AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE
EARTH, WIND & FIRE
Where: IN THE STONE,
SETTEMBER
Songwriters: Bill CHAMPLIN; David FOSTER & JAY GRADON
Country: u.s.a.
Album: I am
Label: arc/columbia
Genre: disco
Year: 1979
Earth,
Wind & Fire(abbreviated as EW&F or simply EWF) is an American band that
has spanned the musical genres of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, dance,
Latin, and Afro pop. They have been described as one of the most innovative and
commercially successful acts of all time. Rolling Stone called them
"innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing" and
declared that the band "changed the sound of black pop". VH1 has also
described EWF as "one of the greatest bands" ever.
The band
was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969, having grown out of a previous
band known as the Salty Peppers. Other prominent members of EWF have included Philip
Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Sonny
Emory, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk. The band is known for its dynamic horn
section, kalimba sound, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast
between Philip Bailey's falsetto vocals and Maurice White's baritone.
The band
has won six Grammys from their 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out
of 12 nominations. They have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, and Hollywood's
Rockwalk, in addition to receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With
sales of over 90 million records, they are one of the world's best-selling
bands of all time. The band has also received an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul
Heritage Award, BET Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Soul Train Legend Award,
as well as a NARAS Signature Governor's Award, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement
Award, the 2012 Congressional Horizon Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in
2019.
I Am is
the ninth studio album by the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire released on
June 1979 on ARC/Columbia Records. The LP rose to Nos. 1 on the Billboard Top
Soul Albums chart and No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart. I Am has been certified
Double Platinum in the U.S. by the RIAA, Platinum in the UK by the BPI and
Platinum in Canada by Music Canada.
"After
the Love Has Gone" is a 1979 hit single for Earth, Wind & Fire,
written by David Foster, Jay Graydon, and Bill Champlin for the album I Am. It
peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"After
the Love Has Gone" was nominated for a Grammy for Record of the Year and
won for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The song also won a Best
R & B Song Grammy Award for Foster, Graydon and Champlin as its composers.
"After the Love Has Gone" has been placed on Bruce Pollock's list of
The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000.
"After
the Love Has Gone" was very successful commercially, selling over a
million copies in the US, and 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; it has also been certified silver in the UK by the British
Phonographic Industry.
It was
used to particularly haunting effect in a famous episode of the television
series WKRP in Cincinnati which paid homage to the real-life disaster of the
December 3, 1979, Cincinnati concert by The Who. Venus Flytrap, the night DJ portrayed
by Tim Reid, played the song after his on-air announcement that numerous
youngsters were killed by a stampede of concertgoers. The song was also heard
on an earlier episode, in a scene where staffer Bailey Quarters was brooding
over being stood up on a planned date with morning drive DJ Johnny Fever.
The Houston
Rockets played this song for losses, as would many other professional sports
teams, including the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Charlotte
Hornets.
For awhile 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
For awhile we paid no
mind to the past
We knew love would
last
Ev'ry night somethin'
right
Would invite us to
begin the dance
Somethin' happened
along the way
What used to be happy
was sad
Somethin' happened
along the way
And yesterday was all
we had
And oh after the love
has gone
How could you lead me
on
And not let me stay
around
Oh oh oh after the
love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found
For awhile to love
each other with all
We would ever need
Love was strong for
so long
Never knew that what
was
Wrong oh baby wasn't
right
We tried to find what
we had
Till sadness was all
we shared
We were scared this
affair would lead our love into
Somethin' happened
along the way
Yesterday was all we
had
Somethin' happened
along the way
What used to be happy
is sad
Somethin' happened
along the way
Oh yesterday was all
we had
And oh after the love
has gone
How could you lead me
on
And not let me stay
around
Oh oh oh after the
love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
after the love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found
Oh woh woh after the
love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found
Oh woh woh after the
love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found
Oh woh woh after the
love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found
Woh woh woh after the
love has gone
What used to be right
is wrong
Can love that's lost
be found.