Philip Bailey, the legendary falsetto behind Earth, Wind and Fire, has revealed that "Reasons"—widely played at weddings for decades—was inspired by a one-night stand with a woman already in a relationship.
In an exclusive clip from Questlove's new Earth, Wind & Fire documentary, Bailey confesses that the 1975 R&B song wasn't written as an ode to true love. Instead, it drew from a night spent with a woman who was dating someone else.
"How could people think that this song is a love song?" Bailey asks, as Anderson .Paak and H.E.R. react in the documentary.
.Paak says he always thought the song was "going down the list of all the reasons that he loved this person," while H.E.R. notes that "when you have a falsetto like Philip, he can say anything and you're gonna be like, 'This is so beautiful, it's so romantic!'"
Bailey explains that after spending the night with the woman, he woke up to find her on the phone with her boyfriend. "She's talking to her dude!" he recalls with a chuckle. "It's just a sex call! That's it."
His closing line is delivered with deadpan timing: "So, if you played it at your wedding, I'm sorry." Questlove can be heard laughing in the background.
The revelation has spread across social media, with fans both amused by the confession and reconsidering their wedding playlists.
