Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White dead at 67

Drummer Fred White, who played with his brothers Maurice and Verdine White in the Grammy-winning ensemble Earth, Wind & Fire, has died. He is 67 years old.

Verdine White, vocalist, percussionist and bass player for the band, posted Sunday on his Instagram account that his brother Frederick Eugene “Freddie” White has died. He did not say how and where his brother died.

Earth, Wind & Fire began in 1970 under the leadership of Maurice White, who created a band that combined elements of jazz, funk, R&B, soul, dance, pop and rock, and celebrated African musicians and spiritualism.

Driven by a horn section, the Phenix Horns, and a reputation for energetic and bombastic live performances, the group’s popularity grew after moving to Columbia Records, which was then headed by Clive Davis.

Fred White had been an accomplished drummer, playing for Donny Hathaway, before joining Earth, Wind & Fire in the mid-1970s. Paired together with drummer and percussionist Ralph Johnson, the band’s rhythm section is tight and upbeat and sets the stage for songs like Boogie Wonderland and September became an instant favorite.

Verdine White said her brother Fred was a gifted child musician, “with a gold record by the time he was 16!” Fred White remained with the band until 1983.

‘We can always count on him’

“But more than that in front and beyond that there is a good bro who is always entertaining and delightfully mischievous! And we can always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation lighter!” White wrote.

Some of the band’s biggest hits are still popular, often sampled and used in many films. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, played at the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show and has six Grammys.

Your band Gotta Have You In My Life was on former 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 through another decade. Other hits included Serpentine Fire, A shining star and covers from The Beatles Gotta Have You In My Life.