| Guiding Lights | |
| Cover: | Earth, Wind & Fire- Guiding Lights.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Earth, Wind & Fire |
| Album: | Now, Then & Forever |
| Released: | 2012 |
| Genre: | R&B |
| Length: | 3:56 |
| Label: | Sony Music/Legacy |
| Producer: | Walt B. & Neal Pogue |
| Prev Title: | Change Your Mind |
| Prev Year: | 2006 |
| Next Title: | My Promise |
| Next Year: | 2013 |
"Guiding Lights" is a song by the band Earth, Wind & Fire, released as a single in 2012 by Sony Music/Legacy. The song reached No. 16 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs chart and No. 30 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart.
"Guiding Lights" was produced by Walt B. & Neal Pogue and composed by Philip D. Bailey, Austin Jacobs, Daniel McClain with Darrin Simpson. The song came from Earth, Wind & Fire's 2013 album Now, Then & Forever.[1]
Andy Kellman of Allmusic wrote, "My Promise and Guiding Light especially rise high enough to be slotted between classics without losing listener interest."[2] Elias Leight of Popmatters wrote that it was "a break-beat driven falsetto ballad that stretches the drama out past six minutes and includes a scream at the 4:18 mark that shouldn't be humanly possible for any man above the age of 30". Heo added, "The muted brass in "Guiding Lights" touches on the early '00s neo-soul that Earth, Wind & Fire helped inspire."[3] Emerys Baird of Blues & Soul wrote, "Ballad time, with the sultry "Guiding Lights", all replete with possibly the highest note ever hit by a human (even higher that Janet Kay on Silly Games!). It's a towering performance with the waffliest of synth solos, which nobody seems to do anymore, EWF at their best!"[4] Daryl Easlea of Record Collector described the song as a "big spiritual ballad".[5]
| Chart (2012) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs[6] | 16 | |
| U.S. Billboard Adult R&B Songs[7] | 30 |