American singer-songwriter and percussionist Philip James Bailey was born 73 years ago in Denver, Colorado, is married and has 7 children.
As a kid, Philip attended high school and later went to 2 different universities. Whilst a university student, he met the founder of the band Earth, Wind and Fire who asked him to join the group. He accepted and became its vocalist and is known for his four octave vocal range and falsetto. After the band founder left the group in the mid 90s, Bailey took over as lead singer.
In 1983, Philip debuted as solo artist and released his first R&B album, followed by 5 more during that decade, which also included gospel music. A single named ‘Easy Lover’ that featured in his third album reached number 1 on the UK Pop Singles chart and number 2 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart in the US. It was sung in duet with English singer Phil Collins.
During the 90s, Bailey released 3 albums, including his first jazz music one in 1999. Afterwards, 2 more jazz albums were issued, in 2002 and 2019. Since early in his career, Philip collaborated with numerous other artists including Dazz Band, Kenny Loggins, Julio Iglesias, Little Richard, Nancy Wilson, Boney James, Nathan East and many more.
Philip won 7 Grammy awards and was induced in 3 Halls of Fame, namely Rock and Roll, Vocal Group and Songwriters.
*Image: no infringement intended. Source: Discogs