Fred White, the former child prodigy drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire, has died, his family announced on January 1st. He was 67.
“He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte, and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels,” Fred’s brother and co-founding EWF bassist/songwriter Verdine White wrote on Instagram. A cause of death was not listed.
Fred began drumming at the age of 9 and had his first gold record by the time he was 16 for his work on Donny Hathaway‘s Live. He joined his brothers’ band in 1974, just before the group rocketed to fame with That’s the Way of the World the following year. He appears on such classic compositions as “September”, “Boogie Wonderland”, and “Shining Star”. Fred played on eight of Earth, Wind & Fire’s albums through 1983’s Electric Wonderland.
“But more than that at home and beyond he was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous!” Verdine continued. “And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light hearted!”
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Though Earth, Wind & Fire’s lineup has changed dramatically over the years, with over two dozen musicians going in and out of the band, Fred White was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as one of the original nine members in 2000. Thanks to the foundational songs featuring Fred, the group has gone on to sell over 90 million records, making it one of the most successful bands of all time.
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