Fred White, the drummer who supported his brothers Maurice White and Verdin White in the Grammy-winning band Earth, Wind & Fire, has died. he was 67 years old.
The band’s vocalist, percussionist and bassist Burdine White posted on Instagram on Sunday that his brother, Frederick Eugene “Freddie” White, had passed away. He did not say where or how his brother died.
Earth, Wind & Fire was founded in 1970 under the leadership of Maurice White, who celebrated African musicianship and spiritualism by creating a band capable of combining elements of jazz, funk, R&B, soul, dance, pop and rock. started in the year. Boosted by the Phoenix Horns of the horn section and a reputation for energetic and bombastic live performances, the group’s popularity increased after moving to Columbia Records, which was under the leadership of Clive Davis at the time.
Fred White was already an accomplished drummer playing for Donnie Hathaway before joining Earth, Wind & Fire in the mid-1970s. Teamed up with drummer and percussionist Ralph Johnson, the band’s rhythm section was tight and upbeat, setting the stage for songs like “Boogie Wonderland” and “September,” quickly becoming favorites.
Burdin-White said that his older brother Fred was a talented child musician who “got a gold record at the young age of 16”. Fred White remained with the band until 1983.
“But more than that, he was always a fun and mischievous wonderful brother, both at home and out! And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation brighter. I did!” White wrote.
Some of the band’s biggest hits are still widely popular and have been sampled and used in countless movies. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, played the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show, and has won six Grammy Awards for him. The band’s “Got to Get You Into My Life” was included in President Barack Obama’s first Spotify playlist.
The band’s most successful period began with the 1975 album That’s The Way of The World and continued for the next decade. Other hits included “Serpentine Fire”, “Shining Star” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life”.
