125. Earl Cureton Discusses Earth, Wind and Fire, Gratitude

You, Me and An Album

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Earl Cureton, veteran of 12 NBA seasons and author of Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball (with Jake Uitti), joins Al to discuss Earth, Wind and Fire’s 1975 double album, Gratitude. Earl talks about what he loves about EWF and about this part-live, part-studio album in particular. He also discusses how music and basketball has been intertwined in his life and in the lives of others he has known, including Julius Erving. Earl also delves into his book and his work as the Detroit Pistons’ Community Ambassador.

As Earl and Al mentioned on the episode, you can pre-order Earl’s book now. Here’s the link! https://www.amazon.com/Earl-Twirl-My-Life-Basketball/dp/1476693838/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QJI8P93F3V0T&keywords=earl+the+twirl&qid=1684467193&sprefix=earl+the+twirl%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-1

Also, be sure to keep up with Earl on Twitter: @EarlTheTwirl

Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter, Threads and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.

Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter and participate in weekly chats about this podcast’s featured albums! https://youmealbum.substack.com/

1:18 Earl joins the show

2:50 Earth, Wind and Fire was a popular band when Earl was in college

4:54 Gratitude introduced Al to sides of EWF he didn’t know about

7:39 Earl remembers back to listening to Gratitude and other albums in the dorm

11:06 Earl talks about music that evokes memories for him

14:27 Certain tracks from Gratitude bring back memories for Earl

18:31 The early ‘80s were a great time for Philadelphia sports

21:26 Earl explains why he decided to write his book

24:24 Earl talks about his current work with the Detroit Pistons

25:40 Were The Temptations the first group to rap?

28:00 Does Earl focus more on EWF’s lyrics or their music?

29:56 Earl saw Maurice White frequently in the Sixers’ locker room

33:42 Earl has listened to EWF throughout the years

Discussion of specific tracks:

35:03 Reasons

37:30 Shining Star

38:20 Sun Goddess/New World Symphony

40:38 Al thinks he hadn’t appreciated EWF enough after the ‘70s ended

42:28 Earl talks about an Alicia Keys concert he had just attended

44:19 Earl lets readers know what they can expect from his book

54:16 Earl talks about Marvin Gaye and Dave Bing growing up together in Detroit

56:48 Earl recently performed in a lip synch competition

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