When you think of the African-American musicians we grew up with, what immediately leaps out?
Motown legends such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, the Four Tops, the Supremes, and the Jackson Five, just to name a few, were immediate mainstream successes. Isaac Hayes won an Oscar for the theme from the original "Shaft". Curtis Mayfield left the Impressions and scored with the theme from "Super Fly".
Earth, Wind, & Fire began climbing the charts in the mid-70's with hits like "Shining Star", "September", and "After The Love is Gone". However, it was PBS' Soul!, near the end of its groundbreaking five year run (1968-73) that introduced America to the jazz-funk combo. Not Mike Douglas. Not Johnny Carson. Not Merv Griffin. Soul!, sadly, was on its last legs when Earth, Wind, & Fire made their debut.
Based in New York, Soul!, funded by the Ford Foundation, had a core audience among inner city viewers, and I'd imagine, even though I'd never seen a minute of the show until today, white kids were watching, too.
Dr. Alvin Poussaint and Loretta Long were the original hosts. Long left after the first season and shifted over to Sesame Street. The Earth, Wind, & Fire episode is introduced by Gerry Bledsoe, a prominent African-American radio DJ in New York during this period. Bledsoe is better known for hosting WPIX's Soul Alive later in the decade.
Rating: A.
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