Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World) captures what made Maurice White both innovative and self-sabotaging. Photo: Tribeca Festival The Black Panthers were under government attack and the civil-rights movement was in peril following the murders of MLK Jr. and Malcolm X, when Memphis singer, kalimba player, and prolific session drummer Maurice White had a vision for his own band. Earth, Wind & Fire, a project named after his astrological reading, coalesced in the