Live Memories (15) - Earth, Wind & Fire in 1979

I think the first time I became aware of disco music was in 1975 with Van McCoy's "The Hustle." It stayed at the top of the hit charts for a long time. I remember watching the 1978 film "Saturday Night Fever" starring John Travolta at the movie theater with my friends. Honestly, I had my doubts about the quality of the film, but the Bee Gees' songs stuck in my head.

Songs by groups like Kool & the Gang and KC and the Sunshine Band were also played often on the radio, but the group that felt like a big deal to us was Earth, Wind & Fire (hereinafter EW&F).

In 1977, EW&F released their ninth album "All 'N All". EW&F had already reached number one on the album charts in the United States, but I think their popularity in Japan was established with this work (reaching 14th on the Oricon charts). The fact that the cover art was drawn by the Japanese artist Shusei Nagaoka also became a hot topic.

The singles "Serpentine Fire" and "Fantasy" were also played frequently in Japan. Then, in 1978, EW&F released a greatest hits album, and a song included on it that was also released as a single was "September." It became a staple disco song at the time, and I imagine many people still know it today.

It was under these circumstances that they made their first visit to Japan in 1979. I went to the show on April 3rd at the Osaka Koseinenkin Hall, just as I was entering my third year of high school.

The cover of "All 'N All" featured a pyramid, and EW&F's live shows at the time were famous for their spectacular production, which included setting up this pyramid on stage, using laser beams, and incorporating the pyramid into the performance along with the music.

EW&F was centered around the twin vocals of band leader Maurice White and Philip Bailey. I remember being deeply moved by how Bailey's falsetto was surprisingly beautiful and clear, thinking, "I can't believe someone can sing like that!"

I don't remember the fine details, but fortunately, the Nippon Budokan performance of this Japan tour was broadcast on NHK's "Young Music Show," and that footage has been uploaded to YouTube.

Watching it again, Maurice White is amazing. Not just his singing, but his leadership as a band leader and his ability to get the audience excited. The groove of the performance was also incredible, and I am struck once again by what an extraordinary stage show I experienced.

Maurice's younger brother, Verdine White, also had an amazing bass solo, and in the end, he played while floating in the air! During the climax of the show, while "Getaway" was being played, you can also see in the footage the production where the members move from the stage into the pyramid. In the end, the pyramid flies off... yes, that's right, that's what it was like.

I remember the finale well. As mentioned earlier, despite being a new song released the previous year, "September" had already become a huge hit for EW&F. I feel like the audience was waving their hands during the chorus even back then.

We were all pumped up by the festival-like EW&F stage, but it was finally the year we had to seriously focus on university entrance exams, so we had to step away from live concerts for a while.

As an aside, Tatsuro Yamashita's "Sunday Song Book" which I mentioned yesterday. It's usually a program that plays cult songs, but this time it was a special request feature for "classic songs" that everyone knows. While requests were scattered across various songs, "September" was the song that received an exceptionally large number of postcards, so they played it.


*Live Memories (14) is here