<P> In 1969, Maurice White, a former session drummer for Chess Records and former member of the Ramsey Lewis Trio, joined two friends in Chicago, Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, as a songwriting team composing songs and commercials in the Chicago area . The three friends eventually got a recording contract with Capitol Records . Calling themselves "The Salty Peppers" they went on to have a marginal hit single in the Midwestern area entitled "La La Time". </P> <P> The Salty Peppers' second single, "Uh Huh Yeah", did not fare as well . With this being so Maurice moved on from Chicago to Los Angeles . He then added to the band singer Sherry Scott and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel, both from Chicago, and then asked his younger brother Verdine how he would feel about heading out to the West Coast . On June 6, 1970, Verdine left Chicago to join the band as their new bassist . Maurice began shopping demo tapes of the band, featuring Donny Hathaway, around to different record labels and the band was thus signed to Warner Bros. Records . </P> <P> Maurice's astrological sign, Sagittarius, has a primary elemental quality of Fire and seasonal qualities of Earth and Air, according to classical triplicities . Sagittarius in the northern hemisphere occurs in the autumn, whose element is earth, and in the southern hemisphere, it is spring, whose element is air . Hence the omission of Water, the fourth classical element . Based on this, he changed the band's name, to "Earth, Wind & Fire". Maurice held further auditions in L.A. adding Michael Beale on guitar, Chester Washington on reeds, and Leslie Drayton on trumpet; Drayton also served as the group's musical arranger . Trombonist Alex Thomas completed the then ten - man EWF lineup . </P> <P> The band's self - titled debut album, Earth, Wind, & Fire, was released in February 1971 to critical acclaim, as was November 1971's The Need of Love . Both albums were produced by Joe Wissert and a single, from The Need of Love called "I Think About Lovin' You", with Sherry Scott on lead vocals, provided EWF with their first Top 40 R&B hit . </P>

Where did earth wind and fire get their name
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