# Why did the band Earth, Wind and Fire not have "water"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492 "2009-06-11T21:31:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/1 "2009-06-11T21:31:49Z")
Did he get kicked out for fighting with Fire? I can understand why Blood, Sweat and Tears didn’t have “Toil”, people forget Toil all the time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/2 "2009-06-11T21:32:41Z")
Of course not. According to one of their contemporaries, the band Kansas, you fight Fire with Fire. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/3 "2009-06-11T22:27:43Z")
They used to, but he was kind of a wet blanket. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/4 "2009-06-11T22:49:35Z")
He tangled with Fire, got steamed, drifted away. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/5 "2009-06-11T22:50:35Z")
Oh, I got another one: They talked it over and decided to give Water a pass. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/6 "2009-06-11T22:57:21Z")
I hear he lives under a bridge somewhere now, but nobody really cares anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/7 "2009-06-11T23:09:00Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Did he get kicked out for fighting with Fire? There’s a [real answer to this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_wind_and_fire). > [@](#): > > Maurice, based on the fact that his astrological sign of Sagittarius had a primary elemental quality of Fire and seasonal qualities of Earth and Air (hence the omission of Water, the fourth classical element), changed the band’s name, to Earth, Wind & Fire. The Firesign Theatre took its name partially because each of the members were born under a fire sign. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/8 "2009-06-11T23:31:57Z")
He fell in love with Heart, and the two ran off and got married. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/9 "2009-06-11T23:33:39Z")
I was Earth, Wind and Fire’s answering service in 1979. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/10 "2009-06-11T23:34:53Z")
Don’t forget the fifth element: Heart. You will never be able to summon Captain Planet without it. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/11 "2009-06-11T23:38:45Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Don’t forget the fifth element: Heart. You will never be able to summon Captain Planet without it. Dude, I was way more subtle with that joke. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/12 "2009-06-12T02:33:47Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I hear he lives under a bridge somewhere now, but nobody really cares anymore. Yeah. He was rather troubled at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/13 "2009-06-12T22:53:59Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I hear he lives under a bridge somewhere now, but nobody really cares anymore. > [@JThunder](#): > > Yeah. He was rather troubled at the time. Meh. Nobody gives a dam. He went on to create the Trickle-Down Theory of Economics. Which is weir\_d. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/14 "2009-06-13T01:56:14Z")
He dried up. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/15 "2009-06-13T02:21:48Z")
He was always hot & cold and running, and hard to hold onto. In the winter time he froze up. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/16 "2009-06-13T04:42:16Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Did he get kicked out for fighting with Fire? Everyone knows you fight Fire with Fire. I think they’re twins. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-band-earth-wind-and-fire-not-have-water/499492/17 "2009-06-13T11:25:32Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I was Earth, Wind and Fire’s answering service in 1979. That is all. Stories?