Verdine White (born July 25, 1951) – Kalimba Story (1974)
For Earth, Wind & Fire's 1974 Open Our Eyes LP, bassist White co-wrote this superb funk jam.
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The great bassist Verdine White is one of the founding members of Earth, Wind & Fire. He is the younger brother of the group’s leader Maurice White and the older brother of their longtime drummer Fred White, both sadly now deceased.
Verdine Adams, Jr. was born and raised in Chicago. He moved to Los Angeles in June, 1970 after his brother Maurice (a former session musician for Chess Records who had replaced Isaac “Red” Holt as the drummer in the Ramsey Lewis Trio) called and asked if he wanted to join his new band. Originally called the Salty Peppers in Chicago, on the West Coast Maurice had renamed them Earth, Wind & Fire.
They released their self-titled debut LP in February, 1971 on Warner Bros. It went to #24 on the R&B album charts, and served notice that a new musical force had arrived. Along with early members Michael Beal, Wade Flemons, and Don Whitehead, Maurice and Verdine co-wrote the funky message jam “C’mon Children” that opened its second side.
Their next appearance on an album was providing the soundtrack to Melvin Van Peebles’ groundbreaking Black action film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. Made for $150,000 and released on March 31, 1971 in only one Detroit theater, where it broke all box office records, it went on to gross over $15 million nationwide.
Sweetback singlehandedly launched the entire 70s Blaxploitation genre by proving Black audiences wanted to see films about their own experiences. And starting with the title track “Sweet Sweetback’s Theme,” the soundtrack EWF laid down was fierce.
See our posts on drummer Fred White, guitarist Al McKay, and saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk for more on Earth, Wind & Fire’s history.
For their 1974 Open Our Eyes LP, Verdine and Maurice co-wrote the superb funk jam “Kalimba Story,” with Maurice on lead vocals and a monstrous bassline by Verdine. The song celebrated the African instrument that was one of Maurice’s favorites, and its distinctive sounds were prominently spotlighted on the track.
It was co-produced by Maurice and Philadelphia-born producer Joe Wissert, who had solely produced their first four albums. Released as a single, “Kalimba Story” became a #6 R&B hit. Sacred music before its time!
#soul #funk #EWF #VerdineWhite