Fred White, Earth, Wind & Fire Drummer, Dead At 67
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Legendary Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Frederick Eugene “Freddie” White passed away on Sunday (Jan. 1), according to his brother and former group member Verdine White. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was 67 years old.
“Dearest Family Friends and Fans….. Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member, our beloved brother Frederick Eugene ‘Freddie’ White,” Verdine White of EWF wrote. “He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte and Ronald in heaven, and is now drumming with the angels!”
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Verdine added how his brother was a “child protege,” and member of the original nine-men Chicago-bred iconic music group. The multi-awarded group’s bassist also mentioned that at just 16 years old, Fred — who he described as “brother number 4” in their family line up — had already earned Gold records.
He continued, “But more than that at home and beyond he was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous! And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light hearted! He will live on in our hearts forever, rest in power beloved Freddie!!”
“We thank you all for your love, blessings and support at this time,” he wrote. “Soar high baby bro, we love you to the shining [stars emojis] and back!”
In tribute, on Earth, Wind & Fire’s official Instagram account, the band shared a drum solo of Freddie during their 1979 Tour of the World date in Essen, Germany. “Rest in love,” captioned the video.
Condolences started pouring into the comment section from musical peers including Sheila E, Lenny Kravitz, Questlove, Nile Rodgers and more.
“Sending my love and deeper condolences to you and the family,” Kravitz commented. “I was blessed to have been in his presence and blessed to have been influenced by him. A true king. Rest in power.”
The Chicago-bred band was founded by the late Maurice White in 1969 and has since seen group members come and go including Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Roland Bautista, Robert Brookins, Sonny Emory, Fred Ravel, Ronnie Laws, Sheldon Reynolds and Andrew Woolfolk.
The band is best known for timeless singles including “September,” “Let’s Groove,” “Shining Star,” “Keep Your Head To The Sky” and many more.
Earth, Wind & Fire has won six Grammys out of 17 nominations, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as a group. EWF is also considered one of the greatest bands in music history.
VIBE sends condolences to Fred White’s family, friends and fans.
