Fred White, Drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire, Dies at 67 - The New York Times

Fred White, who arsenic a drummer with Earth, Wind & Fire propelled immoderate of the funkiest songs successful popular history, helping to supply a soundtrack to the nation’s weddings, barroom mitzvahs, precocious schoolhouse reunions and immoderate different relation astatine which radical of each ages dance, died connected Sunday. He was 67.

His decease was announced connected Instagram by his member Verdine White, the band’s bassist. The announcement did not accidental wherever helium died oregon springiness the cause.

Fred White was a subordinate of Earth, Wind & Fire during a pivotal period, from the mid-1970s to the aboriginal ’80s, erstwhile the radical made overmuch of its astir beloved music. He played connected “Let’s Groove,” “Boogie Wonderland,” “Shining Star” and “September,” which Spotify lists arsenic having been played connected its level 1.18 cardinal times. The songs’ archetypal fewer bars unsocial person agelong been known to determination radical to the creation floor.

Earth, Wind & Fire was founded and led by Fred and Verdine’s fractional brother, Maurice White. Though the band’s euphony was recognizable for its joyous horn conception and creaseless vocals, Maurice, successful his 2016 memoir, “My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire,” described the radical arsenic “a set of drummers.”

Maurice himself had trained successful the instrument, and it was not retired of quality for 4 percussionists to play each astatine erstwhile during Earth, Wind & Fire concerts. For 2 years, Fred White and Ralph Johnson some performed onstage with their ain afloat drum kits.

“Fred was the ceramic wall,” Maurice White wrote successful his memoir. “He provided a rock-solid tempo and a rock-solid feel, priceless qualities successful a drummer. He was 1 of the champion things going for us.”

Frederick Eugene Adams was calved connected Jan. 13, 1955, successful Chicago. He shared a parent with Maurice, Edna (Parker) White, a homemaker. His father, Verdine Sr., was a podiatrist. Fred began playing the drums astatine 9. (Maurice called him a “child prodigy.”) Fred, similar Verdine Jr., changed his surname to White truthful that it would beryllium clearer that helium was related to Maurice.

Fred grew up “in the ghetto successful Chicago,” helium told Modern Drummer mag successful 1982, and gained a consciousness of intent from the drums. He began playing gigs astir the property of 13. By 14, helium was successful a set that appeared successful nightclubs. At 15, helium was playing with the blues vocalist Donny Hathaway and making up excuses erstwhile helium could not be a league due to the fact that of school.

After Fred toured with the stone set Little Feat, Maurice and Verdine decided that helium had the chops to play with Earth, Wind & Fire. Fred was inactive a teenager.

In summation to Verdine, Mr. White’s survivors see a sister, Geri. Maurice White died successful 2016 astatine 74. A implicit database of survivors was not instantly available.

In his memoir, Maurice described Fred during his years with the set arsenic a “daredevil spirit” who was “cocky, young and a spot arrogant,” creating problems with his bandmates, peculiarly stemming from the antithetic concern of having 2 drummers performing onstage astatine the aforesaid time.

Speaking to Modern Drummer, Fred White acknowledged that his aboriginal years sharing drumming duties with Mr. Johnson were a “battle,” since helium was “used to being the lone drummer and utilized to carrying the band.”

The radical yet dropped the dual drummer setup and shifted Mr. Johnson’s responsibilities to vocals and different percussion instruments similar the congas.

“After we stopped doing it,” Fred White told Modern Drummer, “I missed it.”