I Am (Earth, Wind & Fire album)
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Yahoo Music | (favorable) link |
| Music Hound | link |
| Warr.org |  link |
| Sputnikmusic | link |
| Billboard Magazine | (favorable)[2] |
| Smash Hits | (favorable)[3] |
I Am is the ninth studio album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on June 9, 1979 on CBS Records. The album features the singles "Boogie Wonderland" with The Emotions and "After the Love Has Gone". I Am has been certified double platinum in the US by the RIAA and platinum in the UK and in Canada by the British Phonographic Industry and Music Canada.[4][5][6]
Reception
"After The Love Has Gone" won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus and "Boogie Wonderland" also won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. "After The Love Has Gone" and an instrumental version of Boogie Wonderland also garnered Grammy nominations for Record Of The Year and Best Disco Recording respectively. Bandleader Maurice White was also Grammy nominated for Producer of the Year.[7]
"Wait" was sampled on Talib Kweli's track "Ghetto Show", which featured Common and Anthony Hamilton. It was included on his 2004 album The Beautiful Struggle.[8]
Track listing
Original release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In the Stone" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Can't Let Go" | Bill Meyers, Maurice White, Allee Willis | 3:28 |
| 3. | "After the Love Has Gone" | David Foster, Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Let Your Feelings Show" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 5:24 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Boogie Wonderland" (feat. The Emotions) | Jon Lind, Allee Willis | 4:48 |
| 6. | "Star" | Eddie Del Barrio, Maurice White, Allee Willis | 4:23 |
| 7. | "Wait" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Rock That!" | Maurice White, David Foster | 3:07 |
| 9. | "You and I" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 3:34 |
2004 Reissue
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In the Stone" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Can't Let Go" | Bill Meyers, Maurice White, Allee Willis | 3:28 |
| 3. | "After the Love Has Gone" | David Foster, Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin | 4:38 |
| 4. | "Let Your Feelings Show" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 5:12 |
| 5. | "Boogie Wonderland" (feat. The Emotions) | Jon Lind, Allee Willis | 4:48 |
| 6. | "Star" | Eddie Del Barrio, Maurice White, Allee Willis | 4:23 |
| 7. | "Wait" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 3:39 |
| 8. | "Rock That!" | Maurice White, David Foster | 3:07 |
| 9. | "You and I" | Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Diana" | Maurice White, David Foster | 4:08 |
| 11. | "Dirty (Interlude) (White)" | Maurice White | 0:52 |
| 12. | "Dirty (Junior's Juke)" | Maurice White, Alexander Dutkewych | 3:44 |
Unreleased Tracks
Two songs that were recorded during the I Am sessions—"September" and "Love Music"—were included on The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 in 1978. Two other tracks ("Diana" and "Dirty") were recorded during the I Am sessions but not released at the time; these were included on the 2004 reissue of the album. "Dirty" and another unreleased song recorded in the I Am sessions entitled "Where Do We Go From Here?" were re-recorded for EWF's 2003 album The Promise.
Uses in other media
"Let Your Feelings Show" was featured in the Fame episode "Heritage".[10]
"In the Stone" was used in the 2002 movie Drumline.[11]
"In the Stone" was also the opening theme from the Brazilian TV show from SBT, Porta da Esperança, hosted by Silvio Santos.
"In the Stone" was performed by Rickey Minor and The Tonight Show Band on June 7, 2010, during Minor's first night as the show's bandleader.
"In the Stone" was used as the opening theme for the ATN-7 Sydney "Midday At The Movies" program around 1982.
"In the Stone" was used in the opening credits for the Swedish TV-comedy Lorry.
"In the Stone" was used for the opening of its newscasts on KLAS-TV in Las Vegas from 1979 to 1981.
"Rock That" was used for the opening of its telecasts of the Los Angeles Dodgers on flagship KTTV Channel 11 during the early to mid 1980s.
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Pop Albums | 3 |
| Black Albums | 1 |
| Year | Chart | Position[12] |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | United Kingdom | 5 |
| Year | Single | Chart positions[13][14] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B | US Dance | UK Singles | ||
| 1979 | "Boogie Wonderland" (featuring The Emotions) | 6 | 2 | 14 | 4 |
| "After the Love Has Gone" | 2 | 2 | - | 4 | |
| "In the Stone" | 58 | 23 | - | 53 | |
| "Star" | 64 | 47 | - | 16 | |
| "Can't Let Go" | - | - | - | 46 | |
Performers
- The Emotions - additional backing vocals (Track 5)
- Bass - Verdine White
- Cello - Daniel Smith, Delores Bing, Jacqueline Lustgarten, Jan Kelley, John Walz, Kevan Torfeh, Larry Corbett, Miguel Martinez
- Drums - Fred White
- French horn - Barbara Korn, Marilyn Robinson, Richard Perissi, Sidney Muldrow
- Guitar - Al McKay, Johnny Graham, Marlo Henderson, Sir Alexander Dutkewych (writer & harp, on "Dirty"), Steve Lukather
- Harp - Dorothy Jeanne Ashby
- Keyboards - Billy Myers, David Foster, Eddie Del Barrio
- Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa, Ralph Johnson
- Piano, Oberheim and Moog synthesizers - Larry Dunn
- Saxophone - Fred Jackson, Jr., Herman Riley, Jerome Richardson
- Alto, tenor and baritone saxophones - Don Myrick
- Tenor saxophone - Andrew Woolfolk
- Timpani - Richard Lepore
- Trombone - Benjamin Powell, William Reichenbach, Garnett Brown, George Bohanon, Louis Satterfield, Maurice Spears
- Trumpet - Bobby Bryant, Jerry Hey, Michael Harris, Oscar Brashear, Rahmlee Michael Davis, Steve Madaio
- Viola - James Ross, Laurie Woods, Linda Lipsett, Marilyn Baker, Rollice Dale, Virginia Majewski
- Violin - Anton Sen, Sherman Bryana, Carl LaMagna, Cynthia Kovaks, Gina Kronstadt, Haim Shtrum, Harris Goldman, Henry Ferber, Henry Roth, Ilkka Talvi, Jack Gootkin, Jerome Reisler, Jerome Webster, Joseph Goodman, Joseph Livoti, Judith Talvi, Leeana Sherman, Marcy Dicterow, Pamela Gates, Pavel Farkas, Ronald Clarck, Rosmen Torfeh, Sheldon Sanov, William Henderson
- Vocals, congas, percussion - Philip Bailey
- Vocals, drums, kalimba - Maurice White
Production
- Design by Roger Carpenter
- Illustration by Shusei Nagaoka
- Mastered by Michael Reese
- Engineer - Tom Perry
- Assistant Engineers - Craig Widby, Ross Pallone
- Engineer and Mixed by George Massenburg
- Synthesizer programming by Steven Porcaro
- Concertmaster - Janice Gower
- Producer - Maurice White, Phillip Bailey[15]
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to I Am is adapted from acclaimedmusic.net[16]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide | U.K | 100 Soul Albums Everyone Should Own | 2001 | 33 |
| Melody Maker | U.K | Albums of the Year | 1979 | 8 |
| NME | U.K | Albums of the Year | 1979 | 16 |
See also
References
- ^ "Rock On The Net: Earth, Wind & Fire". Rock On The Net. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
- ^ review
- ^ White, Cliff. "Albums". Smash Hits (July 26 – August 8, 1979): 25.
- ^ Music Canada certification for I Am
- ^ RIAA Certification for I AM
- ^ British Phonographic Industry Certification for I AM
- ^ Grammy awards and nominations on earthwindandfire.com
- ^ Earth, Wind & Fire music sampled by others
- ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire - I Am". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
- ^ Maurice White on allmusic.com
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303933/soundtrack
- ^ "I Am". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
- ^ Allmusic (Earth, Wind & Fire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)
- ^ Chartstats.com - UK Album and Singles Database for Earth, Wind & Fire
- ^ I Am on allmusic.com
- ^ I Am on acclaimedmusic.net
