All the Surprising Things You Never Knew About Earth, Wind & Fire

It’s about to be an Earth, Wind & Fire summer, thanks to an upcoming documentary about the legendary group slated to premiere on HBO soon. And trust us when we tell you, there’s a whole lot of goodness in store within it!

The Questlove-directed film, “Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)” made its grand premiere on Wednesday as the opening-night selection at the 25th annual Tribeca Festival. It was then followed by a performance from the group themselves and The Roots.

But if you’re a bit disappointed that you won’t be able to watch the film because you weren’t at the festival, nor do you have HBO/HBO Max—don’t worry!

We’ve pulled out some of the major moments from the film that you’d be surprised to know, plus a few bits of insight from members Philip Bailey, Verdine White and Ralph Johnson, who sat down for a brief interview with The Root ahead of the release.

So, slap on “September” and get ready to learn even more about a group who brought so much music, love and light into the world!

What Is the New Documentary About?

“Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)” tells the story of the legendary, nine-time Grammy-winning band. Tracing their genesis through late founding member Maurice White, the film chronicles the group’s evolution, highs, and lows from the 1970s to the present day while exploring the deep spiritual philosophy behind their music.

Exploring the band’s evolution from jazz to soul, R&B, Afro-funk, disco, and beyond, the film details how White strove to weave his spiritual, metaphysical, and astrological passions into the band’s genre-spanning songwriting and increasingly theatrical live shows in an effort to unite a wide and diverse audience.

It hits HBO and HBO Max on June 7.

Maurice Had a Rocky Upbringing With His Mom

Group leader Maurice White was born and raised in Memphis, and his upbringing was anything but smooth. His mother, Edna—who was his only family—had him when she was 17, according to the documentary.

And while White did praise her for being encouraging of his talents, by the time he was five years old, she decided to leave for Chicago after getting a better job cleaning houses for white people in an effort to give him a better way of life.

As a child, Maurice lived with a family friend whom he affectionately called “Big Mama.” For a time, he worked a newspaper route in a white neighborhood across town, until he was brutally harassed and beaten by police. He would not reunite with his birth mother until he was a young adult, between the ages of 18 and 21

Maurice’s Dad Was an Alleged Gangster

While Maurice’s mother left for Chicago for years in an attempt to give him a better life, his father, John White, was absent from his life for an entirely different and tragic reason. Not only was he a nightclub owner himself in Memphis, but he was also somewhat of a “gangster-figure” within the community.

“From what I understand, one day they went into one of his establishments and somebody, who was not his same skin color, shot him,” said Maurice’s oldest son, KB White.

This all transpired before Maurice turned five years old.

Maurice and Verdine White are Half-Brothers

You might be surprised to learn that Maurice and bandmate Verdine weren’t just close friends while in the group—they are actually related! Specifically, after Maurice’s mother went to Chicago, she started another family and had more children, with Verdine being one of them. That makes him and Maurice half-brothers, though they see themselves as full blood brothers through and through.

Maurice Manifested the Success of EWF

One of the overarching themes that’s present in the documentary is Maurice’s interest, focus, and intention on manifestation, spirituality, astrology, quantum physics and more. As it relates to the group’s massive success in the music industry, he regularly practiced “scripting manifesting,” which is where you write down your goals, visions, and dreams for whatever it is that you want to bring into your life.

Some of the main parts of his vision for EWF included: “Make music for a universal audience. Evolve consciousness. Change the world.”

Sitting down for a brief interview with The Root, group member Philip Bailey further praised his late band mate for how deeply involved he was in his beliefs and how he integrated that into the album covers and music that they produced.

“Maurice was an avid reader; we all were. But him in particular with Egyptology, African studies, world studies,” Bailey told The Root. “And for that reason, he used a lot of symbolism to wet the appetites of different people. And so, it inspired people to dig deeper and search out some things. So that was very interesting because we—even being in the band—have caught up on different things later on that before we weren’t that interested in.”

Maurice Had a Strict Health Regimen for Himself and the Group

According to Verdine and fellow member Ralph Johnson, the group would often stay up late talking about everything from cosmic consciousness to spirituality, self-betterment, transcendental meditation, and more. But for Maurice, he took all that talk a step further and put it into certain actions that he and the group abided by.

Part of those actions included not indulging in drugs or alcohol. For Maurice specifically, he regularly took health vitamins, supplements, and “elixirs” like cod liver oil and made green juices.

One recipe obtained from the documentary featured ingredients like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, spotted bananas, mango, papaya, bee pollen, super greens protein powder, soy lecithin granules, vitamin C, vanilla extract and germanium tablets.

“Reasons” Was Inspired by a One Night Stand

As we previously told you, according to EWF member Bailey, “Reasons” is not the lovey-dovey, sweet, wedding song that we all thought it was. In fact, it was inspired by a one night stand he had with a woman who was already in a relationship.

“‘Reasons’ sticks out there because so many people said, ‘This is my wedding song’ and all that kind of stuff, and so you had to go into the lyrics and be like ‘Look, listen to this!’” Bailey told The Root.

“Shining Star” Inspired One of Stevie Wonder’s Biggest Hits

In perhaps one of the most eye-opening moments of the documentary, fellow music legend Stevie Wonder revealed that his giant 1976 hit, “I Wish,” was largely inspired by Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star.”

“The arrangements were amazing, I just loved the way it sounded. So, at some point, I was inspired by what it did,” Wonder confessed. “That was definitely the influence, hearing that song… The other thing that inspired me was the message in that music. It was talking about how people could will themselves into greatness. There’s nothing they can’t do.”

Maurice Was a Self-Taught Musician

Fans may be shocked to know that a large part of Maurice’s musical prowess was self-taught. After seeing drummers parade down the street in shiny suits as a child, he knew that was what he wanted to do. As a result, he tried out for the drums in the band in school and got in. The rest, as they say, is history!

Maurice Stepped Out on His Long-term Partner & Had Kids

In one part of the documentary, Maurice’s longtime partner, Marilyn (a white woman), revealed that despite her and Maurice’s deep feelings for one another, he stepped out on her frequently during the course of their relationship. To make matters worse, he also fathered two children “that they know of” with other women, one of them being a person who did costuming for the group.

“Maurice was not exactly the most faithful person,” Marilyn explained. “He had other women on the road. Maurice, in fact, got someone pregnant while he was on the road. I didn’t find out until maybe a few years after she was born. Everyone but me knew. And then he had another son from someone else.”

After confronting him about his transgressions, Marilyn eventually moved out and went her own way.

Maurice Produced Several Artists Under His Own Label

By the time Maurice decided to start his own production company, Kalimba Productions, in 1996, he was set on making sure he represented some of the best of the best in the music industry. Some of the people on his label at the time included The Emotions, Deniece Williams, Jennifer Holliday, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.

“September” Was Inspired By Maurice’s Son

Near the end of the documentary, you find out that one of the group’s most famous songs, “September,” was inspired by the birth of Maurice’s first son, KB.

“When I was pregnant, I told Maurice our son was due around September 21. He said, ‘September 21st, huh?’ I said yeah,” Marilyn explained.

“That song resonates with every single kind of audience. Period,” added Stevie Wonder.

Maurice’s Words of Wisdom and Leadership Still Guides the Group to This Day

In speaking with Bailey, Verdine White, and Johnson for The Root, they all expressed how amazing a leader Maurice was and gave some insight into his sayings and mantras that left an impact on them all these years later.

For Bailey, he said: “He shared with all of us, to give. If you hold your hand closed, nothing comes in, nothing goes out. The blessing of giving.”

Johnson echoed similar sentiments, explaining: “Maurice once said to me, ‘Look, Ralph, this is a closed hand. You’ll notice that nothing is getting in, but nothing is getting out. So be open…He led by example.”

As for Verdine, he shared: “‘Rice would say, ‘Be ever wonderful!’ That’s how he would do. Keep up the vibes, he was a cool dude, too, you know? Very hip.”

Bailey later added, “[Maurice] was a great mentor and taught us the work ethic. Those great principles of having a plan, working it and how to work your plan.”