Head to the Sky

Head to the Sky was produced by Joe Wissert with bandleader Maurice White serving as a musical director on the album. The LP was also recorded at Clover Recorders Studios, Hollywood, California.[2]

Erykah Badu paid tribute to the album in the music video of her 2008 single "Honey".[6][7]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[8]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[9]
Village Voice	(B–)[10]
Billboard	(favourable)[11]
Variety	(favourable)[12]

Vince Aletti of Rolling Stone declared "Been having a lot of music dreams lately but this one’s not too surprising since I’ve been playing the Earth, Wind & Fire album pretty constantly for the past week, certainly beyond all expectations. With a cover like this one — the eight men in the group shirtless, the one woman all in white, surrounded by a starburst arrangement of cut flowers, repeated with slight variations in the centerfold — I’m surprised I even broke the shrinkwrap. And this group started in Chicago?".[9] Billboard noted that the band "does everything well" on the LP.[11] Robert Christgau of the Village Voice gave a B- grade saying "Most of the first side keeps up the good work..But the mood jazz excursion on side two exposes White's essential fatuousness. "Zanzibar," it's called, as befits a travelogue; its saxophone solo (by Ronnie Laws's replacement, Andrew Woolfolk) could make Alice Coltrane blush."[10] Alex Henderson of Allmusic called Head to the Sky an "excellent" album.[8] Variety also described the record as "a movin' new package.[12]

Issac Hayes called Head to the Sky one of Earth, Wind & Fire's five essential recordings.[13]

"Evil" peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart and No. 25 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart.[14][15] "Keep Your Head to the Sky" also reached No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Soul Songs chart.[16]

• Verdine White – vocals, bass, percussion
• Philip Bailey – vocals, congas, percussion
• Maurice White – vocals, drums, kalimba, leader
• Jessica Cleaves – vocals
• Johnny Graham – guitar, percussion
• Al McKay – guitar, sitar, percussion
• Larry Dunn – clarinet, piano, organ
• Ralph Johnson – drums, percussion
• Andrew Woolfolk – soprano saxophone, flute
• Oscar Braschear – guest trumpet on "Zanzibar"