Best of My Love

This upbeat disco song was a US #1 hit for five weeks, at the time a record for a female group. It was written by Earth Wind & Fire members Al McKay and Maurice White, and also produced by White. Maurice knew The Emotions (the sisters Wanda, Sheila and Pamela Hutchinson) from his pre-Earth, Wind & Fire days when he regularly drummed for the then-teenage girl group on their gigs in the Chicago area. The Emotions signed to Stax Records, and when that label imploded, White signed the group to his Kalimba Productions. Their first album with White was Flowers in 1976, and for their next one, White and McKay wrote "Best Of My Love" specifically for the group. For White, writing this song was a way of expressing a positive feeling in a style much better suited for The Emotions than for his band. White says he would have never written this song for Earth, Wind & Fire.

You'll hear many elements of Earth, Wind & Fire (get it?) on this song. McKay played guitar, and EW&F members Larry Dunn (synth), Fred White (drums) and Verdine White (bass) all played on the track. Another advantage to working with Maurice White in the '70s was access to the Earth Wind & Fire horn section, which was known as The Phenix Horns. White used them on this track - at the time they were Don Myrick (saxophone), Louis Satterfield (trombone), Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris (trumpets). In 1979, White had The Emotions sing on Earth, Wind & Fire's hit "Boogie Wonderland."

That's Wanda Hutchinson going after the big high notes in this song. Maurice White had her sing an octave higher than what she was used to. Said Hutchinson, "When my range got higher, the intensity of my vibrato sharpened a little."