These are the 10 best Earth, Wind & Fire songs of all time

8 October 2025, 12:55

By Mayer Nissim

Fusing funk, soul, pop and R&B, Earth, Wind & Fire are one of the greatest bands in the history of music.

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Earth, Wind & Fire have had a revolving door of talent in their lineup over the years and still feature the ever-present Verdine White and long-time members Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson.

Their greatest era also featured founder, leader, songwriter and producer Maurice White, who sadly passed away in 2016.

They have released over 20 studio albums, spanning from 1971's self-titled Earth, Wind & Fire to 2016's Christmas album Holiday.

Picking just a couple of handfuls of their greatest songs is no easy task, but that's just what we've done below.

Here are just ten of the Earth, Wind & Fire songs that helped change the sound of pop, ranked all the way to the very top.

Reasons

Earth, Wind & Fire - Reasons (Official Video)

A song given exposure to a new generation with its appearance on Marvel sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it was a classic bit of R&B balladry long before that, being a highlight of their 1975 album That's the Way of the World.
Written by the band's Maurice White and Philip Bailey with producer Charles Stepney, it's remarkably romantic considering it's actually about a regret-tinged one night stand ("And in the morning when I rise / No longer feeling hypnotized").
Fall in Love with Me

Earth, Wind & Fire - Fall In Love With Me (Official Video)

After the peak of disco and deep into the 1980s, EWF were still knocking out banger after banger after banger.
This electric and energetic lead track from 12th album Powerlight in 1983 showed that the group could absolutely keep up with the times, and earned them a number 17 hit.
Getaway

Earth, Wind & Fire - Getaway (Audio)

This lead single from 1976 album Spirit was written by Bernard "Beloyd" Taylor, Peter Cor Belenky and went to number 12 in the US charts, eventually shifting a million copies.
As well as being a classic dancefloor tale of release and escape ("So come, take me by the hand /We'll leave this troubled land") it was also an incredibly clever, layered, and complex production that showed just how skilled Maurice White and his co-producer Charles Stepney were.
Fantasy

Earth, Wind & Fire - Fantasy (Live)

Written by Maurice White with his brother Verdine and Argentinian Eddie del Barrio, 'Fantasy' got to number four in the UK and was catchy enough to be used over and over and over again in various media since its release in 1978.
That included the movies Private Lessons, The Sixth Man, Be Cool and Godmothered, TV show Bob's Burgers and video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
It was later covered by Black Box with Martha Walsh on lead vocals.
Got To Get You Into My Life

Earth, Wind & Fire - Got to Get You Into My Life (Audio)

According to The Kinks' Ray Davies, while Paul McCartney's vocals were immaculate, The Beatles' original version of 'Got To Get You Into My Life' "goes to prove that Britain's jazz musicians can't swing".
Well, Earth, Wind & Fire could definitely swing, and add yet more evidence that the very best covers of the Fab Four's music tended to come from American funk, R&B and soul groups.
Their take on 'Got To Get You Into My Life' positively swings, sways, struts and soars and went all the way to number 9 in the US charts.
It was on the soundtrack of the much-maligned Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band movie and also a single release in 1978
Let's Groove

Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove (Official HD Video)

Written by Maurice White with Wayne Vaughan 'Let's Groove' was the lead single from 1981's Raise album and frankly it's impossible not to comply with the title.
The song was absolutely massive, with its mashup of funked up guitars and keyboards with electronic sounds going to number three on both sides of the Atlantic that made a total mockery of the Disco Sucks luddites.
Shining Star

Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star (Live)

Inspired by the night sky near the studio where they were recording their That's the Way of the World album, Maurice White wrote 'Shining Star' with Larry Dunn and bandmate Philip Bailey.
It was an absolutely monster hit on its release in 1975 and not only topped the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart, but also became the band's only ever Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper.
Everyone from The Roots to De La Soul borrowed elements of the song, while Snoop Dogg and Salt-N-Pepa just skipped the middleman and sampled it outright.
After The Love Has Gone

Earth, Wind & Fire - After The Love Has Gone (Official Live Video)

Just missing out on the top spot on the main US pop charts a few years later was this classic bit of smooth soul, which was only kept off the summit by the all-conquering 'My Sharona' by The Knack.
This second single from the I Am album in 1979 was written by outside parties – the team of written by David Foster, Jay Graydon, and Bill Champlin – while Maurice White handled production duties.
"The track was based on a vibe," said Verdine White on their recording.
"We cut it about six, seven times, and Maurice just said, 'No, it's not right yet. We'll come back and get it tomorrow. It's not right yet'."
"And then one day we nailed it, and it was right. The way it felt. It sounded like Earth, Wind & Fire."
Boogie Wonderland

Earth, Wind & Fire - Boogie Wonderland (Official Video)

On the face of it, 'Boogie Wonderland' is just a supremely catchy celebration of the dancefloor, but a little poke at the surface reveals it's a little deeper.
Inspired by the movie Looking for Mr. Goodbar, Allee Willis and Jon Lind wrote this song about how the discotheque can offer a fantastical escape from the darkest of times ("Daylight deals a bad hand to a woman... I chase my vinyl dreams to Boogie Wonderland").
It went to number six and Gold in the US, and did even better in the UK, peaking at number 4 and eventually going Platinum.
September

Earth, Wind & Fire - September (Official HD Video)

'Shining Star' is the number one. 'Fantasy' ended up on all those movies. 'Boogie Wonderland' is the dancefloor classic. 'Got To Get You Into My LIfe' the musical tour-de-force.
But released in late 1978 at the peak of disco, it's 'September' that has emerged as EWF's signature.
Written by 'Boogie Wonderland' wordsmith Allee Willis with the band's own Maurice White, working off a chord progression from guitarist Al McKay's, 'September' was recorded for the band's first compilation The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol. 1.
"I just said, 'What the f**k does "ba-dee-ya" mean?'" complained Willis of White's ad-libbing. "And he essentially said, 'Who the f**k cares?'.
"I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting from him, which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove."
Great advice: It went to number eight in the US and number 3 over here.
In 2018, it was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" and we're not going to argue with that one bit.