Earth, Wind & Fire guitarist Sheldon Reynolds died at 63 this week, leaving behind a legacy with one of the best-selling groups of all time.
The band, formed by Maurice White in Chicago in 1969, combines elements of jazz, funk, R&B, soul, dance, pop and rock.
With numerous gold and platinum certifications, Earth, Wind & Fire has won six Grammys, including a Grammy lifetime achievement award, and has sold more than 90 million albums.
In 1975, the group’s sixth studio album “That’s the Way of the World” went triple platinum and put the band in another level of stardom.
EARTH, WIND & FIRE FOUNDER MAURICE WHITE DEAD AT 74
Reynolds joined the band as a guitarist and singer in 1987 and stayed with the group until 2002.
“Sheldon was an excellent addition to the band, a great writer and producer, and a kind, loving person,” current band member and singer Philip Bailey wrote on social media following the news of his death. “He will be missed. Our condolences to his family.”
The band is Columbia Records’ bestselling R&B band of all time and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Their ubiquitous No. 1 hit “September” — among the group’s most well-known songs like “Let’s Groove” and “Shining Star” — was released in 1978 and also helps boost the group’s sales every year on the 21st of that month because of its opening line: “Do you remember, the 21st night of September?”
Digital streams and downloads of the 1978 groove have skyrocketed on that date in recent years, which has become an unofficial celebration of the band, often referred to as #EarthWindAndFireDay, on social media.
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In 2020, streams and downloads went up nearly 250% on Sept. 21, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, Billboard reported. In 2019, the song spiked 265% and in 2018, it went up 279%.
In 2014, songwriter Allee Willis, who co-wrote “September” with White and fellow Earth, Wind and Fire member Al McKay, told NPR there’s “no significance” to the 21st of September.
“We went through all the dates: ‘Do you remember the first, the second, the third, the fourth … ‘ and the one that just felt the best was the 21st,” she explained. “I constantly have people coming up to me, and they get so excited to know what the significance was. And there is no significance beyond it just sang better than any of the other dates. So … sorry!”
Even in 2023, the band is making waves with a North American summer tour planned alongside Lionel Richie and a Las Vegas residency set to start this October at the Venetian Resort.
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The band also lost another member earlier this year with the death of drummer Fred White, Maurice White’s brother, in January at the age of 67. Maurice White died in 2016.