Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White Was ‘Scared’ to Make a Solo Song in Honor of ‘Superman’ Late Brother Maurice (Exclusive)

Verdine White lays it all out on his first solo musical venture.

In honor of what would have been the late, great Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White’s 83rd birthday on Thursday, December 19, his brother and bandmate shares his feelings about the iconic musician’s influence via a touching song called “Superman.”

“Isn’t that crazy? Isn’t it?” Verdine jokes that he has gone more than five decades without releasing a single solo act, despite his efforts as a member of EW&F that earned him nine Grammys and an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

It’s those accolades that have kept the musician away from solo work for so long, as he says: “What kept coming true was all those other records we’d made…all those great records we’d made over the years.”

Verdine White (left) and Maurice White.

M. Caulfield/WireImage

Will.i.am says U2, Earth, Wind & Fire and Talking Heads inspired Black Eyed Peas’ ‘I Gotta Feeling’

“Right now we’re Earth, Wind and Fire, so we have more space and we can try different things, give things away, all that stuff. [wife Shelly Clark] in helping me. She’s a great singer and she’s the leader of Honey Cone and we can work together,” he says of working with his critically acclaimed Motown singer wife.

What better way to kick off a solo musical endeavor than with a touching tribute to the man who, as Verdine says, helped him “get through things” throughout his life and career until his death from Parkinson’s disease in 2016.

See also  Catherine O’Hara Recalls 'Sickening' Moment She Was Nearly Separated from Her Sons à la Home Alone (Exclusive)

“[‘Superman’] was the brainchild of Janie Bradford, who is my wife’s godmother,” says Verdine. “Shelly produced the song and it was a lot of fun, and some of the musicians that were on it [are] John Paris, drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire and Carnel Harrell. The Honey Cone, Shelly’s group, so all of us together.”

The bassist adds, “We did it over a period of two to three days, and Shelly sat with me and did the background [vocals] and went over the texts. It was really great.”

Earth, Wind & Fire Reflect On Late ‘Mentor’ Maurice White: ‘We Know What That Standard Is’ Thanks To Him (Exclusive)

The songs see Verdine harmonizing with Shelly and her bandmates and providing strong affirmations of Maurice’s influence in a smooth disco-infused rhythm. During the nearly 3-minute duration, the artist reflects on his late brother who made the “impossible possible”, further emphasizing that he “made my dreams come true” and calling him “my hero”.

Ultimately, it was Bradford and Clark who got Verdine to actually record the song, he says, “Shelly and Janie thought it would be a great tribute to Maurice, and I did. So I was scared, scared and crazy. You know what do I mean?”

Despite his reluctance to go solo, Verdine says that “everybody seemed to like what I did” after the song was completed and released.

As for the song’s title, he says it also came from Bradford: “Maurice was Superman. When you really look at his discography and what ‘Rice did as a writer, producer, emcee … he was my mentor and got me into business. What he did in business, I’d say that’s Superman.”

See also  Missouri Firefighters Rescue Injured Bald Eagle While on Another Call

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education

Rate this post

Leave a Comment