A Shining Star Eclipsed (6)

After Head To The Sky (1973) Maurice convinced Stepney to come aboard as associate producer, arranger and writing contributor for their third CBS album Open Your Eyes in 1974. Over the next few years Stepney would be instrumental in defining Earth Wind & Fire's distinctive sound which led to their immense success in the late seventies. Considering this its amazing to find even that input has been largely ignored. (Though the situation was possibly not helped by the fact his contribution to production was not acknowledged until 1976. Before then credits read 'An Earth Wind & Fire Production'.) Stepney's influence was immediate. Maurice explains, "He brought his classical training, mixed with jazz and gospel overtones, to our records. He brought a certain element of class to what we were doing." The initial single from the set, Mighty Mighty, became Earth Wind & Fire's first to enter the US Top 30 pop charts. The mystical and spiritual themes of Maurice's lyrics, like those on Devotion and the title track again drawing strong parallels to those of Rotary Connection. Stepney took full advantage of Phillip Bailey's falsetto range, bring close harmonies to the fore, particularly on Caribou (the name of the ranch where they recorded the album). The song pioneered a Brazilian influenced style they would use again that year on Sun Goddess, a collaboration with another old chess mate Ramsey Lewis which became his biggest single in nine years.

In 1975 Sig Shore, the director responsible for the Blaxplotation movie Superfly, asked the band to both appear in and score the film That's The Way Of The World. Though the film quickly vanished without trace, the soundtrack album quickly took on a life of its own. This time Stepney brought grand orchestration, bringing lush strings to stunning ballads like the title song⁷ and the classic Reasons, both of which he co-wrote. To their fluid funk he brought tight brass arrangements, flawless vocal harmonies and a heightened sensed of spell binding melodies, as with Yearnin' Learnin' and Shining Star which made number 1 in both the US pop and R&B charts. Stepney's mix of soul, pop, gospel, funk and jazz had finally found an audience. The phenomenal success of the album, double-platinum sales, quickly turned EWF into one of the most successful black bands of the seventies. They sent ripples throughout soul, funk and jazz funk as the band everyone wanted to be, the sound everyone wanted to emulate. 'Gratitude' soon followed, predominately a live double album with four new studio recordings including Sing A Song and another classic mid-tempo ballad, You Can't Hide Love. Again it achieved double-platinum status.

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