Philip Bailey

Updated: Jul 17

Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951 in Denver, Colorado) is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his four-octave vocal range and distinctive falsetto register, Bailey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire. Bailey was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame for his work with the band.

Bailey has released several solo albums. Chinese Wall from 1984, earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. This LP included the hit single, "Easy Lover," a duet with Phil Collins, which won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Overall Performance in a Video in 1985, was nominated for an American Music Award in the category of Favorite Pop/Rock Video, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals. Bailey has in all won seven Grammys out of twenty one nominations.

In May 2008, Bailey was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. During the 2008 commencement ceremony at Berklee, he gave the commencement speech. He was later inducted, in November 2017, to the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

For his Gospel music contributions, Bailey was featured on Andraé Crouch's 1979 Grammy winning album I'll Be Thinking of You and alongside Maurice White on Walter Hawkins' 1980 Grammy nominated album, The Hawkins Family. In 1980, Bailey joined friends, Deniece Williams, Billy Davis and Marilyn McCoo to present a gospel show, called "Jesus At the Roxy," at a Los Angeles club named The Roxy. Williams later said "God did something miraculous. Over three hundred people were saved." After that, both Bailey and Williams decided to pursue careers in Christian music temporarily while still releasing their mainstream albums.

During 1984, Bailey issued his first gospel album titled The Wonders of His Love on Myrrh Records. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart and No. 17 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. The Wonders of His Love was also Grammy nominated in the category of Best Inspirational Performance. His second gospel album Triumph was released in 1986 on Myrrh Records. The LP reached No. 18 on the Top Christian Albums chart and No. 33 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. Triumph also won a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance, Male. During 1989 he released his third gospel album titled Family Affair on Myrrh Records. The album reached No. 37 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart.