JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
PHILIP BAILEY
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Renowned most for his zestful falsetto, Philip Bailey appeared in the early 1970s as the four-octave counterpart to Maurice White in
Earth, Wind & Fire
the repeatedly multi-platinum, Grammy-winning band who elevated the art of performance to a spectacular level. In addition to singing and playing percussion,
Bailey co-wrote some of EW&F's earliest hits, including "Evil" and "Shining Star," and by the end of the '70s extended his reach into production. Concurrent
with the enduring EW&F, Bailey started a solo career in the early '80s that has roamed across R&B, jazz, gospel, and pop, illuminated by the number two
Billboard Hot 100 hit "Easy Lover" (1984), the Grammy-winning gospel recording Triumph (1986), and the singer's most adventurous work, Love Will Find a Way (2019),
which topped Billboard's jazz chart the year EW&F celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Philip Irvin Bailey began singing in church as a child in his native Denver. He remained in his hometown for college, studying at Metropolitan State University and the University of Colorado. During this period, Bailey played in a band called Friends & Love. They opened for Earth, Wind & Fire, whose Maurice White consequently invited Bailey -- and eventually the singer and percussionist's bandmate, saxophonist Andrew Woolfolk -- to be part of his group's overhauled lineup. Bailey joined in time to cut the third EW&F album, Last Days and Time (1972), and took on a greater role in the following Head to the Sky (1973), co-writing "Evil" and fronting "Keep Your Head to the Sky," the band's first two singles to peak within the Top 25 of the R&B chart. Bailey became an integral component of EW&F, an electrifying live act with remarkably consistent commercial and critical success. From the mid-'70s through the early '80s, Bailey co-wrote and was showcased on some of their signature songs, including the Top 40 pop hit "Devotion" and the number one pop and R&B single "Shining Star," which went gold and won the band their first Grammy for Best R&B Performance. Furthermore, Bailey co-wrote and fronted "Reasons," a show stopper rivaled only by the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark" as the era's finest, well-known ballad not released as an A-side. During intermittent breaks in touring and recording, Bailey participated in numerous jazz and R&B sessions for other artists, frequently with his bandmates, writing, arranging, singing, and playing percussion in varying combinations. Most significantly, he was at the fore of Ramsey Lewis' "Sun Goddess," a number 20 R&B hit, and he led Paulinho Da Costa's EWF-spirited "Deja Vu," a deep gem that didn't receive the promotional push it deserved. Fledgling acts Free Life, Dazz Band precursor Kinsman Dazz, and Splendor were produced by Bailey during this time, too. Earth, Wind & Fire's long-term home label, Columbia, offered Bailey a solo deal, and in 1983 the singer made his debut as a headliner with the George Duke-produced Continuation. The album reached number 19 on the R&B chart, supported by "I Know," a number ten hit on the corresponding singles chart. The singer branched out again the next year with his first gospel recording for the Myrrh/Word family, The Wonders of His Love, and also returned to Columbia and the pop-R&B market with Chinese Wall, produced by Phil Collins. Chinese Wall became Bailey's most successful solo LP. It peaked at number ten on the Billboard 200 with help from the Collins duet "Easy Lover," a crossover smash that reached the third and second positions on the R&B and pop charts. Bailey soon had Grammy nominations in three fields. The Wonders of His Love was nominated for Best Inspirational Performance. Chinese Wall and "Easy Lover" were respectively up for Best R&B Performance and Best Pop Performance. Bailey issued albums in multiple idioms again in 1986 with the mostly self-produced Triumph (for Word/Horizon) and Inside Out (for Columbia). The former earned Bailey a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance. For the latter, a Top 30 R&B entry, Bailey worked closely with Nile Rodgers and was aided by the likes of Duke, Collins, and Ray Parker, Jr. A third charting religious LP, Family Affair, closed out the decade, by which point Bailey's name could be spotted on sleeves of albums by Deniece Williams, Kenny Loggins, Stevie Wonder, and Nancy Wilson. Bailey continued to balance solo and group activity throughout the '90s and into the following decade. In 1992, he was part of the star-filled ensemble that met for Pride of Lions, a categorization-defying session arranged and conducted by James Mack. From 1994 through the decade's end, Bailey added three albums (on as many labels) to his solo discography. First was the contemporary R&B-oriented Philip Bailey, co-executive produced by Mack with input from Chuckii Booker, Brian McKnight, and P.M. Dawn. Three years later -- after Maurice White retired from touring, making Bailey the on-stage leader of EWF -- the singer resumed his solo career with Life and Love, containing collaborations with Incognito's Jean-Paul Maunick and Graham Harvey. Bailey then inched more toward jazz on Dreams, a 1999 release with versions of "The Masquerade Is Over" and Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays' "Something to Remind You." Soul on Jazz followed in 2002 and was even more jazz-oriented with updates of compositions such as "Compared to What," "Nature Boy," and "Tell Me a Bedtime Story." Highlighted by inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2000) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010), Earth, Wind & Fire collected numerous honors as they remained a steady live draw and released a few more albums during the next couple decades. In 2019, the year the band hit the half-century mark, Bailey also released his 11th solo album. Issued on Verve, Love Will Find a Way saw him alternate between originals and interpretations with a multi-generational cast of jazz musicians -- Chick Corea, Robert Glasper, and Kamasi Washington among it. The expansive recording entered Billboard's Jazz Albums chart at the top. -- Andy Kellman of All Music Guide. |
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1983 Continuation | |||
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01. I Know 02. Trapped 03. It's Our Time 04. Desire |
05. I'm Waiting For Your Love 06. Vaya (Go With Love) 07. The Good Guy's Supposed To Get The Girls 08. Your Boyfriend's Back | ||
1984 The Wonders of His Love | |||
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01. I Will No Wise Cast You Out 02. I Want To Know You 03. God Is Love 04. Sing A New Song 05. Save In God's Love |
06. I Am Gold 07. He Don't Lie 08. The Wonders Of His Love 09. Make Us One | ||
1984 Chinese Wall | |||
| 01. Photogenic Memory 02. I Go Crazy 03. Walking On The Chinese Wall 04. For Every Heart That's Been Broken 05. Go |
06. Easy Lover (Duet) 07. Show You The Way To Love 08. Time Is A Woman 09. Woman 10. Children Of The Ghetto | ||
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1986 Triumph | |||
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01. All Soldiers 02. Thank You 03. The Love Of God 04. Marvellous 05. The Same Way You've Always Been |
06. The Other Side 07. Bring It To Jesus 08. Triumph 09. Come Before His Presence | ||
1986 Inside Out | |||
| 01. Welcome To The Club 02. State Of The Heart 03. Long Distance Love 04. Echo My Heart 05. Don't Leave Me Baby |
06. Special Effect 07. Because Of You 08. Back It Up 09. Take This With You 10. The Day Will Come | ||
1989 Family Affair | |||
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01. This Is How The Work Gets Done 02. Family Affair 03. No Compromise 04. Lonely Broken Hearted People 05. Oasis |
06. Where Can I Go 07. Let's Talk About Jesus 08. Love That Lasts 09. Call To War 10. Lord You Reign | ||
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1994 Philip Bailey | |||
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01. Stay Right Here 02. Just Like Summer 03. Here With Me 04. A Diamond Just Like You 05. I'm Ready 06. Love Me Tonight |
07. I Won't Open My Arm 08. Crazy Things You Do For Love 09. Live It Up 10. Yours 11. Call Me 12. Something's Missing | ||
1998 Life and Love | |||
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01. How Can I Rely On You 02. Anything Is Possible 03. Tonight 04. Weightless 05. Someway, Somehow 06. Down 07. Talking To Myself 08. Caution To The Wind 09. Steppin' Through Time |
10. Life And Love 11. Feining For Your Love 12. All Night Waiting 13. Bailés' Song 14. Shower Me With Your Love Bonus Track 01. How Can I Rely On You (Love To Infinity's Soulmaster Radio Mix) | ||
1999 Dreams | |||
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01. Waiting For The Rain 02. Moondance 03. Dream Like I Do 04. Something 05. Make It With You |
06. Sail Away 07. Masquerade Is Over 08. Are We Doing Better Now 09. Something To Remind You 10. Strength To Love You | ||
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2002 Soul on Jazz | |||
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01. My Indiscretions 02. Dear Ruby 03. Compared To What 04. Nature Boy 05. Bop-Skip-Doodle 06. Unrestrained |
07. Mercy Mercy Mercy 08. Keep Your Head To The Sky 09. Sometime Ago 10. Tell Me A Bedtime Story 11. On The Red Clay | ||
2019 Love Will Find a Way | |||
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01. Billy Jack 02. You're Everything 03. We're A Winner 04. Stairway To The Stars 05. Brooklyn Blues |
06. Once In A Lifetime 07. Just To Keep You Satisfied 08. Sacred Sounds 09. Long As You're Living 10. Love Will Find A Way | ||
