FIRST LISTEN: Earth, Wind & Fire's New Single 'Sign On'

Legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire will release their first new album in eight years. The new album, titled "Now, Then & Forever" will be released on September 10th. Click here to get a first listen to the premiere of their new song, 'Sign On.'

Speaking of the new song in an exclusive interview with Billboard.com, frontman Philip Bailey shared, "For so many years I've been all about, 'You gotta go forward, you gotta go forward,' " he explains. "I finally had to buy into the fact that if I got a new Eagles music project and they sounded like Fleetwood Mac, I would be pretty pissed off, or if I bought a Stevie Wonder project and he sounded like Musiq Soulchild, I would be saying, 'What the heck is going on?' I had to really resolve in my mind that our music is that important to millions of people, and they really do expect Earth, Wind & Fire to sound like Earth, Wind & Fire -- and if you try to hard to go forward and lose who you are then you lose your base and you lose what's attractive to fans."

During the 1970s, a new brand of pop music was born - one that was steeped in African and African-American styles - particularly jazz and R&B but appealed to a broader cross-section of the listening public. As founder and leader of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White not only embraced but also helped bring about this evolution of pop, which bridged the gap that has often separated the musical tastes of black and white America.

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