Shining Star (Earth, Wind & Fire song)
| "Shining Star" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Shining Star Earth, Wind & Fire.jpg | ||||
| Single by Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
| from the album That's the Way of the World | ||||
| B-side | "Yearnin' Learnin'" | |||
| Released | January 21, 1975 | |||
| Format | 7", 45 RPM | |||
| Recorded | Autumn 1974 | |||
| Genre | Funk | |||
| Length | 2:51 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Maurice White, Larry Dunn, Philip Bailey | |||
| Producer(s) | Maurice White | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology | ||||
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"Shining Star" is a 1975 song by Earth, Wind & Fire from their album That's the Way of the World. The song was written by Maurice White, Larry Dunn and Philip Bailey and produced by White. "Shining Star" was Earth, Wind & Fire's first major hit, hitting No. 1 on both the U.S. Hot 100 and R&B charts from 1976.[1]
Shining Star is considered a prime example of funk music that attained mainstream success.[1] The concept for the song came to White while strolling at night during the band's recording of "That's the Way of the World". He was inspired by looking up at the starry sky and took his ideas about the song to the other band members. The song is noted for the way the instruments drop out during the last repeated choruses with the group singing the final lines a cappella followed by the song's abrupt end.[2]
Reception
"Shining Star" won Earth, Wind & Fire a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[3] The single was very successful commercially, selling over a million copies. It has been certified gold as up until the RIAA lowered the sales levels for certified singles in 1989, a Gold single equaled 1 million units sold.[4][5]
Earth, Wind & Fire performed Shining Star on the TV series The Midnight Special.[6]
Covers
- In 1977, the cast performed the song on an episode of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
- In 1990, Christian glam metal band Stryper covered the song on their album Against the Law.
- In 2003, Jump5 covered the song in Disney's "Lizzie McGuire" movie soundtrack.
- In 2005, trumpeter Rick Braun covered the song for the album Yours Truly.[7][8]
- Robert Randolph & the Family Band covered the song on their Live in Concert release in October 2011.
Chart positions
| Chart (1975-1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 1 |
Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to "Shining Star" is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net and awards on earthwindandfire.com.[9][10]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pause & Play | U.S. | Songs Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week | 2008 | * |
| The Recording Academy | U.S. | Grammy Hall of Fame Albums and Songs | 2007 | * |
| Dave Marsh | U.S. | The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made | 1989 | 433 |
| Bruce Pollock | U.S. | The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 | 2005 | * |
(*) designates lists that are unordered.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ earthwindandfire.com/bio_awards
- ↑ RIAA Certification for After the Love Has Gone
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Earth, Wind & Fire Shining Star LIVE Midnight Special 1975 on YouTube
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Acclaimed Music - Shining Star
- ↑ awards on earthwindandfire.com
External links
| Preceded by | Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 24, 1975 |
Succeeded by "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" by Freddy Fender |
| Preceded by
"Supernatural Thing" (Part 1) by Ben E. King
|
Billboard's Hot Soul Singles number one single March 22–29, 1975 |
Succeeded by "Shoeshine Boy" by Eddie Kendricks |
