Herb Powell discovered his love of music growing up in Petersburg

PETERSBURG — Do you remember the 21st night of September?

Herb Powell does, and after working in music for his entire adult life, and years alongside Maurice White, the late front man and vocalist of Earth Wind, & Fire, he's ready to tell that story to the world. A story that, in his case, begins right here where he grew up in Petersburg.

Powell, a musician who has worked as an interviewer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, discovered his love of music growing up in Petersburg right alongside his brothers.

"My brothers, Grady, Eric and I, we all played music, and we grew up right here, and while we liked other bands, like Steely Dan or James Brown, we were all Earth Wind and Fire fanatics," said Powell. "When my older brother Grady and I moved to California, we sent Maurice a demo, and he loved it, we worked with him, and enjoyed a mentor-mentee relationship for more than 20 years."

It was that relationship with White that ended up earning Powell the job offer of a lifetime: White wanted him to write his memoir.

"Quincy Jones had been trying to get Maurice to do a memoir for 20 years, and once he did, he immediately went through two writers because, in his words, 'they didn't get me,'" said Powell. "Maurice called me down to his house on a Saturday and told me he'd had a vivid dream that I'd written his book. I told him I'd write half the book, and if he didn't like that half, we could call it off. Instead, he read it and he loved it."

Even as someone who had come to know Maurice White as both a mentor and a friend, in doing research for the book, speaking with close friends, former band mates, and doing extensive interviews with White himself, Powell gained a tremendous amount of insight into his life. Some of the things he learned surprised even him.

"One example is that he'd said for years in interviews that he'd been raised by his grandmother in Memphis, that wasn't the truth," said Powell. "In fact, he'd been raised by a caretaker, a loving woman named Mrs. Robinson, who his mother had left him with when she moved to Chicago, but he didn't want his mother to be seen in a bad light, because he understood she'd left for work like so many other black folks had in that era."

It's one of many stories and details Powell would come to cover in the book, many being told for the first time. After White died earlier this year after a long struggle with Parkinson's Disease, a lot of talk was given to his influence and legacy, as the lead singer for one of the world's most popular bands, and one of the voices that redefined black music. For Powell, to have played a small part in helping to shape that legacy, and how we remember the remarkable life and talent of Maurice White, it was an opportunity he's incredibly thankful for.

"One of the things working with him on the book, was that he said talking about these things, revealing certain things, he said he found it therapeutic. Once we got started, he looked forward to us talking, and to reading what I had written," said Powell. "It was gratifying to give this great icon of music, a man who I'd respected and idolized my whole life, something that he appreciated in return."

"My Life with Earth Wind & Fire" will be released on September 13.

• Sean CW Korsgaard may be reached at skorsgaard@progress-index.com or 804-722-5172.