Trombonist Alex Thomas completed the then ten-man lineup. Maurice was a percussionist and lead vocalist. Maurice held further auditions in L.A, adding Michael Beal on guitar, Chester Washington on reeds, and Leslie Drayton on trumpet. Based on this, he changed the band's name, to 'Earth, Wind & Fire'. Hence the omission of Water, the fourth classical element.

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. Maurice's astrological sign, Sagittarius, has a primary elemental quality of fire and seasonal qualities of earth and air, according to classical triplicities. Maurice began shopping demo tapes featuring Donny Hathaway to various record labels and the band eventually signed to Warner Bros. He asked his younger brother Verdine to join and on June 6, 1970, Verdine moved from Chicago to LA become the band's bassist. He added singer Sherry Scott and percussionist Yackov Ben Israel, both from Chicago, to the band. Maurice moved from Chicago to Los Angeles. The Salty Peppers' second single, 'Uh Huh Yeah', did not fare as well.

Calling themselves 'The Salty Peppers', they went had a marginal hit single in the Midwest titled 'La La Time'. The three friends got a recording contract with Capitol Records. They wrote songs and commercials in the Chicago area. 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. 1.4.6 The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol.1.3.5 The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire, Vol.VH1 described EWF as 'one of the greatest bands'. Rolling Stone called them 'innovative, precise yet sensual, calculated yet galvanizing' and declared that the band 'changed the sound of black pop'. The band received an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Heritage Award, BET Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Soul Train Legend Award, as well as a NARAS Signature Governor's Award, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2012 Congressional Horizon Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, and Hollywood's Rockwalk, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The band won 6 Grammys from 17 nominations and four American Music Awards out of 12 nominations. The band is known for its kalimba sound, dynamic horn section, energetic and elaborate stage shows, and the contrast between Bailey's falsetto and Maurice's baritone. Other prominent members included Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Fred Ravel, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk. The band was founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969. With sales of over 90 million records, they are one of the best-selling bands of all time. Its music spanned the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, EDM, Latin, and Afro pop. Earth, Wind & Fire ( EW&F or EWF) is an American soul/pop band.

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