The Writer of This Massive Earth, Wind & Fire Hit Wrote It for Himself Instead

In 1979, Earth, Wind & Fire released “After The Love Has Gone”. On their I Am album, Bill Champlin, David Foster, and Jay Graydon are the writers of the heartbreaking tune. 

“After The Love Has Gone” says, “Something happened along the way / What used to be happy was sad / Something happened along the way / And yesterday was all we had / And oh, after the love has gone / How could you lead me on / And not let me stay around / Oh oh oh, after the love has gone / What used to be right is wrong / Can love that’s lost be found.”

One of two songs on I Am that Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White didn’t write for the record, “After The Love Has Gone” wasn’t written for the group. Instead, Champlin wrote it, hoping to record it himself.

In addition to Champlin’s lengthy run as part of Chicago, he also had a solo career. When he wrote “After The Love Has Gone”, he had every intention of including it on one of his own albums,

How Earth, Wind & Fire Got “After The Love Has Gone” Instead of Bill Champlin

The genesis of the song begins with Foster, who had Jaye P. Morgan in mind for an early iteration of  “After The Love Has Gone”. He was reportedly playing what he already had of the song for Graydon, but forgot some of the words, using the lyrics “after the love has gone” as a filler. They enlisted Champlin to help with the lyrics, who finished the words. Excited, he also recorded a few different versions of the song for himself.

It may have remained a Champlin hit, except for Foster’s work with Earth, Wind & Fire. 

“David was also writing with Maurice White for Earth, Wind & Fire for the I Am album,” Graydon recalls to Songfacts. “He played the song for Maurice, and Maurice loved it. David called me and says, ‘Hey, man. Earth, Wind & Fire wants to record it, but I don’t want to tell Champlin that it’s gonna have to get pulled off his record. Will you do it?’ I said, ‘I sure will.’”

“I called Bill, and I said, ‘Bill, here’s the story,’” Graydon continues. “And he says, ‘I’m not an idiot, man.’  I said, ‘I’m glad you say you’re not an idiot. Because they say this thing’s gonna be a single for sure. And this could be big.’ Needless to say, that song still generates good money. It’s unbelievable.”

Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White later says “After The Love Has Gone” was one of their hardest songs to record. The group earned its first Grammy Award for this song.

Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns