PHILADELPHIA — Last night in Philly, U2 performed their 360-degree concert here in the stadium where the Eagles play, Lincoln Financial Field.
I'm aware they're the world's most popular band, but it's not my kind of music. I know Bono is their lead singer but beyond that, I couldn't tell you much more about U2.
My kids tease me all the time about my taste in music, how their taste is so much more sophisticated than mine. Their mother did that to them — the sophistication. Me, I'm simple. I like R&B, Motown, disco, and one-hit pop songs from the '70s and '80s. "Seasons in the Sun," by Terry Jacks, "The Pina Colada Song," by Rupert Holmes and "At This Moment," by Billy Vera, if that gives you some idea of my eclectic taste.
Every year on the Fourth of July, a huge celebration of fireworks along the Delaware River culminates with a free concert on the Ben Franklin Parkway with A-list talent performing from the top of the Art Museum steps.
My kids have gotten to see some of their favorite bands and artists over the years for the price of a subway ticket into Philly and their willingness to be there with tens of thousands of fans from all over the world, who descend on Philly to celebrate freedom.
This year, the popular local band, Roots, opened the Welcome America concert, which included one of my all-time favorite groups, Earth, Wind and Fire.
The only other time I had seen Earth, Wind and Fire perform was winter semester of my freshman year at BYU in January 1981 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake. I went with childhood friend Joe Ivy, who had just returned from a mission but had come to Utah to drop off his younger brother and my best friend, Dexter, to the Missionary Training Center. Joe bought two tickets in the nose-bleed section and treated me. It was in the Ivy home that I first heard EWF on a record player — something my kids have probably never seen. The Ivys were from Jackson, Miss., and though they preferred country music, they also introduced me to tons of R&B and funk bands like Parliament, Earth Wind and Fire, KC and the Sunshine Band, Commodores and gospel artists like Aretha Franklin and The Staple Singers. But the "Elements," as we often called EWF, was our favorite.
This year, the group is celebrating its 40th anniversary, so I saw them 30 years ago in their prime when they filled stadiums and big arenas, the way U2 does now.
These days, Earth Wind & Fire is playing small 1,500-3,000-seat venues which was about the size of the arena where I took my kids to see them.
Only three original members exist: lead vocalist Phillip Bailey, percussionist and vocalist Ralph Johnson and bassist Verdine White, whose older brother Maurice was the founder and leader of EWF but no longer tours because of Parkinson's disease.
My wife happily stayed home with our grandson, so our daughter-in-law Kaylie could be with our son and the rest of our children at the concert. It was interesting to see 10-year-old kids with their parents and grandparents next to us dancing and singing at the top of their lungs, just as we were. The racial makeup of the audience was fairly even black and white. That the teenage kids around us seemed to know the lyrics to "September," "After The Love is Gone," "Sing-a-song," "Boogie Wonderland" and "Let's Groove," was impressive. It's a tribute to EWF's staying power that kids and senior citizens can both sing the lyrics without concern of impropriety:
For a while, to love was all we could do.
We were young and we knew
And our eyes were alive
Deep inside we knew our love was true …
Earth, Wind and Fire is one of those bands that helped define my youth. For my parents, it was the Beatles. My kids? U2. Maybe Maroon 5. Black Eyed Peas, perhaps. But for me, it was Earth, Wind and Fire.
EWF played music that was fun to listen to, easy to dance to, with lyrics that were simple and embraced the group members' pride in their African heritage yet celebrated racial harmony. They wore dashikis, robes and their hair in the HUGE afros that popularized the '70s on album covers and in concert. EWF had a signature sound that was distinct, in part because of its unique horn arrangements and for introducing a small instrument called the kalimba, an African thumb piano.
Lead singer Phillip Bailey is nearing 60, yet his voice is as strong and clear as when I first heard him three decades ago. Bailey is a little heavier and obviously older than I remember him, and his son, Phillip Jr., is now a part of the group. His forte is hitting those high notes and falsetto, which he did with amazing regularity and ease.
My family is the kind that jumps to its feet as soon as the arena darkens and we hear the first sound of the bass thumpin' and the trumpets blowin'. As I wrote a few weeks ago, our youngest son, Leonard Trey, had just returned from his mission and we were together as a family for the first time in four years. We were in a celebratory mood because of our son's safe return, it was the 235th birthday of our adopted country and dad's favorite childhood band was in town. So we danced with unbridled glee and sang with gusto:
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams will take you very far, yeah
When you wish upon a dream
Life ain’t what it seems, oh yeah
Once you see your light so clear, hey
In the sky so very dear, yeah
You’re a shining star, no matter who you are
Shining bright to see, what you can truly be
That you can truly be
Vai Sikahema is the Sports Director and Anchor for NBC10 Philadelphia and host of the "Vai & Gonzo Show" on ESPN Philadelphia Radio. He is a two-time All-Pro, two-time Emmy Award winner and was a member of BYU's 1984 National Championship team.