I Am (Earth, Wind & Fire album)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Yahoo Music	(favorable) link
Music Hound	link
Warr.org	link
Sputnikmusic	link
Billboard Magazine	(favorable)^[2]
Smash Hits	(favorable)^[3]

I Am is the ninth studio album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, released on June 9, 1979 on CBS Records. The album features the singles "Boogie Wonderland" with The Emotions and "After the Love Has Gone". I Am has been certified double platinum in the US by the RIAA and platinum in the UK and in Canada by the British Phonographic Industry and Music Canada.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Reception

"After The Love Has Gone" won a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance By A Duo, Group Or Chorus and "Boogie Wonderland" also won a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental Performance. "After The Love Has Gone" and an instrumental version of Boogie Wonderland also garnered Grammy nominations for Record Of The Year and Best Disco Recording respectively. Bandleader Maurice White was also Grammy nominated for Producer of the Year.^[7]

"Wait" was sampled on Talib Kweli's track "Ghetto Show", which featured Common and Anthony Hamilton. It was included on his 2004 album The Beautiful Struggle.^[8]

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"In the Stone"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	4:48
2.	"Can't Let Go"	Bill Meyers, Maurice White, Allee Willis	3:28
3.	"After the Love Has Gone"	David Foster, Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin	4:26
4.	"Let Your Feelings Show"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	5:24

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"Boogie Wonderland" (feat. The Emotions)	Jon Lind, Allee Willis	4:48
6.	"Star"	Eddie Del Barrio, Maurice White, Allee Willis	4:23
7.	"Wait"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	3:39
8.	"Rock That!"	Maurice White, David Foster	3:07
9.	"You and I"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	3:34

2004 Reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"In the Stone"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	4:48
2.	"Can't Let Go"	Bill Meyers, Maurice White, Allee Willis	3:28
3.	"After the Love Has Gone"	David Foster, Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin	4:38
4.	"Let Your Feelings Show"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	5:12
5.	"Boogie Wonderland" (feat. The Emotions)	Jon Lind, Allee Willis	4:48
6.	"Star"	Eddie Del Barrio, Maurice White, Allee Willis	4:23
7.	"Wait"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	3:39
8.	"Rock That!"	Maurice White, David Foster	3:07
9.	"You and I"	Maurice White, Allee Willis, David Foster	3:34
10.	"Diana"	Maurice White, David Foster	4:08
11.	"Dirty (Interlude) (White)"	Maurice White	0:52
12.	"Dirty (Junior's Juke)"	Maurice White, Alexander Dutkewych	3:44

^[9]

Unreleased Tracks

Two songs that were recorded during the I Am sessions—"September" and "Love Music"—were included on The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 in 1978. Two other tracks ("Diana" and "Dirty") were recorded during the I Am sessions but not released at the time; these were included on the 2004 reissue of the album. "Dirty" and another unreleased song recorded in the I Am sessions entitled "Where Do We Go From Here?" were re-recorded for EWF's 2003 album The Promise.

Uses in other media

"Let Your Feelings Show" was featured in the Fame episode "Heritage".^[10]

"In the Stone" was used in the 2002 movie Drumline.^[11]

"In the Stone" was also the opening theme from the Brazilian TV show from SBT, Porta da Esperança, hosted by Silvio Santos.

"In the Stone" was performed by Rickey Minor and The Tonight Show Band on June 7, 2010, during Minor's first night as the show's bandleader.

"In the Stone" was used as the opening theme for the ATN-7 Sydney "Midday At The Movies" program around 1982.

"In the Stone" was used in the opening credits for the Swedish TV-comedy Lorry.

"In the Stone" was used for the opening of its newscasts on KLAS-TV in Las Vegas from 1979 to 1981.

"Rock That" was used for the opening of its telecasts of the Los Angeles Dodgers on flagship KTTV Channel 11 during the early to mid 1980s.

Charts

Album – Billboard
Year	Chart	Position
1979	Pop Albums	3
1979	Black Albums	1

Year	Chart	Position^[12]
1979	United Kingdom	5

Year	Single	Chart positions^[13]^[14]
Year	Single	US Hot 100	US R&B	US Dance	UK Singles
1979	"Boogie Wonderland" (featuring The Emotions)	6	2	14	4
	"After the Love Has Gone"	2	2	-	4
	"In the Stone"	58	23	-	53
	"Star"	64	47	-	16
	"Can't Let Go"	-	-	-	46

Personnel

The Emotions - additional backing vocals (Track 5)
Bass - Verdine White
Cello - Daniel Smith, Delores Bing, Jacqueline Lustgarten, Jan Kelley, John Walz, Kevan Torfeh, Larry Corbett, Miguel Martinez
Drums - Fred White
French horn - Barbara Korn, Marilyn Robinson, Richard Perissi, Sidney Muldrow
Guitar - Al McKay, Johnny Graham, Marlo Henderson, Sir Alexander Dutkewych (writer & harp, on "Dirty"), Steve Lukather
Harp - Dorothy Jeanne Ashby
Keyboards - Billy Myers, David Foster, Eddie Del Barrio
Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa, Ralph Johnson
Piano, Oberheim and Moog synthesizers - Larry Dunn
Saxophone - Fred Jackson, Jr., Herman Riley, Jerome Richardson
Alto, tenor and baritone saxophones - Don Myrick
Tenor saxophone - Andrew Woolfolk
Timpani - Richard Lepore
Trombone - Benjamin Powell, William Reichenbach, Garnett Brown, George Bohanon, Louis Satterfield, Maurice Spears
Trumpet - Bobby Bryant, Jerry Hey, Michael Harris, Oscar Brashear, Rahmlee Michael Davis, Steve Madaio
Viola - James Ross, Laurie Woods, Linda Lipsett, Marilyn Baker, Rollice Dale, Virginia Majewski
Violin - Anton Sen, Sherman Bryana, Carl LaMagna, Cynthia Kovaks, Gina Kronstadt, Haim Shtrum, Harris Goldman, Henry Ferber, Henry Roth, Ilkka Talvi, Jack Gootkin, Jerome Reisler, Jerome Webster, Joseph Goodman, Joseph Livoti, Judith Talvi, Leeana Sherman, Marcy Dicterow, Pamela Gates, Pavel Farkas, Ronald Clarck, Rosmen Torfeh, Sheldon Sanov, William Henderson
Vocals, congas, percussion - Philip Bailey
Vocals, drums, kalimba - Maurice White

Production

Design by Roger Carpenter
Illustration by Shusei Nagaoka
Mastered by Michael Reese
Engineer - Tom Perry
Assistant Engineers - Craig Widby, Ross Pallone
Engineer and Mixed by George Massenburg
Synthesizer programming by Steven Porcaro
Concertmaster - Janice Gower
Producer - Maurice White, Phillip Bailey^[15]

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to I Am is adapted from acclaimedmusic.net^[16]

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide	U.K	100 Soul Albums Everyone Should Own	2001	33
Melody Maker	U.K	Albums of the Year	1979	8
NME	U.K	Albums of the Year	1979	16

References

↑ "Rock On The Net: Earth, Wind & Fire". Rock On The Net. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
↑ review
↑ White, Cliff. "Albums". Smash Hits (July 26 – August 8, 1979): 25.
↑ Music Canada certification for I Am
↑ RIAA Certification for I AM
↑ British Phonographic Industry Certification for I AM
↑ Grammy awards and nominations on earthwindandfire.com
↑ Earth, Wind & Fire music sampled by others
↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire - I Am". allmusic.com. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
↑ Maurice White on allmusic.com
↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303933/soundtrack
↑ "I Am". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
↑ Allmusic (Earth, Wind & Fire > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)
↑ Chartstats.com - UK Album and Singles Database for Earth, Wind & Fire
↑ I Am on allmusic.com
↑ I Am on acclaimedmusic.net

External links

Earth, Wind & Fire

Philip Bailey Verdine White Ralph Johnson B. David Whitworth Myron McKinley John Paris Philip Bailey, Jr. Morris O'Connor Serg Dimitrijevic Maurice White Michael Beale Leslie Drayton Wade Flemons Yackov Ben Israel Sherry Scott Carl Carwell Alexander Thomas Chester Washington Don Whitehead Roland Bautista Jessica Cleaves Larry Dunn Ronnie Laws Johnny Graham Al McKay Andrew Woolfolk Fred White Beloyd Taylor Sonny Emory Sheldon Reynolds Dick Smith Vance Taylor Fred Ravel Morris Pleasure David Romero Mike McKnight Robert Brookins Gordon Campbell Bobby Gonzales Daniel de los Reyes Kimberly Brewer John Johnson Krystal Bailey Kim Johnson Greg "G-Mo" Moore Vadim Zilberstein

Studio albums	Earth, Wind & Fire The Need of Love Last Days and Time Head to the Sky Open Our Eyes That's the Way of the World Spirit All 'n All I Am Faces Raise! Powerlight Electric Universe Touch the World Heritage Millennium In the Name of Love The Promise Illumination Now, Then & Forever Holiday

Compilations and live albums	Another Time Gratitude The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1 The Collection The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 2 The Eternal Dance Elements of Love: Ballads Greatest Hits Live Greatest Hits The Ultimate Collection The Essential Earth, Wind & Fire That's the Way of the World: Alive in 75 Live in Rio Love Songs Ultimate Collection

Singles	"Evil" "Keep Your Head to the Sky" "Mighty Mighty" "Devotion" "Shining Star" "That's the Way of the World" "Reasons" "Sing a Song" "Can't Hide Love" "Getaway" "Saturday Nite" "Serpentine Fire" "Fantasy" "Got to Get You into My Life" "September" "Boogie Wonderland" "After the Love Has Gone" "In the Stone" "Let Me Talk" "And Love Goes On" "Let's Groove" "Wanna Be with You" "I've Had Enough" "Fall in Love with Me" "System of Survival" "Thinking of You" "Sunday Morning" "All in the Way" "Pure Gold"

Other albums	Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

Videos	Earth, Wind & Fire: In Concert The Eternal Vision Earth, Wind & Fire: Live Earth, Wind & Fire: Live By Request Chicago & Earth, Wind & Fire – Live at the Greek Theatre

Related articles	Ramsey Lewis The Pharaohs Charles Stepney The Phenix Horns The Emotions Devoted Spirits: A Tribute to Earth Wind and Fire Interpretations: Celebrating the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire

Lists	Discography Awards and nominations Tribute albums Personnel

Book Category

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