The Write Stuff is EW s occasional series where songwriters reveal stories behind their biggest hits.
When the elements came together for Earth, Wind & Fire to release their self-titled debut in February 1971, there was indeed a new force of nature in the music world. Fifty years later, the visionary band founded by Maurice White who died from Parkinson s disease in 2016 has its own shining star in the galaxy of all-time R&B greats. When you start, you don t know if you re gonna get to 50 you don t know if you re gonna get to five, says Maurice s brother, bassist Verdine White, 69, who has been in the group for all 50 years.
Justin Richmond has interviewed some of the world’s finest songwriters, so he’s got a lot to draw from when considering one particularly brilliant song to discuss with us. As host and lead producer of the popular Pushkin Industries podcast
Broken Record, Richmond’s recently been privy to the creative processes employed by legendary artists like Bruce Springsteen, Pharrell Williams and Carlos Santana, as well as legends in the making, such as Brandi Carlile and Flying Lotus and rising stars with Houston and Texas ties like Khruangbin and Black Pumas.
Richmond isn’t only a music journalist, he’s a lifelong fan of the recorded arts and a musician, too. Those interests have grown increasingly since joining