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Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Earth, Wind & Fire's Verdine White with Rick Rubin

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Pushkin Industries

Music, Society & Culture

4.54.3K Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2021

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rick Rubin connected with Earth, Wind & Fire's Verdine White to talk about the early days of the band and about their producer, Charles Stepney, who Verdine calls their George Martin. Also Rick reads to Verdine a poignant note from the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea about what makes Verdine’s bass playing so special. Earth Wind and Fire are the black Beatles. Their influence simply can't be overstated. You’d be hard pressed to find a wedding or graduation party in the last 50 years where their music didn’t bring generations together to dance and sing their hearts out. Earth Wind and Fire’s music is intricate, combining melody with mysticism and jazz to create some of the most instantly recognizable and profound music of the 70s.

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You can also check out past episodes here: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com/

You can find some of our favorite Earth, Wind & Fire songs HERE — enjoy!

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Pushkin

0:14.0

Earth-win and fire are the black beetles.

0:17.0

Their influence can't be overstayed.

0:20.0

You'd be hard-pressed to find a wedding or graduation party

0:23.0

in the last 50 years,

0:25.0

where their music didn't bring generations together

0:27.0

to dance and sing their hearts out.

0:44.0

Earth-win and fire's music is intricate,

0:46.0

combining melody with mysticism and jazz

0:49.0

to create some of the most instantly recognizable

0:51.0

and profound music of the 70s.

0:54.0

Earth-win and fire's groove is immense,

0:57.0

and that's not an accident.

0:59.0

Maurice White, who started Earth-win and Fire in 1969,

1:02.0

spent years as a jazz drummer around Chicago

1:05.0

before becoming a frontman.

1:07.0

And the group's rhythm section was held down by his brothers,

1:10.0

including Verdean White on bass.

1:13.0

Earth-win and fire might have been Maurice's musical vision,

1:16.0

but the band's spirit always came from his younger brother Verdean.

1:20.0

His sheer joy for music can't be contained.

1:23.0

On stage with his sequined outfits and long-pressed hair,

...

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