Columbia 33694
Producers: Maurice White, Joe Wissert and Charles Stepney
Track listing: Introduction / Medley: Africano / Power / Yearnin’ Learnin’ / Devotion / Sun Goddess / Reasons / Sing a Message to You / Shining Star / New World Symphony / Musical Interlude #1 / Sunshine / Singasong / Gratitude / Celebrate / Musical Interlude #2 / Can’t Hide Love
January 17, 1976
3 weeks
As the title suggests, Earth, Wind & Fire’s Gratitude was meant as a present for its fans. After five albums, the band experienced tremendous success with the 1975 release That’s the Way of the World and the single “Shining Star.” Gratitude, a two-record set released in late 1975, featured three sides of live material, plus a side of new studio tracks.
A live album made perfect sense for Earth, Wind & Fire at the time, says singer/percussionist Philip Bailey. “We had released Open Our Eyes and That’s the Way of the World and both of those records had become very big. We were playing those songs on the tour and when we performed them live, they took on a whole other characteristic. We were a hot live band, so it was the most logical thing to do in our career.”
Indeed, Earth, Wind & Fire emerged as one of the premiere live attractions in the music world by incorporating special effects usually reserved for huge rock acts, including stunts designed by magician Doug Henning. “We were big fans of theater,” Bailey says. “If people came to our shows, we wanted to give them more than just the songs. We began to add different things to the stage production. We were the first black group to do that, before the Jacksons and when a lot of that stuff became the standard. It was a trademark of Earth, Wind & Fire.”
While the visual part of Earth, Wind & Fire’s show became a big draw, the band never forgot about the music, as evidenced by Gratitude‘s sparkling live renditions of such hits as “Shining Star” and “Reasons.” The album was recorded during the band’s 1975 headlining arena tour of such cities as Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington.
Gratitude also included some new studio tracks, which Bailey says was just “good marketing sense. If you do a live album with a couple of new tracks on it that people haven’t heard, it gives them more incentive to go out and buy the album.” The songs also fit in with the “tour” feel of the album. “Those songs epitomized the feeling of being on the road and they were written on the road,” he says.
Among the new studio songs the title track and “Singasong,” was printed as one word on the jacket, but later broken into a the three word title when it was released as a single. On January 10, 1976, “Sing a Song” became Earth, Wind & Fire’s second Number One R&B single. A later, Gratitude hit Number One in its seventh week on the album chart. Not only did it represent EW&F’s second chart-topping album, it also set the stage for the success of other live Number One albums in the mid-’70s, including Peter Frampton’s Frampton Comes Alive!, [see 213], Wings Over America, Barry Manilow Live and Donna Summer’s Live and More, which even borrowed Gratitude‘s format of three live sides with a side of new studio material.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of January 17, 1976
1. Gratitude, Earth, Wind & Fire
2. Chicago IX — Chicago’s Greatest Hits, Chicago
3. History — America’s Greatest Hits, America
4. The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Joni Mitchell
5. Helen Reddy’s Greatest Hits, Helen Reddy