Interview with Verdine White from Earth, Wind & Fire

Q: How did growing up in Chicago help you as a musician?

Verdine: Without question, being from Chicago, one of the best things you could do. There was so much good stuff going on in Chicago. A lot of music; Chess Records, Nightclubs, things like that, it was a great thing for a young person.

Q: How did you and Maurice come up with the idea of Earth, Wind & Fire?

Verdine: Well, he did actually. He was the one who really came up with the whole concept of EWF, ya know? Putting EWF together. Starting with the band, we could do all kinds of different things. I got to be in the group, because I hung around a lot with Maurice and his guys, and when he was ready to make the move in April 1970, I followed him and joined him later on in June 1970.

Q: Who are your influences?

Verdine: So many, you know? You have Motown, you have Chess Records. On bass guitar, you have the late Louis Satterfield, who’s the bass guitar player from Chess Records, and he played on all those records with Maurice. He was also my teacher. I have a lot of good influences.

Q: How does it feel being one of the top bass players in music of all time?

Verdine: It’s really an honor. I never thought that would ever happen. It’s a great honor.

Q: Also, how do you feel about Earth, Wind & Fire being legends of our time?

Verdine: That’s another thing that I didn’t know that was gonna happen.

Q: Why did you guys decide to release Now, Then & Forever? How did that come about?

Verdine: Well that album will be out in September. We feel really good about it. Our manager Damian Smith had the concert to put it together. Some of the older songs and doing some newer songs as well. So, we’re very excited about it.

Q: How did the song “Guiding Lights” come about, and how was the writing process for that song?

Verdine: Well, the writing process was great. It was written by Phillip Son, and it was produced by Neal Poe, who did all the Outkast albums. We’re really happy about that. It sounded really great. We’re actually doing more new songs now as well.

Q: You guys will be playing in June at Ravinia in Highland Park with the Symphony Orchestra. What made you guys want to do a tour with a symphony orchestra?

Verdine: Well, it started a couple years ago at the Hollywood Bowl. We did the Hollywood Bowl a couple years ago, and it did really well, so we decided we wanted to tour the country and perform with an orchestra. We did Dallas, we did Houston, and now we’re going to start with Chicago. The night before, we’re doing Detroit. Hopefully, by the time we get up there, it’ll be sold out, ya know?

Q: Of all the people you’ve collaborated with, who is your favorite and why?

Verdine: Oh wow, there’s so many, man. You can’t just pick one. We worked with Ramsey Lewis, Raphael Saadiq. Everybody’s just so great.

Q: If you can name 3 people, living or dead, who you’d love to collaborate with, who would they be and why?

Verdine: Miles Davis, because of his innovativeness, Duke Ellington, the musicality, and Jimi Hendrix. There would be more, but we’re doing only 3, ya know?

Q: What is your favorite song you’ve written?

Verdine: I do like “Fantasy.” It’s one of my favorites.

Q: What’s next for Earth, Wind & Fire?

Verdine: Well, it’s gonna be a lot of fun at the concerts. We can’t wait to release the new album, and it’s gonna be great. We’re just looking forward to the future.