With some ninety million records sold and eight Grammy awards over the course of its forty-year history, Earth, Wind & Fire has staked its claim as one of the most successful, influential, and beloved acts of our time. In Shining Star its brilliant lead singer, Philip Bailey, one of the greatest voices in popular music, chronicles his professional and spiritual journey from his origins as an aspiring Denver percussionist to his being recruited to join EWF, the band's meteoric rise to stardom, and its breaking up and triumphant reinvention.
Never before had a group crossed so many styles and genres as Earth, Wind & Fire when it exploded into the public's consciousness in the 1970s. Its charismatic founder, Maurice White, and Philip Bailey, with his soaring multi-octave range and distinctive falsetto, were two remarkable musical talents who produced a landmark series of platinum and gold albums and headlined stadium shows around the world. Those shows became the ultimate sensory experience, with their dramatic staging, shimmering costumes, elaborate choreography, and feats of magic.
But while White and Bailey's relentless work ethic shot the band into the stratosphere, it also exhausted and emotionally gutted the group. Bailey himself eventually hit the wall when faced with the ongoing pressures of fame and touring, and in 1983 White abruptly disbanded the group. Though Bailey scored a massive worldwide hit with a duet with Phil Collins on 'Easy Lover,' it marked the beginning of a long period of struggle and reassessment, until finally, later that decade, Earth, Wind & Fire reunited and eventually achieved a newfound success with several generations of music lovers.
Shining Star is the story of what happens when real life exceeds your dreams, when the power and pain of building a lasting musical legacy brings both joy and faith-testing challenges.
