Philip Bailey
I'm a strong believer in God. Always have been. I've always believed that he directed my path from the time I was a kid. He has always been my source of strength.Collection: Strength
My faith in God has been the rudder that has allowed me to soar above the fray and to stay grounded and to learn from my mistakes.Collection: Faith
You can get jaded in the music business, but I have so much passion, and I try to do music with different people to 'reset.'Collection: Business
Music is a very strong force when it comes to making a difference, as well as entertaining, soothing, and encouraging.
I didn't want just a squeaky-clean book that just illuminated my stardom. For me, that would just be such a waste of time. I wanted my book to reflect real life - the highs and lows.
I wanted to do a project that was seamless and had all the ingredients from start to finish, from conception to mixing and mastering.
We tried to make music that had a very diverse collection of genres - jazz, pop, Latin, even the blues. We tried to have a gumbo soup of expressions. We wanted to create music that would have people dive into a pool of artistic beauty and feel good. And I think we have been really blessed.
Life can be very challenging. But I've always believed that God is always in control, even when you are going through challenges. Nothing catches him by surprise. It's all part of his plan. I rely on that even during the toughest of times.
For me, I listened to a lot of female jazz artists. And of course, the Motown and Philly sounds, all that stuff was very influential. And church and gospel.
When we came up, groups and bands and performers were interested in being their own thing. They wanted to make sure that they had their own identity.
Sampling has definitely introduced the music to younger generations - helped the music evolve and kept it relevant.
I can't imagine my loved ones being in this world without anybody to turn to, without any support or encouragement, guidance in any shape, form or fashion. But there's such a large population of people and that's their plight. Through no fault of their own. Sometimes parents die, sometimes parents can't take care of them - all kinds of misfortunes.
It's really sad that you have more infomercials on TV to adopt a dog or a cat, or save a whale, then you do millions of flesh and blood human beings.
Because of my register, Miles Davis' trumpet playing has always been a big influence on my singing. I've always been intrigued by the way he can start anywhere and make it right.
You just hope to do music that people will embrace... music that will be cutting edge and will be recognized.
I am who I am. I can't do anything that doesn't have nuances of all the music I've done in the past.
I've been in the mix of great projects for such a long time, I know what it takes.
I call Earth, Wind & Fire my day job and my solo career my night gig.
I do listen to more jazz and gospel than anything else, but my ears are still very much open and listening to stuff that comes out. And a lot of times my kids turn me on to stuff.
I think that there are some fantastic musicians out there - very, very talented musicians.
I think that there's certain music that instead of saying a lot of different things that are on my psyche, I just say, 'I've aged out.' Because that is the best way of putting it, because a lot of things I simply don't understand and will not understand and can't see any intrinsic value in.
Interestingly enough, I'm an earth sign, and my personality is pretty much in keeping with that, and Verdine is definitely a fire sign. And even though Ralph is a water sign, he would definitely be the wind side of the equation.
Just because you are having difficulty in a relationship doesn't mean the love you feel in a relationship is not necessarily real. Or just because you actually can't be together in a relationship, doesn't necessarily mean the relationship is not real.
Relationships are so complicated, and anything but perfect.
I love the clothes, I love the discipline. It's all encompassing. You play golf for two hours and you feel like you went on a two-hour vacation. It's like meditation.
Well, I can't sing like James Brown and stuff and go do a gig. I'm not a roughhouse singer.
I'm an espresso junkie.
I'm a real snob when it comes to coffee.
I mean, I strive every day, man, to just be the best that I can be.
I'll Uber to who has the best expressos, and I'll take my iPad and go get a coffee... It's really given the touring situation a whole other layer of enjoyment.
When you see one of your kids really has a gift, you can't fight it, because you start to understand what a blessing it's been to you.
When I'm on the road I get to read, play golf and do what I love to do - play music. Not a bad life.
I work out several days a week at the gym to be able to exist and move properly.
I try to watch what I eat and not go overly crazy. I listen to my body, and am grateful for the blessings of God for my health and strength.
At an early age, I understood music... the rhyme schemes, melodies and harmonies.
There was never anything in particular that led me to music. Music is in my DNA.
Music is Unity is a foundation that my daughter Trinity Bailey and myself founded over 10 years ago. It's a foundation that benefits foster youth who are aging out of the system. A portion of our proceeds, ticket sales and donations go to funding organizations helping youth with necessities for life, support, and inspiration.
The person I call my secret weapon is an arranger, pianist and musical director, Herman Jackson.
The first time I heard a professional jazz quartet practicing in a house down the street it was almost like an out-of-body experience.
Music was the thing that caught my soul's attention from the earliest I can ever remember.
I try to have to different experiences with different people and energies and do things that will challenge me.
I never put a ceiling on what I'm going to do or where I'm going or where God's going to lead me.
I'm a natural baritone, so I had challenges in that middle range, which would be that tenor area, singing in my natural voice. And I worked on that. But basically the falsetto thing, I didn't even know it was a falsetto until a music teacher commented on it, that I had a very nice falsetto. I didn't even know what it was. I said, 'Oh, OK.'
That's one thing I loved about coming up when we came up. When you had groups like Mandrill and Earth, Wind & Fire, Sly Stone, and on and on and on, the Brothers Johnson, whatever. Everybody, Ohio Players. Groups wanted to be just themselves.
We never considered ourselves a funk band.
Fellowshipping really is about loving all people of like mind, affirming your faith in that relationship.
I have a relationship with Christ and it is ongoing. I study my Bible, I do fellowship at a Church, it's a life thing.
God had always been beckoning me. Early on as a kid, I just felt a strange and close connection with the Divine and then later on it became a more personal thing through my Christian witnesses, people in my life who got a chance to talk to me, bring me to the knowledge of Jesus.
The music has allowed me to see the world, make a lot of friends and learn a lot about life.
The songs resonate with a positive hue. That's a positive thing. People feel good singing 'Sing a Song' or 'Shining Star.'