Photo of Earth, Wind & Fire with a golden bird that stretches from the top to the bottom

Vault Of Soul: Earth, Wind & Fire

Each week of June, we open the 88.9 Vault of Soul with profiles of iconic soul pioneers. To continue 2025’s June coverage, WERS recognizes the legendary band Earth, WInd & Fire, one of the most influential bands of all time, blurring the lines between funk, soul, and R&B music.

Image of Anita Baker wearing a black top looking forward. Anita Baker is spelled out in white next to her and Vault of Soul is written in purple, yellow, and pink underneath.

Vault of Soul: Anita Baker

Each week of June, we open the 88.9 Vault of Soul with profiles of iconic soul pioneers. To continue 2025’s June coverage, WERS recognizes Anita Baker, one of the most recognizable voices in the American Jazz and R&B scene throughout the 80s, 90s, and well into the 21st Century.

A picture of Luther Vandross looking to down and to the left, with white text in the top right saying Luther Vandross and purple and blue text saying Vault of Soul.

Vault of Soul: Luther Vandross

Each week of June, we open the 88.9 Vault of Soul with profiles of iconic soul pioneers. To continue 2025’s June coverage, WERS recognizes Luther Vandross, one of the most recognizable names and voices in R&B, through the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.

A black and white photograph of seven members of soul group the Flamingos on a light purple background with lyrics from the Flamingos overlayed in a darker shade of purple. A yellow rectangle has black text that reads: "The Flamingos" and in the top right is "The Vault of Soul" logo.

The Vault of Soul: The Flamingos

“Each week of Black Music Month, we’ve opened the 88.9 Vault of Soul with profiles of iconic soul pioneers. Closing out this month is the Flamingos, a group often cited on other Vault entries as an inspiration for the greats, from Diana Ross to Smokey Robinson…”