That's the Way of the World
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''That's the Way of the World'' is the sixth studio album by American band
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million reco ...
, released on March 15, 1975 by Columbia Records. It was also the soundtrack for a 1975 motion picture of the same name. The album rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Soul Albums charts. ''That's the Way of the World'' has also been certified Triple Platinum in the U.S by the RIAA. In 2002, the band released live version of the album, recorded in 1975 – '' That's the Way of the World: Alive in '75''.


Overview

''That's the Way of the World'' was produced by both EWF leader Maurice White and
Charles Stepney Charles Stepney (March 26, 1931– May 17, 1976) was an American record producer, arranger, songwriter and musician. Stepney is noted for his work with artists such as The Dells, Ramsey Lewis, Rotary Connection and Earth, Wind & Fire. Career He ...
. The album spent three weeks atop the
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of ar ...
chart. That's the Way of the World also stayed on top of the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart for five weeks altogether.


Singles

The single, " Shining Star", reached number one on both the '' Billboard'' Hot 100 and
Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
charts. "Shining Star" went on to win a
Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ma ...
. The album's
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...
reached No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 12 on the ''Hot 100'' chart.


Critical reception

Stephen Curwood of the
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
said "these guys are great and this is a sound you shouldn't miss".
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
exclaimed "Earth, Wind & Fire turn their multi-voiced big soul sound loose on eight solid numbers". Daryl Easlea of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
wrote "Seen as a meditation on the rules of living, the album is nothing less than a spiritual soul masterpiece." He added "leader Maurice White synthesised all the elements of the group so far – straight-up funk, African mysticism, jazz and sublime balladry, and made a brief, focused album." Chris Albertson of
Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. ...
described the band's performance as a "disco delight" and the recording itself as "excellent". Alex Henderson of
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
noted That's the Way of the World is "EWF's crowning achievement". Gordon Fletcher of
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
said "Lousy production works to this LP's detriment — Maurice White has surprisingly chosen to have the entire album sound hot." Fletcher added "Great tunes (particularly the dynamic "Africano") and great musicianship are not what this one lacks — hopefully the next time out White will be able to tone things down accordingly in the places where a little under-statement is appropriate." LA Weekly called the LP "Serious romantic music to wear silk bellbottom slacks to." Clarence Page of the
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
wrote "Their new album 'That's the Way of the World' olumbia exploits the moods, if not the explosive instrumental power, that made their last platter ' Open Our Eyes,' a smash hit." Robert Christgau of the
Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
found that "Here ethnomusicology and colloquial homiletics are tacked onto the funk and soul and doowop and jazz, which makes for an instructive contrast -the taped-in-Africa Matepe Ensemble, whose spontaneous laughter closes out the coda, versus Maurice White, whose humorless platitutdes prove there's more to roots than turning a
mbira Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
into an ersatz
vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist ...
."
Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
also proclaimed "That's the Way of the World coursed effortlessly through a myriad of genres, from rock to jazz to funk to heavy African influences". ''That's the Way of the World'' was nominated in 1975 and 1976 for an
American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produ ...
for Favorite Soul/R&B Album. EWF also won a Rock Music Award for ''That's the Way of the World'' in the category of Best Rhythm and Blues Album.earthwindandfire.com/bio_awards
 During 2004 That's the Way of the World was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
. In 2012 ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' placed the album at 486 on its list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...
, calling it "make-out music of the gods".Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone – Special Collectors Issue – The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. For the 2020 update of the list, the album's rank climbed to number 420.


Track listing


Original issueEarth, Wind & Fire. “That’s the Way of the World”. Columbia. 1975.


Personnel

* Bass –
Verdine White Verdine Adams White (born July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time. Early l ...
* Conductor – Saini Murira (track 8) * Congas –
Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, ...
* Drums – Fred White, Maurice White, Ralph Johnson * Flute, Soprano saxophone,
Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...
– Andrew P. Woolfolk *
Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
–
Al McKay AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...
, Johnny Graham *
Kalimba Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
– Maurice White * Moog synthesizer,
Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
, Organ, All Keyboards –
Larry Dunn Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...
*
Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
– Al McKay, Fred White, Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Verdine White * Additional Saxophone – Ernie Watts * Strings – Saini Murira & Matepe Ensemble (track 8) *
Trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...
–
George Bohanon George Roland Bohanon, Jr. (born August 7, 1937) is a jazz trombonist and session musician from Detroit, Michigan. In the early 1960s, he participated in Detroit's Workshop Jazz ensemble, with Johnny Griffith, Paula Greer, David Hamilton, Lefty ...
*
Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
– Oscar Brashear *
Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
– Maurice White, Philip Bailey, Verdine White


Production

* Producer – Maurice White (Original), Leo Sacks (Reissue) * Co-producer – Charles Stepney (Original) * Recording Engineer –
George Massenburg George Y. Massenburg (born Baltimore, Maryland c. 1947) is a Grammy award-winning recording engineer and inventor. Working principally in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Macon, Georgia, Massenburg is widely known for submitting a paper ...
(1-8), Curt Wittig (8) * Mixing – George Massenburg (1-8), Maurice White (9-13), Paul Klingberg (9-13), Leo Sacks (9-13) * Mixed at Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA). * Mastered at Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA). * Art Direction – Howard Fritzen * Design – Stephen Newman and Shusei Nagaoka * Photography –
Norman Seeff Norman Seeff (born March 5, 1939, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative ...
* Musical Arrangements – Earth, Wind & Fire and Charles Stepney


Charts and certifications


Charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to ''That's the Way of the World'' is adapted from acclaimedmusic.net, soultracks.com and rockhall.com.


See also

*
List of number-one albums of 1975 (U.S.) These are the ''Billboard'' magazine number-one albums of 1975, per the ''Billboard'' 200. Chart history See also *1975 in music *List of number-one albums (United States) References {{US Albums 1975 It was also declared the ''In ...
* List of number-one R&B albums of 1975 (U.S.) *
Billboard Year-End ''Billboard'' Year-End charts are cumulative rankings of entries in ''Billboard'' magazine charts in the United States in any given chart year. Several hundred Year-End charts are now published by ''Billboard'', the most important of which are t ...


References


External links


That's the Way of the World on discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:That's The Way Of The World Earth, Wind & Fire albums 1975 albums Albums produced by Maurice White Albums produced by Charles Stepney Columbia Records albums Columbia Records soundtracks Drama film soundtracks Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders