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American soul singer Philip Bailey enjoyed a long run of radio hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, both as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire as well as a solo artist. He was born in Denver, Colorado, on May 8, 1951, and joined Earth, Wind & Fire as a college student in 1972. Bailey became one of the group's most prominent members, handling lead vocals on hits like "Devotion," "Turn On (The Beat Box)," and "Keep Your Head to the Sky" while duetting with co-founder Maurice White on classics like "September." Although he continued to record and tour with the band during the 1980s, he also launched a well-received solo career in 1983, reaching Number 19 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart with his debut album, Continuation. A second solo release, The Wonders of His Love, followed in early 1984 and recast Bailey as a gospel artist, with the album cracking the Top 20 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart. Chinese Wall appeared later that year, focusing on a commercial blend of pop, soul, and R&B music. It was a Grammy-nominated hit, reaching Number 22 on the Billboard 200 and producing a global hit single — "Easy Lover," a duet with Phil Collins — that reached Number 2 in America and Number 1 in multiple countries, including the UK. Bailey returned his attention to gospel music with 1986's Triumph, which won a Grammy Award for Best Male Gospel Performance. He released a number of solo albums during the following decades and occasionally reappeared on the Billboard charts, even reaching Number 1 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs in 2010 with his appearance on Cee Lo Green's "Fool For You." Less than a decade later, his solo album Love Will Find a Way peaked at Number 1 on both the Billboard Top Jazz Albums and Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums charts in 2019.
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