"Shining Star"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album That's the Way of the World
B-side"Yearnin' Learnin'"
ReleasedJanuary 21, 1975
RecordedAutumn 1974
Genre
Length2:50
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"Hot Dawgit"
(1974)		 "Shining Star"
(1975)		 "Sun Goddess"
(1975)

"Shining Star" is a song by Earth, Wind & Fire's album That's the Way of the World, issued as a single in January 1975 on Columbia Records.[4] The song rose to No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart and the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart, becoming their first single to top both charts (and only single to top the former).[5][6] It has also been certified Gold in the US by the RIAA.[7]

Overview

"Shining Star" was produced by Maurice White and composed by White, Larry Dunn and Philip Bailey.

The concept for the song came to Maurice White while strolling at night during the band's recording of That's the Way of the World at Caribou Ranch. He became inspired by looking up at the starry sky and took his ideas about the song to the other band members.[8]

Critical reception

Vibe called Shining Star a "treasure".[9] Alex Henderson of Allmusic described the song as "sweaty funk".[2] Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone wrote that the song "glow(s) with an incendiary charge that once moved record producer Sandy Pearlman to term EW&F 'the closest thing to a black heavy-metal band'."[10] Daryl Easlea of the BBC found that "Shining Star can be seen as much an influence on Prince as anything by James Brown".[11] Stephen Curwood of The Boston Globe noted that the tune "shows off the fabulous range and coordination of this nine-man vocal ensemble and instrumental choir.[12]

"Shining Star" also won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[13] In 2008, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[14]

Personnel

Chart positions

Chart (1975–1976) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles 1
Dutch Singles (Dutch Charts) 14[15]

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Pause & Play U.S. Songs Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week 2008 *
The Recording Academy U.S. Grammy Hall of Fame 2007 *
Dave Marsh U.S. The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made 1989 433
Bruce Pollock U.S. The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944-2000 2005 *

(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Uses in other media

"Shining Star" was featured in the soundtrack for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, sung by American Idol winner Ruben Studdard.

"Shining Star" was the song played when Elaine Benes did the infamous "little kicks" for the first time on the namesake Seinfeld episode "The Little Kicks".

"Shining Star" was featured in the opening scene of the pilot episode of Glee.

"Shining Star" was featured during the introductory scene of the character ‘’Doctor Strange (2016) (2016)

"Shining Star" was featured in the ending scene and credits of the movie Meet Dave (2008).

"Shining Star" was featured in Donkey Konga (US version; 2004) for the renew cover version of Jump5.

A remix of "Shining Star" was featured in the trailer for The Continental: From the World of John Wick.

"Shining Star" was featured in Austin Powers in Goldmember, when the titular character arrives at 1975 to find his missing father at Studio 69 owned by the titular villain "Goldmember".

References

  1. ↑ Anon. (1975). "Black Music: Progressing in Sound". Broadcasting. p. 55. Retrieved January 30, 2021 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  3. ↑ Breihan, Tom (July 15, 2019). "The Number Ones: Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 23, 2023. "Shining Star"...[is] probably the most new-age hit in disco-funk history.
  4. ↑ Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Star. Columbia Records. January 1975.
  5. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Star (Hot 100)". billboard.com.
  6. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Star (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com.
  7. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  8. ↑ Flans, Robyn (December 1, 2004). "Classic Tracks: Earth, Wind & Fire's "Shining Star"". mixonline.com. Mixonline. Archived from the original on 2009-11-10.
  9. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's The Way Of The World". Vibe. Vol. 12, no. 9. September 2004. p. 205.
  10. ↑ Fletcher, Gordon (July 3, 1975). "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's The Way Of The World". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
  11. ↑ Easlea, Daryl (2010). "Earth, Wind & Fire: That's the Way of the World Review". bbc.co.uk. BBC.
  12. ↑ Curwood, Stephen (July 18, 1975). "Records: Nelson, Earth etc., Bee Gees". newspapers.com. Boston Globe. p. 11.
  13. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire". grammy.com. The Recording Academy. 23 November 2020.
  14. ↑ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s
  15. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Shining Star". dutchcharts.nl. Dutch Charts.
  16. ↑ "American single certifications – Earth, Wind & Fire – Shining Star". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
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