Fantasy (Earth, Wind & Fire song)

"Fantasy"
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album All 'N All
B-side	"Be Ever Wonderful"
Released	January 13, 1978
Format	7", 12"
Recorded	1977
Genre	R&B, disco
Length	3:46
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Maurice White, Verdine White, Eddie del Barrio
Producer(s)	Maurice White
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"Serpentine Fire" (1977) "Fantasy" (1978) "Jupiter" (1977)

"Fantasy" is a song written and composed by Maurice White, Verdine White, and Eddie del Barrio. It first became an international hit in 1977 by the American group Earth, Wind & Fire. A cover version in 1990 by the Eurodance band Black Box was also a successful international hit. "Fantasy" has been covered or sampled by many artists over the years.

Earth, Wind & Fire version

Background

"Fantasy" was first recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire for their studio album All 'N All, and was released as a single in 1978. The song took a period of three months to be written and composed, and it was only finally finished after Maurice White saw the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind and gained inspiration from the film.^[1] "Fantasy" reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in the United States, and number 14 on the UK singles chart. "Fantasy" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Song.^[2] After its release in Japan as a digital single to cellphones in 2009, it was certified gold for 100,000 downloads in May 2011.^[3]

Track listings

7" single

1. "Fantasy" — 3:54
2. "Be Ever Wonderful" — 5:08

Chart performance

Chart (1978)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report[4]	25
Swedish Singles Chart[5]	8
UK Singles Chart[6]	14
US Billboard Hot 100[7]	32
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	12
Netherlands[8]	6

Appearances in other media

"Fantasy" is featured in the film Be Cool, starring John Travolta, in the film Private Lessons, whose producers included Jack Barry and Dan Enright, and on the Everybody Hates Chris episode "Everybody Hates Keisha".^[9][10] The song was featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. It is also on the popular ABC sitcom The Middle in Season 5, Episode 13 "The Hungry Games", when Reverend Deveraux (played by Keegan-Michael Key) sings it during a sermon.

It was also the main theme song for the Japanese television drama Love Shuffle,^[11] and it likewise appears in another J-drama, Densha Otoko. Dancing with the Stars Season 12's eventual winner Hines Ward and his partner Kym Johnson danced their samba in week 3 of the competition to this song, and reprised their performance on the final show of the season earning perfect scores.

Black Box version

"Fantasy"
Single by Black Box
from the album Dreamland
Released	1990
Format	CD maxi, 7" single, 12" maxi
Recorded	1989
Genre	House
Length	3:44
Label	Polydor, Arista
Producer(s)	Groove Groove Melody
Black Box singles chronology
"Everybody Everybody" (1990) "Fantasy" (1990) "The Total Mix" (1990)

Background

Black Box recorded a cover of "Fantasy" for the group's debut studio album Dreamland in 1990. Their version featured Martha Wash on lead vocals, but their music producers initially failed to credit her. The song contains samples of Grace Jones' version of "La Vie En Rose". Black Box's version of the song charted at number 5 in the UK Singles Chart,^[12] number 16 in Germany, and number 3 in Australia.^[13]

Track listings

CD maxi

1. "Fantasy" (club mix) — 7:20
2. "Get Down" (rap mix) — 6:43
3. "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (rappapella) — 3:00

7" single

1. "Fantasy" — 3:44
2. "Get Down" Black Box featuring "Stepz" (rappapella) — 3:00

12" maxi

1. "Fantasy" (big band remix) — 5:48
2. "Get Down" (party remix) — 3:55
3. "Get Down" (afro mix) — 4:15

Official versions

• "Fantasy" — 3:44
• "Fantasy" (Original Version) - 5:12
• "Fantasy" (Big Band Remix) — 5:48
• "Fantasy" (Club Mix) — 7:20

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[14]	Gold	35,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[15]	Silver	200,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart performance

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart[13]	3
Austrian Singles Chart[16]	4
French SNEP Singles Chart[16]	21
German Singles Chart[16]	16
Irish IRMA Singles Chart[17]	3
Swiss Singles Chart[16]	26
UK Singles Chart[18]	5

End of year chart (1991)	Position
Australian Singles Chart[19]	17
Austrian Singles Chart[20]	21

Other versions

• "Fantasy" was covered by Maynard Ferguson on his 1978 album Carnival.
• Pedro "Pete" Escovedo covered "Fantasy" on his 1997 album E-Street.^[21]
• "Fantasy" has also been recorded by The 5th Dimension.
• It appears as the fifth track on the album "Fantasy" by the Harold Mabern Trio.
• A Malay version of this song (titled Khayalan) has been performed by Singaporean act Black Dog Bone in the 1970s. This rendition has since been covered by Malaysian hip-hop group Ruffedge in collaboration with V.E in 2003 under the former group's album Extreme Pleasure Extra - a re-release of their début 2000 album Extreme Pleasure with a few songs added into it, including this song.
• Australian musician Anthony Callea covered the song for his album Backbone (2016).

Samples

• It was sampled by Puff Daddy on the song "Angels with Dirty Faces" featuring Bizzy Bone, which was included on Puff Daddy's album Forever.^[22]
• It has also been sampled on "Live Now" by Nas from his album Street's Disciple, on "Shawty," by Plies, from the album The Real Testament, and on "To Me You're Everything," by 98 Degrees, from the album 98 Degrees and Rising.^[23]
• In late 2007, Latin hip hop trio The D.E.Y. sampled "Fantasy" on their single "Give You the World," released in late December 2007. Just Blaze sampled "Fantasy" for Jay-Z's "As One" which appeared on his Blueprint 2 album. Also in 2007, with the release of American Gangster, a song by Jay-Z and Lil' Wayne sampled the beginning of "Fantasy" throughout the song.

References

1. Funicello, Tammy (2005-05-18). "Maurice White Honored". lavalleystar.com. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
2. "Earth, Wind & Fire Awards". earthwindandfire.com. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
3. レコード協会調べ　5月度有料音楽配信認定＜略称：5月度認定＞ [Record Association report: May digital music download certifications (Abbreviation: May Certifications)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). June 20, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 99. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
5. Steffen Hung. "Earth, Wind & Fire - Fantasy". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
6. "Earth Wind & Fire - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
7. "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind & Fire, U.S. Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart allmusic.com (Retrieved March 19, 2009)
8. "Earth, Wind & Fire - Fantasy | Top 40". Top40.nl. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
9. Earth, Wind & Fire at the Internet Movie Database
10. ""Everybody Hates Chris (2005)" - 1x02 - Everybody Hates Keisha". EPisodeWorld.com. 2005-09-29. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
11. ラブシャッフル (2009). Allcinema.net (in Japanese). Stingray. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
12. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 59. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
13. "australian-charts.com > Black Box - Fantasy (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
15. "British single certifications – Black Box – Fantasy". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Fantasy in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
16. Steffen Hung. "Black Box - Fantasy". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
17. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
18. "Black Box - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
19. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 50 Singles 1991". Aria.com.au. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
20. Steffen Hung (1991-12-22). "Jahreshitparade 1991". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
21. "Pete Escovedo - E Street (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
23. "98°* - 98° And Rising". discogs.com. Retrieved 20 June 2009.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics