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Philip Bailey winced. He was about to be hit with it again.
"That's OK," he said stoically. "I'm used to it."
What was causing the unrest was a question: Does Earth, Wind & Fire still exist? The famed pop/R&B/rock band hasn't toured for nearly two years and hasn't announced any recording plans.
Everyone thinks Bailey should know about EWF's future since he's been one of the lead singers, along with leader-founder Maurice White, for 13 years.
Throwing up his hands in exasperation, Bailey replied: "I don't know what the Fire is going to do. I wish I knew the answer. Maurice is working on a solo project right now. I don't think he has any plans for the band right now but I'm not sure. You know as much as I do. Ask Maurice. It's his band. He calls the shots." (Attempts to reach White through Columbia Records were unsuccessful.)
Bailey, here on a business visit recently from his home in Denver, hasn't been sitting around waiting to find out what White plans to do with EWF. He's been busy with his own solo career, which has finally started to blossom.
His new Columbia Records album, "Chinese Wall"-produced by Phil Collins of Genesis-was one of the best of 1984. Its showpiece is a gem of a single, "Easy Lover," a thunderous rock-and-soul fusion that's No. 5 on Billboard's pop chart. Collins sings on it with Bailey, who's wailing in his fluid falsetto.
Bailey first approached Collins about a collaboration backstage at a Collins concert. At first, Bailey wasn't thinking about him as a producer.
"I just wanted him to write some ballads," Bailey recalled. "Phil is really funky. He has a great feel...