Raise!
Encyclopedia
Raise! is the eleventh studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire
, produced by the band's leader Maurice White
for Kalimba Productions, and released in 1981 on ARC/Columbia Records. Raise! has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA. Raise! was the bestselling R&B album of 1982. The album featured the #1 R&B and # 3 Pop hit "Let's Groove
". The single "Wanna Be With You
" won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group
. It also marked the return of Roland Bautista
on guitar, last heard from on 1972's Last Days and Time
.
describes Raise! as a reflection of "street-gritty black pop" and that on "Let's Groove
" and the fast, cutting "Lady Sun", the horn section screams like a car running a red light" and music critic Robert Christgau
says that on the album (EWF) "felt a show of strength was due".
.
The front cover of Raise! features a presumed Egyptian female figure. The name of the band is present on the front cover, but the title is not.
On the back cover there is an illustration of a female figure in a sarcophagus
, which is also divided into a purple left side and a blue right side. The sarcophagus appears to be hypermodern. The title of the LP is presented in the top left corner of the back cover.
Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
, produced by the band's leader Maurice White
Maurice White
Maurice White is a Grammy Award–winning American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger. He is the older brother of Verdine White and Fred White and the leader and founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire...
for Kalimba Productions, and released in 1981 on ARC/Columbia Records. Raise! has been certified platinum in the US by the RIAA. Raise! was the bestselling R&B album of 1982. The album featured the #1 R&B and # 3 Pop hit "Let's Groove
Let's Groove
"Let's Groove" is a 1981 song from the album Raise! by the R&B act Earth, Wind & Fire. The song peaked at #3 in the U.S. and in the UK. It also spent eight weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in late-1981/early-1982 and was the second R&B song of 1982 on the year end charts...
". The single "Wanna Be With You
Wanna Be With You
"Wanna Be With You" is a song by R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire which was written by Maurice White and Wayne Vaughn and produced by Maurice White. Included on the band's 1981 album, Raise! it was released as a single in 1982....
" won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo Or Group
Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1970 and 2011. From 1967 to 1969 and in 1971 the award included instrumental performances...
. It also marked the return of Roland Bautista
Roland Bautista
Roland Bautista is a guitar player who has played in the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and also with Tom Waits.-Career:Bautista played on the EWF album Last Days and Time and left the band soon after the album's release....
on guitar, last heard from on 1972's Last Days and Time
Last Days and Time
Last Days and Time is the third studio album by American R&B group Earth, Wind & Fire, released in 1972 on Columbia Records. It was recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, California.- Track listing :- Personnel :...
.
Critical reception
Ken Tucker of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
describes Raise! as a reflection of "street-gritty black pop" and that on "Let's Groove
Let's Groove
"Let's Groove" is a 1981 song from the album Raise! by the R&B act Earth, Wind & Fire. The song peaked at #3 in the U.S. and in the UK. It also spent eight weeks at number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart in late-1981/early-1982 and was the second R&B song of 1982 on the year end charts...
" and the fast, cutting "Lady Sun", the horn section screams like a car running a red light" and music critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
says that on the album (EWF) "felt a show of strength was due".
Track listing
Cover art
The album art was designed by Roger Carpenter and Raise! was illustrated by Shusei NagaokaShusei Nagaoka
is a Japanese illustrator. He is best known for his music album cover art in the 1970s and 1980s. Artists for whom he illustrated covers include Electric Light Orchestra; Earth, Wind & Fire; Caldera, and Pure Prairie League.-Selected work:...
.
The front cover of Raise! features a presumed Egyptian female figure. The name of the band is present on the front cover, but the title is not.
On the back cover there is an illustration of a female figure in a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
, which is also divided into a purple left side and a blue right side. The sarcophagus appears to be hypermodern. The title of the LP is presented in the top left corner of the back cover.
Charts
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Black Albums | 1 |
| Pop Albums | 5 |
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
11 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Let's Groove/I've Had Enough" | Club Play Singles | 3 |
| "Let's Groove" | Black Singles | 1 | |
| Pop Singles | 3 | ||
| "Wanna Be With You" | Black Singles | 15 | |
| Pop Singles | 51 |
Production
- Arranged By [Horns, Strings] - Billy Meyers
- Arranged By [Horns] - Jerry Hey
- Arranged By [Strings] - David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
- Artwork By [Design, Art Direction] - Mick GuzauskiMick GuzauskiMick Guzauski is a multi-platinum Mixing Engineer and sound engineer.Guzauski's work spans a wide range of styles, including jazz, R&B, Latin, rock, pop, and easy listening...
- Engineer - Ken Fowler, Ron Pendragon
- Engineer [Assistant] - Stephen McManus
- Engineer [Horn, String Overdubs], Mixed By - Mick Guzauski
- Engineer [Vocal Overdubs], Mixed By - Tom Perry
- Artwork By [Illustration] - Shusei NagaokaShusei Nagaokais a Japanese illustrator. He is best known for his music album cover art in the 1970s and 1980s. Artists for whom he illustrated covers include Electric Light Orchestra; Earth, Wind & Fire; Caldera, and Pure Prairie League.-Selected work:...
Performers
- Bass, Other [Production Assistant] - Verdine WhiteVerdine WhiteVerdine White is the bassist for Earth, Wind & Fire and the younger brother of fellow band member Maurice White. White is known for his high energy and dancing while playing his bass guitar during Earth, Wind & Fire concerts.-Early life:...
- Cello - Frederick Seykora, Jerome Kessler, Larry Corbett, Mary Louise Zeyen, Paula Hochhalter, Selene Burford
- Co-producer, Written By - Philip BaileyPhilip BaileyPhilip Irvin Bailey is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor, best known as one of the longtime members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Together with Verdine White, B. David Whitworth, and Ralph Johnson he forms the heart of the current EWF line-up on...
- Concertmaster - Assa Drori, James Getzoff
- Drums, Percussion - Fred White
- Guitar - Johnny Graham, Roland BautistaRoland BautistaRoland Bautista is a guitar player who has played in the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and also with Tom Waits.-Career:Bautista played on the EWF album Last Days and Time and left the band soon after the album's release....
- Keyboards - Billy Meyers, David Foster, Wayne Vaughn
- Piano, Synthesizer, Other [Production Assistant] - Larry DunnLarry DunnLarry Dunn is a keyboardist, musical director and one of the founding members of the music group Earth, Wind, & Fire. Dunn, along with other members of Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.-Career:...
- Saxophone - Tom Saviano
- Saxophone [Alto, Tenor] - Don MyrickDon MyrickDon Myrick was a saxophonist.He played alto, tenor and soprano sax and was a member of Earth Wind & Fire's original horn section, The Phenix Horns Esq. from 1975 through 1982. Previously, Myrick had been a member of the musical group The Pharaohs...
- Saxophone [Tenor] - Andrew Woolfolk
- Synthesizer, Effects [Vocoder] - Michael Boddicker
- Trombone - Bill Reichenbach, Charles Loper, Dick Hyde, George Bohanon, Lew McReary, Louis Satterfield
- Trumpet - Chuck FindleyChuck FindleyChuck Findley is an American session musician. Most widely-known as a trumpet player, he also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone...
, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Larry G. Hall, Michael Harris, Oscar BrashearOscar BrashearOscar Brashear is an American jazz trumpeter and session musician.After studying at DuSable High School he worked briefly with Woody Herman before going on to join Count Basie '68-9, returning to freelance in Chicago with Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon and James Moody...
, Rahmlee Michael Davis - Viola - Alan DeVeritch, Allan Harshman, Gareth Nuttycombe, Pamela Goldsmith, Virginia Majewski
- Violin - Anton Sen, Arkady Shindelman, Arnold Belnick, Betty LaMagna, Brian Leonard, Denyse Buffum, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum, Henry Ferber, Irving Geller, Jerome Reisler, John Wittenbert, Mari Tsumura Botnick, Marvin Limonick, Myra Kestenbaum, Nathan Ross, Norman Leonard, Reginald Hill, Ronald Folsom, Sheldon Sanov, Thomas Buffum, William Hymanson, William Kurasch
- Vocals [Additional] - Ms. Pluto
- Vocals [Additional], Guitar - Beloyd Taylor
- Vocals [Additional], Percussion - Ralph Johnson
- Vocals, Drums, Kalimba, Backing Vocals, Producer - Maurice WhiteMaurice WhiteMaurice White is a Grammy Award–winning American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger. He is the older brother of Verdine White and Fred White and the leader and founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire...
- Vocals, Percussion, Backing Vocals - Philip BaileyPhilip BaileyPhilip Irvin Bailey is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor, best known as one of the longtime members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Together with Verdine White, B. David Whitworth, and Ralph Johnson he forms the heart of the current EWF line-up on...
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to Raise! is adapted from rocklistmusic.co.uk.| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NME NME The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles... |
U.K | Albums of the Year | 1981 | 16 |
External links
- [ link]
- Raise on discogs.com