Today’s classic song of the day is “Best of My Love” by the Emotions. Released in June of 1977, this one went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, as well as Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart. It won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and an American Music Award for Best Soul Single.
“Best of My Love” was written by Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth Wind & Fire and produced by White and Clarence McDonald. The track features a ton of EW&F members on backing instruments, including McKay on guitar, Larry Dunn on synthesizer, Verdine White on bass, and Fred White on drums. Those killer horn parts are contributed by the EW&F horn section, also known as the Phenix Horns—Rahmlee Davis and Michael Harris on trumpets, Don Myrick on sax, and Louis Satterfield on trombone. It’s no surprise that the song has that Earth Wind & Fire sound.
The Emotions were three sisters from Chicago who originally sang gospel as the Hutchinson Sunbeams—Jeanette, Wanda, and Sheila Hutchinson. They switched to performing R&B tunes in the late ’60s and signed with Stax Records, where they worked with Isaac Hayes and David Porter. When Stax folded in 1975 they were snapped up by Maurice White for Columbia Records. “Best of My Love” was the most notable result of that collaboration, although the group also sang backup on Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1979 hit, “Boogie Wonderland.”
The Emotions continued to record and perform on their own and with Earth Wind & Fire. They were honored with the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm & Blues Association in 2001. Even though they scored a large number of hits on the R&B charts, they’ll always be best remembered for their one mainstream hit, that magical track called “Best of My Love”
