history includes a hiatus from mid-1984 to mid-1987. Prominent members have included 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. The band is known for its kalimba sound, dynamic horn section, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between Bailey's falsetto and Maurice's tenor vocals. The band has won six Grammy Awards out of 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations. They have been inducted into the Rock a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billboard 200
The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recording act is remembered for its " number ones" that outperformed all other albums during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, acquiring its existing name in March 1992. Its previous names include the ''Billboard'' Top LPs (1961–1972), ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), ''Billboard'' Top 200 Albums (1984–1985), ''Billboard'' Top Pop Albums (1985–1991), and ''Billboard'' 200 Top Albums (1991–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales—both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, the tracking week begins on Friday (to coincide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commodores
Commodores, often billed as The Commodores, are an American funk and Soul music, soul group. The group's most successful period was in the late 1970s and early 1980s when Lionel Richie was the co-lead singer. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for the Jackson 5 while on concert tour, tour. The band's biggest hit record, hit singles are Sentimental ballad, ballads such as "Easy (Commodores song), Easy", "Three Times a Lady", and "Nightshift (song), Nightshift"; and funk-influenced dance songs, including "Brick House (song), Brick House", "Fancy Dancer", "Lady (You Bring Me Up)", and "Too Hot ta Trot". Commodores were inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame. The band has also won one Grammy Award out of nine nominations. The Commodores have sold over 70 million albums worldwide. History Comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Johnson (musician)
Ralph Randolph Johnson (born July 4, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and producer. Johnson is a member and percussionist of the funk/soul/disco band Earth, Wind & Fire. Early life Johnson was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father was a lyricist and his mother was a vocalist, and they had music always playing in their home. At the age of eight years old Johnson received his first snare drum and drum lesson. Johnson developed a love of R&B music, listening mainly to Motown and Stax and Sly and the Family Stone. He played in elementary, junior high and high school bands. At age 13, he attended a James Brown concert, which was his first live concert and was amazed by the three drum sets on the stage. In 1965, Johnson's brother introduced him to the world of Jazz. He joined local bands "The Teen Turbans" and "The Masters Children". Earth, Wind and Fire In 1971, musician Maurice White the founder and bandleader of Earth, Wind & Fire, dismantled his band aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Woolfolk
Andrew Paul Woolfolk II (October 11, 1950 – April 24, 2022) was an American saxophonist. Woolfolk was a longtime member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire from 1973 to 1985, and from 1987 to 1993. He also collaborated with artists such as Deniece Williams, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Collins, Twennynine, Philip Bailey, and Level 42. Biography Woolfolk attended East High School in Denver, Colorado. In 1972 he joined the band Earth, Wind & Fire as a saxophonist and became a longstanding member. Woolfolk was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire in 2000. In 2017, Woolfolk was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. Woolfolk died on April 24, 2022, after a long illness. Collaborations Aside from his work with EW&F, Woolfolk played the saxophone on Valerie Carter's 1977 album ''Just a Stone's Throw Away'', Deniece Williams' 1977 LP ''Song Bird'', Twennynine's 1979 album '' Best of Friends'', and Stanley Turrentine's 1981 LP ''Tender Toget ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verdine White
Verdine Adams White (born Verdine Adams Jr.; July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list oThe 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time Early life Verdine was born Verdine Adams, Jr. in Chicago, Illinois, on July 25, 1951. His father, Verdine Sr., was a doctor who also played the saxophone. He grew up listening to recordings of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and other jazz musicians. He was also influenced by Cleveland Eaton, The Beatles, the Motown sound, and his two drummer brothers, Fred and Maurice. When he was 15, he saw a double bass in his high school orchestra class and decided that he wanted to play bass. He soon got a red electric bass and, taking the advice of brother Maurice and his father, took private lessons from Radi Velah of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, learning the Billè double bass method, and on weekends learned the electric bass with Che ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Hawkins
Walter Lee Hawkins (May 18, 1949 – July 11, 2010) was an American gospel singer, songwriter, composer, and pastor. An influential figure in urban contemporary gospel music, his career spanned more than four decades. He was consecrated to the bishopric in 2000. Biography The 7th of 8 children born to the late Dan Lee and Mamie Vivian Hawkins, Walter Lee Hawkins was born on May 18, 1949, in Oakland, California. Hawkins was the brother of Edwin Hawkins (d. 2018), Marava Ladale Hawkins (d. 1988), Carol Lee Hawkins (d. 2020), Feddie Joyce Hawkins, Jervis Ersell Hawkins (d. 1952), Daniel Lee Hawkins (Marcia) and Lynette Gail Hawkins-Stephens (Reginald). Bishop Hawkins started his career in one of his brother's chorales, the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ. The choir recorded an album in 1968 as a local fundraiser. When a song from that album, "Oh Happy Day", became a crossover hit, Buddah Records purchased the master and released it as "the Edwi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Hawkins
Edwin Reuben Hawkins (August 19, 1943 – January 15, 2018) was an American gospel musician, pianist, vocalist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. As the leader of the Edwin Hawkins Singers, he was probably best known for his arrangement of " Oh Happy Day" (1968–69), which was included on the "Songs of the Century" list. In 1970, the Edwin Hawkins Singers made a second foray into the charts, backing folk singer Melanie on " Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)". Biography Hawkins was born in Oakland, California, on August 19, 1943. At the age of seven, he was already the keyboardist for the family's gospel music band. Together with Betty Watson in May 1967, he founded the Northern California State Youth Choir of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), which included almost fifty members. This ensemble recorded its first album, ''Let Us Go into the House of the Lord'', at the Ephesian Church of God in Christ in Ber ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1977. Toto combines elements of Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, Soul music, soul, funk, hard rock, Rhythm and blues, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. David Paich (keyboards, vocals) and Jeff Porcaro (drums) had played together as session musicians on several albums and formed the band; David Hungate (bass), Steve Lukather (guitar, vocals), Steve Porcaro (keyboards, vocals), and Bobby Kimball (vocals) were recruited before the release of the band's Toto (album), eponymous debut album in 1978. Led by the Top 5 single "Hold the Line", the album brought the band to mainstream attention, though it was their fourth album ''Toto IV'' (1982) which brought them global attention. "Africa (Toto song), Africa" topped the Billboard Hot 100, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto, but is also one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the United States as the drummer on the Steely Dan album '' Katy Lied'' (1975). AllMusic characterized Porcaro as "arguably the most highly regarded studio drummer in rock from the mid-'70s to the early '90s" and said that "it is no exaggeration to say that the sound of mainstream pop/rock drumming in the 1980s was, to a large extent, the sound of Jeff Porcaro." He was posthumously inducted into the '' Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1993. Early life Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was born on April 1, 1954, in Hartford, Connecticut, the eldest son of Los Angeles session percussionist Joe Porcaro (1930–2020) and his wife, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yellowjackets (band)
Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. History In 1977, guitarist Robben Ford, for his first solo album, recruited keyboardist Russell Ferrante, electric bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Ricky Lawson. They decided to continue as a group and were signed to Warner Bros. Records by producer Tommy LiPuma, who chose the name "Yellowjackets" from a list of potential group names the band had compiled. In 1984, the band's second album, ''Mirage a Trois'', was nominated for a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award for Best Fusion Performance. Ford played on only half this album, and after he departed the group, saxophonist Marc Russo was hired in his place. The next album, ''Shades (Yellowjackets album), Shades'', reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine jazz album chart, while the single "And You Know That" won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. Lawson left and was replaced by Will Kennedy in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricky Lawson
William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson or Ricky Remo, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, Steely Dan, Earl Klugh, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and other artists. He co-founded the jazz-fusion band Yellowjackets and won the 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance for "And You Know That" from their album '' Shades''. Life and career Lawson started playing drums at the age of sixteen. He would borrow his uncle's drum set and carry it to his house across town via the Detroit bus system. In high school, Lawson played in his high school jazz band, which consisted of only five members, including the director. Lawson played for The Sons of Soul, who performed at the 1969 Michigan State Fair, opening for The Jackson Five along with The Blazer, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
