Inside the Podcast: Updates, Corrections & What's Ahead

Dwight Brooks: Welcome. Thanks for tuning in to Tracking Earth, Wind, and Fire. I'm your host, Doc Brooks. And if you're new to my podcast, welcome and thanks for tuning in. I hope to earn your subscription to my podcast. Subscriptions are free. All you have to do is, especially if you're watching on YouTube, just navigate up a bit and there's a subscribe button. Just hit it. And you'll be a part of the family. And also follow each episode's playlist on Spotify. I do about 10 songs or so each week that pertain to that particular episode. I welcome your comments, emails at T-R-A-C-K-I-N-G-E-W-F at gmail.com. I want to use This episode to take you inside my podcast and give you a few updates, a couple of corrections, and what you can expect in future episodes. So, first some health updates on a couple of members of our Earth Wind & Fire family. I want to make sure I don't give out any false or misleading information. I can confirm some pretty good news. John Paris recently enjoyed his first meal since early August. John's wife Kathy was by his side assisting him and he had some good grub. after that, John had to return to receiving his nutrition through feeding tubes. So he's progressing. What hasn't changed is his determination and the tremendous amount of love surrounding him with his family and friends and so many fans out there. So please continue to keep John and Kathy in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate each day as it comes. We are all still standing with John with love. Lionel Ritchie has had some health issues, and I was able to verify that according to CNN and some other sources inside Lionel Ritchie's camp, he's doing great. He's recovering at home after undergoing a successful routine procedure AFib. The 77-year old music icon, an American Idol judge, underwent a routine cardiac procedure in late September following previous hospital evaluations for dizziness. And dehydration earlier this summer. His representatives shared that the procedure went perfectly, the AFib, and doctors noted that everything was successful. So there have been some adjustments in his tour with Earth Wind and Fire. As Richie takes a brief pause from performing to fully recover. So the three upcoming tour stops on his sing a song all-night long tour with Earth, Wind and Fire, they've been canceled. And that's September 26th, San Francisco. September the 30th in Chicago, Illinois, and October 2nd in Columbus, Ohio. So those shows won't go. But the good news is that his plan to return to the stage is definite. He will be back. All right? So that's some good news on both the John Paris and Lionel Richie front. Here's some more great news. Late last week, I think it was Friday or Saturday, Verdine White posted that in his words, an unearthed song from my brother Maurice White is available. So Verdine proudly shared a tune titled Celebrate Our Love, the final song his brother Maurice ever recorded. In fact, Maurice White co-wrote the song with outstanding keyboardist Freddie Ravel. But it was never completed or released. And so for years the demo remained in the vault until Freddie brought it to Verdine. Verdine knew that he had something special. So, along with seven-time Grammy-winning producer Neil H. Pogue and acclaimed Earth, Wind and Fire drummer John Paris they came together through PWP Works of Art Productions to mix, master, and produce the song for its release. It's out there. And what we will hear, if you haven't already heard it, I know many of you have. The result is a soothing, uplifting, Caribbean, Latin-inspired track that captures the heart and soul of Maurice. Celebrate Our Love is finally available for everyone to hear and celebrate. you can listen and download it on streaming platforms. Now let me take you just a little bit inside my podcast. I don't like talking about me, but I wanted to share a few things that I hope you like. And one is my virtual background. I love it. It was created by a lovely and talented young lady, Angel Broom, who just happens to be the daughter of my dear friend, in fact, friend of the podcast, Soleh Brewer. And so I asked Angel to create something for me after seeing Soleil's background on the two episodes that we recorded. And if you missed them, check out. Episode number nine is entitled The Official Legacy of Earth Wind and Fire. And then I did part two, episode number 10, which talked about the salty peppers, among other Earth Wind and Fire related topics. I hope you enjoy those. And speaking of Soleh he wanted me to know about a couple of places where he may have misspoke just a bit. First, he inadvertently mentioned Keith Satterfield's son. What he meant to say was Louis Satterfield's son, Keith. And we're going to talk about Keith Satterfield and some of the work that he's done over the years with Soleh Brewer in an upcoming episode. The other minor correction had to do with his reference to Wayne Vaughan as working with the Emotions. Although Wayne Vaughn was married to one of the emotions, Wayne Vaughn had his own career and produced work with a number of groups. As for my own clarification, I mentioned in a previous episode that I read that Derf Reklaw the Salty Peppers played on an Afro Sheen commercial, perhaps as it said with Minnie Ripperton. Well, I told you that I would check on that because I was really dubious about Millie Ripperton participation. And so I did a lot of digging and I have found no evidence that Minnie Ripperton sang on an Afro Sheen commercial. And if she did, it was probably as an uncredited background singer. But I doubt that. Derf Reklaw did play percussion on a commercial that aired on Soul Train. I'm still looking into that to see if it was the same commercial in which Don Whitehead appeared. And you may recall, if you saw Questlove's documentary, Whitehead talked about that commercial His comments about one, two, Azuri, and I remember those commercials. yeah, I'm old. seemed to catch Questlove a bit off guard, which is unusual for the talented filmmaker and drummer. So speaking of Quest Love, I watched the documentary again just the other night, and recently, despite Questlove's brilliant film, and it is, he doesn't say much of anything about the Salty Peppers. Now, overlooking the Salty Peppers is fairly common, and that is why this podcast devoted more than one episode to the band, The Salty Peppers, who must be considered as the roots of Earth, Wind and Fire. So if you've missed any of those three episodes that talked about the salty peppers, check them out. Episode number seven, I've entitled Creating his Concept, where I talk about Maurice's concept, but also right before he put that concept together, how he recorded those 11, 10 musicians that became known as the Salty Peppers. And then following that, episode number eight, Meet the Salty Peppers, introduces you to each one of the 11 members who became known as the Salty Peppers. And we talk about a little bit about some of the recordings. But I saved most of that for episode number 10. That's part two with Soleh Brewer. We talk about the Salty Peppers, some of the members, as well as some of the songs that came out of that recording session. A few days ago, I published a special episode on September the 21st. It's do you remember? Pun intended. And I appreciate I've gotten so much positive feedback from that episode. I'm so grateful. if you haven't seen that special September 21st episode, check it out. Because I do a special deep dive into the iconic song September. Next week, I will publish number 13. Charles comes to Minnie's Garden, and that'll take you inside the recording session that Charles Stepney led. And it included great musicians, Maurice White, Ramsey Lewis, Cleveland Eaton, Phil Upchurch, and so many others. and they recorded in that session. In November of 1969, Minnie Ripperton's debut solo album, Come to My Garden. The following episode, number 14, has a very special guest, Professor Brittany L. Proctor, a distinguished scholar who wrote a book on Minnie Ripperton's debut album. You will be amazed at her brilliant analysis of Minnie Ripperton as a vocalist and the songs on that beautiful album. That book by Brittany Proctor is the same series in which my little book, That's the Way of the World, is published. Bloomsbury. They do a great series called 33 and 13rd. following those two episodes on Minnie Ribberton, the second with Brittany L. Proctor, the next two episodes, numbers 15 and 16, will feature another guest and another professor, Trenton Bailey. Dr. Bailey and I will discuss Earth, Wind and Fire's music and the Kemetic-inspired album covers and gatefolds of the band. So we'll focus on the Earth Wind & Fire albums that began incorporating Egyptian art with spirit in 1976, which also served as a tribute to Charles Stepney. So we'll talk about every album from 1976 through 1983's Power Light. And so we'll get Professor Bailey to come back to the podcast and talk about his analysis of the other albums in his book. Do you remember is the title? Celebrating 50 years of Earth Wind and Fire. He also has another book on the Ivy Brothers, Drifting on a Memory is the name of that book. So he's a bright young scholar who's well versed in what has become known as Afrofuturism. And that's a philosophy embraced by many African Americans in the 20th century. And I'll let him explain that as he does in our episode. Now, in terms of music, if you're curious about what Afrofuturism may sound like, besides Some semblance of that in Earth, Wind, and Fire, check out the band and the music Sunra. after those episodes, I'm going to provide some deep dives into what Maurice described as the original Earth, Wind, and Fire. Episode number 17 will take you along with Maurice White and the four musicians who traveled from Chicago to LA in two cars in April of 1970. We'll also take you inside those early days in the City of Angels as White assembled the remaining five members of Earth, Wind, and Fire. One of those included his younger brother, Verdine. Episode number 18 then introduces you to the new Earth, Wind and Fire band members, their new label, Warner Brothers, and the management team headed by Jim Brown, and some of the supporting staff that Maurice White hired. People like Perry Jones, PJ Jones, and some others. So I'll get into that. episodes, number 18. Then number 19 will focus on Earth, Wind and Fire's second album on Warner Brothers, The Need of Love. Yeah, I've got a lot in store for you. I'm so excited. so hang around and watch those episodes, listen to them in the weeks ahead. Now, one caveat: keep in mind that there may be special or unanticipated events that may lead to changes in the schedule. That I just outlined. I hope you enjoy and learn from each episode. I truly learn and enjoy presenting them to you. And I'd get some good comments. I'd like to get some more feedback as well. before we close out this episode, a few reminders subscribe to the podcast on YouTube. Just hit that subscribe button, and you'll receive each episode when I publish them. I usually do them on Friday mornings, sometimes Saturday mornings. Subscriptions are free, they don't cost you anything. Also, follow each episode's unique playlist on Spotify. You can listen to the episode right there on Spotify, and right below you'll see about 10 or so songs that all are specific to that particular episode. As a former DJ, remember, I got the face for radio, I love picking out songs for my audience. So please check out the playlist on Spotify. And I hope you're enjoying as I am. Earth Wind and Fire channel. They've taken over The Groove. That's Channel 51. And we're hearing lots of Earth Wind and Fire songs. I'm hearing some that rarely been played on the radio. From all their albums, from now until the end of the month, check out the Earth Wind and Fire channel on Sirius I don't necessarily want to do a promotion, but it's it's our band. they don't only just play Earth Wind and Fire songs, they they mix And some other songs as well channel 51, serious, earth, wind, and fire channel. And then you get some little insights from the three current band members, Ralph Johnson, Philip Bailey, and of course Verdine White. And you learned a few things. Not as much as you learn on this podcast, but you learn a few things. But you enjoy the music in their entirety. send me an email at T-R-A-C-K-I-N-G-E-W-F-N-R-N-F-N- at gmail.com. Please send me your comments, whether they're good, bad, or indifferent. I'd really love to hear from you. And I will write back. And lastly, I want to talk about a comment that I do get, and I really truly appreciate the positive response. I can't take a lot of credit for it, but it's in response to the opening and closing music that you hear on the podcast. Well that music was produced By the award-winning songwriter and producer D. Mile, who happens to be my nephew. I ain't bragging, cause it's true. D. Mile is from Brooklyn, and yes, I met him through My Queen, so he's my nephew. I wish I had gotten some of his talent. his first production credits were back in 2005. On the albums, Music of the Sun, I have that, by Rihanna. I have to CD actually, and The Breakthrough by Mary J. Blige. So after that, D began working under the wing of Rodney Darkchild Jerkins. And here are just a few of his many, many musical accomplishments. So with D Miles' 2020 nomination for seven Grammy Awards, seven. through his production work for H E R her and Lucky Day. One of his main partners, he became the first songwriter in Grammy history to win Song of the Year for not one but two consecutive years. First in 2021 as co-writer on H.E.R. Hers song I Can't Breathe. And in 2022 for Silksonic's Leave the Door Open. You like that slow jam, huh? Well, D, as we call him, also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. For co-writing the song Fight For You from the film, you may remember this film, Judas and the Black Messiah. And recently, his work includes hits like Leave the Door Open with Silk Sonic, Lady Gaga, and Bruno Mars Die with a Smile, and Bruno Mars's hit I Just Might. So that's D Mile. In some of his many accomplishments. I'm both grateful and honored that he is the man behind the music on this podcast. And although he's a bit shy and soft spoken, like Maurice White, he promised me that he will appear on this podcast in the very near future. He's he does a lot of traveling, as you would expect. And he's also been in the studio with Verdine White. So we're gonna talk about that and some of the other things as well in the podcast. before we close with the music of D Mile. You know what to do.