Denver native and lead singer of legendary Grammy and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame award-winning funk, soul, and R&B group Earth, Wind & Fire, Philip Bailey, recently talked with Colorado Matters Host Chandra Thomas Whitfield. The legendary band kicked off its 20-plus city tour now underway across North America with a show at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater in Greenwood Village over the Father’s Day 2025 weekend.
During the interview, Bailey agreed to answer questions from CPR listeners, covering everything from the band’s sound to his ties to a well-known musical family here in Colorado.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Chandra Thomas Whitfield: Philip, we here at Colorado Public Radio pride ourselves on being the voice of the community, so I did a little call-out asking folks on social media to share their burning questions for you. Let’s dive into a quick lightning round of Q&A.
Philip Bailey: Okay, I’m ready.
Whitfield: Alright, Holli wants to know: How did the lessons you learned at East High School in Denver help shape your career?
Bailey: I always share with people that East High School had a fantastic music program. At that time, I had Mr. Tag Lavo and choir teacher Miss Marian Padboy. They taught me a lot of great things that nowadays, you’d have to go to college to get.
Thomas Whitfield: I love teachers. Teachers are the best. Alright, Tim asks: Can you define the distinct Earth, Wind & Fire sound?
Bailey: I think Earth, Wind & Fire’s sound is like a great gumbo soup of … a mix of jazz, R&B, rock, pop, gospel, indigenous—whatever—all seasoned greatly and made commercial. It’s a blend of everything.
Thomas Whitfield: Denver-based singer-songwriter Joslyn Ford Keel, who performs under the name JoFoKe, says: Please tell us about your relationship with her uncle, fellow musician Winston Ford Jr.
Bailey: Oh, I got chills right then. Winston and I were like brothers. He was a fantastic singer and comedian. He left way too early, and it devastated me, but he passed his legacy on to all those other Fords in his family because there’s a whole bunch of them.
Thomas Whitfield: JoFoKe also wants to know: What was the music scene like in Denver during your childhood?
Bailey: There were a lot of really talented musicians and singers when we came up. I always tell people, I was just one of them because there were so many very, very talented folks around.
Thomas Whitfield: Bettina wants to know: How did you find your falsetto voice and why did you choose R&B as a musical genre?
Bailey: I found my falsetto by mimicking female vocalists like Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, and Dionne Warwick. I loved those songs and I didn’t really know it was falsetto until a vocal teacher came to one of my gigs and commented on it. I said, "Hmm, that’s what that is."
Thomas Whitfield: Wow, that's amazing. Terraine and her husband Winston say: There’s a heavy West African and Egyptian influence in your music. What inspired this? And now that Maurice White (the founder of Earth, WInd & Fire) has transitioned, who’s the spiritual leader of the group?
Bailey: Well, Maurice brought a lot of the Indigenous and Afro influences into the band. Coming from Chicago and Memphis, that was part of his training and mentorship. The kalimba, which is part of our sound, I still play that today. We still embrace Afrocentric music from all over the globe.
Thomas Whitfield: Marla asks: Did you get your start in the church, like so many others?
Bailey: I did. I got my start in the church early on and I was rummaging through my friend’s mother’s record collection as well.
Tomas Whitfield: Well, I’m going to add a question of my own. We recently lost Sly from Sly and the Family Stone. Any reflections you want to share about him?
Bailey: Of course. Sly was one of the great innovators of bringing all kinds of music together. What he did was magical. I ran in circles with him when I first moved out to Los Angeles. He’ll be sorely missed. A great legend.
Thomas Whitfield: Any special plans while you're visiting home in Denver?
Bailey: I do make it back as much as I can. I’m going to come back, hang out, play some golf and visit my friends and family.
Thomas Whitfield: From what I understand, there’s a documentary being made about Earth, Wind & Fire right now by Questlove from [the musical group] The Roots.
Bailey: Yes, that’s right! I’m expected to see the final cuts within the next couple of months. I’m really looking forward to it. It should be out sometime this year.
Thomas Whitfield: Well, I saw [the documentary] Summer of Soul, [also produced by Questlove] so I’m super pumped about seeing that. Any final words for the Colorado listeners out there? What do you want to say to your fans?
Bailey: I want to ask them to do something for me: Go to musicisunity.org and check out the foundation that benefits foster youth aging out of the system. Find out what we’re doing and get involved in your communities to support foster youth everywhere.
Thomas Whitfield: Philip Bailey, thanks so much for talking with us today. I’m sure I speak for many when I say that you and your Earth, Wind & Fire bandmates—past and present—are a national treasure.
