| Heritage | |
| Cover: | File:Earth, Wind & Fire- Heritage (Single).jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Earth, Wind & Fire featuring The Boys |
| Album: | Heritage |
| B-Side: | Gotta Find Out |
| Released: | February 1990 |
| Length: | 4:05 |
| Label: | Columbia |
| Producer: | Maurice White |
| Chronology: | Earth, Wind & Fire |
| Prev Title: | Turn on (The Beat Box) |
| Prev Year: | 1988 |
| Next Title: | For the Love of You |
| Next Year: | 1990 |
"Heritage" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire featuring Suns of Light (as the Boys), released in February 1990 by Columbia Records[1] as the first single from their fifteenth studio album. The single reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, No. 5 on the Cash Box Top R&B Singles chart, No. 4 on the Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon) chart and No. 23 on the Finland Suomen virallinen singlelista.[2] [3] [4]
"Heritage" was produced by Maurice White and written by White, Lestley Pierce and Frankie Blue. With a duration of four minutes and five seconds the song has a prestissimo tempo of 207 beats per minute.[5]
The single's B-side was a song called "Gotta Find Out". Both "Heritage" and "Gotta Find Out" came upon EWF's 1990 studio album Heritage.
A music video was also issued in 1990 to accompany the single.[6]
May Mitchell of The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that "guest appearances are made by the Boys who lend a nice choral touch to the funky title track".[7] Billboard called "Heritage" "a solid funky jam strong on complex harmonies and prideful lyrics" with "youthful zest".[8] Peter Kinghorn of the Newcastle Chronicle found a "Throbbing dance beat with the Boys helping out on harmonies."[9] John Milward of Rolling Stone declared that the "prideful title tune even throws in the kind of admonition — “This is a party, y’all,” courtesy of the Boys — favored by Earth, Wind and Fire's more radical old rivals in Parliament-Funkadelic".[10] Pablo Guzman of the New York Daily News also exclaimed that EWF "jumps into radioactive with Takin' Chances and Heritage, the latter featuring the Boys. The union is a kicking one".[11] James T. Jones IV of USA Today found that "EWF smartly gets help from..The Boys on the muscular title track, a song of racial pride."[12]
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Pop Singles (Oricon) | 4 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen singlelista)[13] | 23 |
| US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard) | 5 |
| US Top R&B Singles (Cash Box) | 5 |