Guiding Lights (song)
"Guiding Lights" is a song by the band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as a single in 2012 by Sony Music/Legacy. The song reached No. 16 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart and No. 30 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.
| "Guiding Lights" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
| from the album Now, Then & Forever | ||||
| Released | 2012 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | Sony Music/Legacy | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Philip D. Bailey, Austin Jacobs, Daniel McClain, Darrin Simpson | |||
| Producer(s) | Walt B. & Neal Pogue | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Overview
"Guiding Lights" was produced by Walt B. & Neal Pogue and composed by Philip D. Bailey, Austin Jacobs, Daniel McClain with Darrin Simpson. The song came from Earth, Wind & Fire's 2013 album Now, Then & Forever.[1]
Critical reception
Andy Kellman of Allmusic wrote "My Promise and Guiding Light especially rise high enough to be slotted between classics without losing listener interest."[2] Elias Leight of Popmatters exclaimed "Guiding Lights" is a break-beat driven falsetto ballad that stretches the drama out past six minutes and includes a scream at the 4:18 mark that shouldn’t be humanly possible for any man above the age of 30." Leight also added "The muted brass in "Guiding Lights" touches on the early ‘00s neo-soul that Earth, Wind & Fire helped inspire."[3] Emerys Baird of Blues & Soul said "Ballad time, with the sultry "Guiding Lights", all replete with possibly the highest note ever hit by a human (even higher that Janet Kay on Silly Games!). It's a towering performance with the waffliest of synth solos, which nobody seems to do anymore, EWF at their best!".[4] Daryl Easlea of Record Collector also described the song as a "big spiritual ballad".[5]
Personnel
- Lead and backing vocals – Philip J. Bailey
- Backing vocals – Daniel McClain, B. David Whitworth, Philip D. Bailey
- Alto saxophone, tenor saxophone – Gary Bias
- Bass – Verdine White
- Drums – John Paris
- Electric piano [Rhodes], synthesizer [Moog Voyager] – Larry Dunn
- Guitar – Greg Moore, Morris O'Connor
- Percussion – David Leach
- Trombone – Reggie Young
- Trumpet – Gary Grant, Michael "Patches" Stewart
- Produced by Neal Pogue, Walt B
- Horns arranged by Jerry Hey
Charts
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs[6] | 16 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Songs[7] | 30 |
References
- Earth, Wind & Fire: Guiding Lights. Sony Music/Legacy. 2012.
- Andy Kellman. "Now, Then & Forever - Earth, Wind & Fire - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". allmusic.com. AllMusic.
- Leight, Elias (September 22, 2013). "Earth, Wind and Fire: Now, Then & Forever". popmatters.com. Popmatters.
- Baird, Emerys. "REVIEW EARTH, WIND & FIRE: NOW, THEN & FOREVER (SONY)". bluesandsoul.com. Blues & Soul.
- Easlea, Daryl. "EARTH, WIND AND FIRE NOW, THEN AND FOREVER". recordcollectormag.com. Record Collector.
- "Earth, Wind & Fire: Guiding Lights (Smooth Jazz Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
- "Earth, Wind & Fire: Guiding Lights (Adult R&B Songs)". billboard.com. Billboard.
