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PEOPLE & ARTS A31
Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White dead at 74
DAVID BAUDER
HILLEL ITALIE
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Earth,
Wind & Fire founder Mau-
rice White, whose horn-
driven band sold more
than 90 million albums and
made hits like “Septem-
ber,” ‘’Shining Star” and
“Boogie Wonderland,”
died Wednesday at his
home in Los Angeles, his
brother Verdine said.
White, who was 74, suf-
fered from Parkinson’s Dis-
ease and had retreated
from the public even as
the band he founded kept
performing.
“My brother, hero and
best friend Maurice White
passed away peacefully
last night in his sleep,” Ver-
dine White, also a member
of the band, told The Asso-
ciated Press on Thursday.
“While the world has lost
another great musician
and legend, our family
asks that our privacy is re-
spected as we start what
will be a very difficult and
life changing transition in
our lives. Thank you for your
prayers and well wishes.”
Earth, Wind & Fire, a nine-
piece band centered fea-
turing the two White broth-
ers, singer Philip Bailey and
the distinctive horn section,
were inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 2000. The band’s most
successful period started
with the 1975 album “That’s
The Way of The World” and
continued through the rest
of the decade. Other hits
included “Serpentine Fire,”
‘’That’s the Way of the
World” and a cover of the
Beatles’ “Got to Get You
Into My Life.”
White publicly revealed he
had Parkinson’s at the time
of the band’s Hall of Fame
induction, but he had
shown symptoms of the
neurological disease back
in the 1980s. He stopped
touring with the band in
1995 because of weariness
from the road combined
with his health problems.
White said in an interview
with The Associated Press
in 2000 that he wanted the
band’s music to inspire in-
stead of just entertain.
“That was the whole ob-
jective, to try to inspire
In this July 7, 2003 file photo, Maurice White, of Earth, Wind, & Fire, appears at an induction cer-
emony at the Hollywood Rock Walk in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. White, the founder
and leader of Earth, Wind & Fire, died at home in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016, said his
brother, Verdine White. He was 74. from the Super Bowl to the
young people to believe
in themselves and to follow
through on their ideas,” he
said. “We’ve touched so
many people with these
songs.”
A former session drum-
mer, White founded the
band Salty Peppers in the
Chicago area in the late
1960s and had some mod-
est success in the Midwest.
Chris Stapleton to lead B.B. King tribute at Grammys
NEW YORK (AP) — Country
singer Chris Stapleton will
join Gary Clark Jr. and Bon- room at the 49th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
nie Raitt at the Grammy
Awards later this month for
a tribute to the late blues
master B.B. King.
The Grammys announced
a handful of other perform-
ers on Thursday for the Feb.
15 ceremony. Justin Bieber
will join Diplo and Skrillex
to perform their hit “Where
Are U Now.” Alice Coo-
per, Johnny Depp and Joe
Perry will debut their rock
group the Hollywood Vam-
pires.
Pitbull also plans a perfor-
mance together with Travis
Barker and Robin Thicke. q
After relocating to Los An-
geles and ditching all of
the band members except
Verdine, he renamed the
outfit Earth, Wind & Fire af- was jazzy, but evolved into
ter the three elements in his an exuberant, horn-driven
astrological chart.
Bailey’s bright falsetto de-
fined many of Earth, Wind &
Fire’s hits. “We experienced
pure magic together,” Bai-
ley said during the band’s
In this Nov. 4, 2015 file photo, Chris Stapleton, winner of the awards for new artist of the year, album
of the year for “Traveller,” and male vocalist of the year, participates in an interview in the press
Friday 5 February 2016
colored lights and glittery
costumes. Earth, Wind &
Fire performed everywhere
White House.
Associated Press Maurice White also had a
substantial side career pro-
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ducing other artists, includ-
induction, standing next to ing Barbra Streisand and
White. Cher. In the 1970s, he co-
The band’s early sound wrote and co-produced
the Emotions’ No. 1 hit
“Best of My Love.”
mix of jazz, funk, gospel White was born in Mem-
and Big Band music. Their phis in 1941, the son of a
appeal wasn’t just on re- doctor and grandson of
cords but on stage, their a New Orleans piano play-
concerts a whirl of danc- er. He showed musical gifts
ing, fog machines, multi- at an early age, studying
at the Chicago Conser-
vancy.
During the 1960s, he
backed Muddy Waters,
the Impressions and others
and worked as a session
drummer in Chicago.
The band performed in
the movie, “Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band”
and had hits with the bal-
lad “After the Love Has
Gone,” ‘’All ‘n’ All,” ‘’Let’s
Groove” and “Fall in Love
With Me.” The band took
a four-year hiatus in the
1980s and then returned,
its primary success then on
the road.
“We live in a negative so-
ciety,” White told News-
week at the height of the
band’s success. “Most
people can’t see beauty
and love. I see our music
as medicine.”q
Associated Press