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The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1

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The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
Cover art by Shusei Nagaoka
Greatest hits album by
Earth, Wind & Fire
ReleasedNovember 23, 1978 (1978-11-23)
Genre
Length40:22
LabelARC/Columbia
Legacy (1999 reissue)
Producer
Earth, Wind & Fire chronology
All 'n All
(1977) 		The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
(1978) 		I Am
(1979)
Singles from Vol. 1
  1. "Got to Get You Into My Life"
    Released: July 14, 1978
  2. "September"
    Released: November 18, 1978

The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 is the first greatest hits album by the American band Earth, Wind & Fire issued on November 23, 1978 by ARC/Columbia Records.[1] The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart and No. 6 on the Top LPs chart.[2][3] The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 has been certified Quintuple Platinum in the US by the RIAA.[4] As well Platinum in both the UK and Canada, by the BPI and Music Canada, respectively.[5][6]

Background

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Produced by Maurice White, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 was the first album released by ARC Records, his subsidiary record label. A 1999 reissue featured two bonus tracks entitled MegaMix and MegaMix 2000.[1][7]

Singles

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The album produced three new songs and two singles. The LP's first single, "Got to Get You into My Life", preceded the album by a few months and was first included on the 1978 soundtrack Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band from the feature film with the same title. The single reached Nos. 1 & 9 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs and Hot 100 charts, respectively.[8][9] "Got to Get You into My Life" was Grammy nominated in the category of Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus. The song went on to win a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).[10][11]

The second single, "September" peaked at Nos. 1 and 8 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs and Hot 100 charts, respectively.[12][13] "September" reached No. 3 on the UK Pop Singles chart.[14]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Los Angeles Times[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[17]
The Village VoiceA−[18]

The Los Angeles Times called the album "An excellent package with no extraneous or weak tracks".[16] Steve Huey of AllMusic retrospectively said "But even if it's an incomplete hits collection, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 still ranks as a strong encapsulation of EWF the funk innovators. The singles gathered here constitute some of the richest, most sophisticated music the funk movement ever produced; when the absolute cream of the group's catalog is heard in such a concentrated fashion, the effect is dazzling." Huey added "1998's Greatest Hits now stands as the definitive single-disc EWF overview, but for the budget-minded and the disco-phobic, this still makes for an excellent listen."[15] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice found "Despite some annoying omissions, notably "Serpentine Fire," this sums them up--ten exquisitely crafted pop tunes in which all the passion and resonance of black music tradition are blended into a concoction slicker and more sumptuous than any white counterpart since Glenn Miller".[18] The New York Daily News also claimed "Since its beginning, Earth Wind and Fire have been one of the slickest soul aggregations around, and this record is a well-paced showcase. Sometimes it's hard to believe that the combination of influences, ranging from Sly Stone and Stevie Wonder to the decidedly Chicagoesque horn arrangements, doesn't overcome the group, but its high spirits continually take it over the top."[19] Crispin Cioe of High Fidelity wrote "For pop/r&b mavens, this one's a must."[20]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Got to Get You into My Life" (From Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1978)John Lennon, Paul McCartney4:03
2."Fantasy" (From All 'n All, 1977)Eduardo Del Barrio, Maurice White, Verdine White3:46
3."Can't Hide Love" (From Gratitude, 1975)Skip Scarborough4:10
4."Love Music" (Previously unreleased)Skip Scarborough3:55
5."Getaway" (From Spirit, 1976)Peter Cor, Bernard “Beloyd” Taylor3:46
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."That's the Way of the World" (From That's the Way of the World, 1975)Charles Stepney, Maurice White, Verdine White5:46
7."September" (Previously unreleased)Al McKay, Allee Willis, Maurice White3:36
8."Shining Star" (From That's the Way of the World, 1975)Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Maurice White2:50
9."Reasons" (From That's the Way of the World, 1975)Philip Bailey, Charles Stepney, Maurice White4:59
10."Sing a Song" (From Gratitude, 1975)Al McKay, Maurice White3:23

[1]

Reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."MegaMix 2000"Wayne Vaughn, Al McKay, Maurice White, Allee Willis7:38
12."MegaMix" (radio edit)Al McKay, Maurice White3:23

[7]

Personnel

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Performance

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Production

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  • Philip Bailey – liner notes
  • George Calle – producer, audio engineer, audio mixing
  • Mauro DeSantis – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Larry Dunn – production assistant
  • Earth, Wind & Fire – arranger
  • Howard Fritzson – art direction
  • David Gahr – Photography
  • Jay Graydon – songwriter
  • Alan Hewitt – programming, producer, engineer, mixing
  • Paul Klingberg – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Art Macnow – director
  • Cameron Marcarelli – assistant engineer
  • Al McKay – producer
  • Shusei Nagaoka – artwork
  • Steve Newman – design
  • Joseph M. Palmaccio – mastering
  • Leo Sacks – producer, liner notes, reissue producer
  • Richard Salvato – director
  • Jim Shea – photography
  • Charles Stepney – arranger, producer
  • Tom Tom 84 – horn arrangements, string arrangements
  • Chris Walter – photography
  • Maurice White – arranger, producer, engineer, liner notes, sixing
  • Verdine White – liner notes, production assistant
  • Mark Wilder – audio mastering
  • Joseph Wissert – producer[1]

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart performance for The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[21] 7
Finland (Suomen virallinen albumlista)[22] 7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 19
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 28
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[25] 12
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[26] 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 6
US Billboard 200[28] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29] 3

Year-end charts

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Chart (1979) Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 18
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1978 "Got to Get You into My Life" Billboard Top Soul Singles 1
Billboard Hot 100 9
UK Singles[14] 33
Dutch Single Top 100[31] 33
1979 "September" Billboard Top Soul Singles 1
Billboard Hot 100 8
UK Singles[14] 3
Swedish Singles (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 13

Certifications

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Certifications for The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[32] Platinum 100,000^
Japan — 161,810[33]
Netherlands (NVPI)[34] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1. ARC/Columbia Records. November 23, 1978.
  2. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (Top Soul Albums)". Billboard. Billboard.
  3. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Billboard.
  4. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1". riaa.com. RIAA.
  5. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1". bpi.co.uk. British Phonographic Industry.
  6. ^ "EARTH, WIND AND FIRE". musiccanada.com. Music Canada.
  7. ^ a b Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 (1999 Reissue). Legacy/Columbia Records. 1999.
  8. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Got to Get You into My Life (Hot R&B Songs)". Billboard.
  9. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Got to Get You into My Life (Hot 100)". Billboard.com.
  10. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  11. ^ "Maurice White". grammy.com. The Recording Academy.
  12. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: September (Hot 100)". billboard.com. Billboard.
  13. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: September (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com.
  14. ^ a b c d "Earth, Wind & Fire". officialcharts.com.
  15. ^ a b Huey, Steve. "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1". AllMusic.
  16. ^ a b "Pop Music". newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. December 17, 1978. p. 418.
  17. ^ Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. 1. Rolling Stone Album Guide.
  18. ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1". Village Voice – via robertchristgau.com.
  19. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. 1". New York Daily News. December 10, 1978. p. 355 – via newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Cioe, Crispin (May 1981). "Backbeat Superior Superdiscs" (PDF). High Fidelity. Vol. 31, no. 3. p. 128 – via americanradiohistory.com.
  21. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Earth, Wind & Fire". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 69. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Earth, Wind & Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. I" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Earth, Wind & Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. I" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  25. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Earth, Wind & Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. I". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  27. ^ a b "Swedishcharts.com – Earth, Wind & Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. I". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  28. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  29. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  30. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  31. ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Got to Get You into My Life". dutchcharts.nl.
  32. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Earth, Wind and Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1". Music Canada.
  33. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  34. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Earth, Wind and Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1980 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  35. ^ "British album certifications – Earth Wind & Fire – The Best Of Earth Wind And Fire Vol. 1". British Phonographic Industry.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – Earth, Wind and Fire – The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1". Recording Industry Association of America.
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