Ralph Johnson at 74 keeps Earth, Wind & Fire moving

Earth, Wind & Fire’s Ralph Johnson, 74, is turning life experience into a new memoir, “Rhythm & Fire,” while continuing to tour and expand his public life through radio, martial arts, and wellness routines. He credits the band’s milestone recognition in 2019 a

At 74, Ralph Johnson sounds like a man still in motion—part performer, part teacher, part student. On a recent video call, the Earth, Wind & Fire percussionist and singer talks about a book that’s already being read like a legacy, and a touring schedule that shows he isn’t ready to step back.

He also talks the way people do when they’re grateful. but not sentimental for its own sake—starting with two moments he says shaped the band’s story. One is the Kennedy Center Honors Earth, Wind & Fire received in 2019. The other is Clive Davis. whose role Johnson points to as pivotal for how the group’s early career took form.

“The Kennedy Center Honor is like being knighted in the U.K. It’s got that kind of status. ” Johnson says. explaining how the recognition feels in a personal. tangible way: “To think you’re being honored because you added something to the artistic fabric of the United States and even the world. is very special. My ribbons hang encased in my studio at my home and everybody that comes to the studio sees those ribbons.”.

He gives Davis the same directness. “If it wasn’t for Clive Davis and Columbia Records in 1972. Earth. Wind & Fire as you know today wouldn’t exist on this level. He stole us from Warner Bros. Records and he brought vision, because at that time our label didn’t really know how to market Black music.”.

Johnson, who joined Earth, Wind & Fire in 1972, writes with that reverence close to the surface. His memoir, “Rhythm & Fire: A Life in Harmony with Earth, Wind & Fire” (Diversion Books), is out now. He says the book begins with a foreword by Questlove. who also directed the band’s documentary “Earth. Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World,” premiering June 7 on HBO. Johnson will hold a discussion about the book May 28 at The Grove in Los Angeles. and he also narrates the audiobook.

Before any stage lights, there’s the question that tends to hover around big stories told late: why now?

Johnson answers it with a question of his own. “I’m going to answer a question with a question: Why not now?”

He says he is 55 years in with the group and believes he has “done enough and experienced enough to be able to write a decent book.” The motivation. he adds. is as much about family as it is about memory: “I wrote it for my grandkids (aged 7 to 1). There are life lessons in there about commitment and faith and resilience and trust. Those intangible things that do matter as well as a literary account of my journey growing up in LA and joining Earth. Wind & Fire and what we went through.”.

He also revisits the band’s craft beyond the hits. Earth, Wind & Fire helped define the look and feel of their shows with orbs and smoke and what Johnson describes as magic. When asked whether other artists carried that influence, he doesn’t treat it like a rumor.

“It’s not so much that we have heard it as much as seeing it,” he says. “You can go back to The Jacksons, and then later on, maybe Kool & The Gang picked up on our theatrics. Certainly George Clinton and the Funkadelics picked up on it. There were a few acts that were watching what we were doing. and it’s all once again. back to Maurice’s vision.”.

Maurice White’s vision, Johnson says, is part of why those early breakthroughs lasted. And the band’s catalog—“Devotion,” “Mighty Mighty,” “Shining Star,” “Reasons” and “That’s The Way of World,” among them—remains the proof.

Touring still fits into the calendar. Johnson, Philip Bailey and bassist Verdine White—brother of Maurice White, who died in 2016—still tour consistently, packing theaters and amphitheaters with grooves Johnson says people have always appreciated. A tour with Lionel Richie begins June 25.

Then comes the pause that every band eventually hits: the mid-‘80s hiatus, and the quieter work that followed. Johnson says “Rhythm & Fire” opens a window on what he did during that stretch.

“That was a moment. ” he says of a turning point when Maurice White reportedly woke up and decided: “Hey. we’re going to stop the band. I’m going to do my thing. Phil(ip) is going to do his thing. you guys can do whatever you want.” Johnson calls it a revelation. and he ties the lessons to what came next.

He worked in a stereo store, Federated Stereo, which he describes as a major chain at the time. “But before that I was working on a construction site and putting in fire protection systems,” he says. Johnson adds detail about a building on Santa Monica Boulevard and Sepulveda—a sports club—saying. “I know every foot of that building because I put in the fire protection system. But those were giant lessons about humility.”.

Health, too, becomes part of the story—an experience he doesn’t keep in the background. Johnson discloses that he had cancer surgery in 2016, and says he had vocal cord cancer. He connects that chapter to where he is now: “and now I’m on the radio every Saturday night doing a show (“Jazz Epicenter 6.7” from KUNV 91.5-FM in Las Vegas).”.

What keeps him energized isn’t only the performance side of music. He talks about the act of curating: “I like the idea that I can curate some of my favorite mainstream jazz tunes. and at the same time. entertain the audience and educate the audience about what I call America’s classical music. this jazz.”.

He traces how jazz found him at a young age. saying he was turned on when he was 14 because Los Angeles had the first ever 24-hour jazz station. KBCA 105.1. “I would come home from school and start listening to these jocks and their various personalities,” he recalls. “I’d go, man. That’s kind of cool … And the idea of being on terrestrial radio (now), I found intriguing. The idea of finally being on the radio. Not internet, radio.”.

The book also includes a surprising detail for some readers: Johnson has not one, but two black belts. “I actually have two black belts,” he says. “One is in the Korean style of karate. Tang Soo Do. and I’m a third degree in a style of Kung Fu known as San Soo. I’m in the dojo twice a week and also on the tennis court twice a week.”.

His wellness routine has its own rhythm, and he describes it plainly. “I’m very careful about what I eat and try to stay away from sugar. I drink the green tea and take my vitamins and black seed oil for inflammation. Before I have my coffee or tea I’m going to have coenzyme Q10, which is excellent for the heart. And my Vitamin Cs and Ds and mushroom combinations like reishi.”.

He even breaks it down into a habit he carries with him. “I carry it in two bags. It’s like, here comes Ralph, one suitcase for clothes, one suitcase for vitamins and supplements.”

The picture that emerges from the facts Johnson shares is not just of longevity. but of how he keeps building a life around discipline: the studio ribbons after the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019. the momentum tied to Clive Davis in 1972. the months away from the band that became lessons through construction and retail work. and the post-cancer path that now includes a Saturday-night radio show on KUNV 91.5-FM in Las Vegas.

For all the milestones. the most immediate marker is still out front: the memoir is already available. and the stage is still calling. Earth. Wind & Fire continues to tour with Johnson still among the driving forces. with a Lionel Richie tour scheduled to begin June 25—while Johnson adds another arena to his routine. from The Grove discussion on May 28 to Questlove’s HBO documentary premiere on June 7.

Ralph Johnson Earth Wind and Fire Kennedy Center Honors 2019 Clive Davis memoir Rhythm & Fire Questlove HBO documentary Earth Wind Fire To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World Lionel Richie tour June 25 KUNV 91.5-FM Jazz Epicenter 6.7 Tang Soo Do San Soo Kung Fu vocal cord cancer 2016