Fred White, a drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire, has died, according to an announcement from the band and his family. He was 67.
Fred White’s brother, Earth, Wind & Fire founding member Verdine White, said in a social media post on Monday that he “is now drumming with the angels!” Verdine White remembered his brother as an “amazing and talented family member” and a “child protégé.”
“He was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous,” Verdine White wrote. “And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light hearted!”
No cause of death was immediately given.
Fred White joined Earth, Wind & Fire as a teenager in 1974 after drumming for artists including Linda Ronstadt and Donny Hathaway, Entertainment Weekly reported. He played on some of the band’s biggest hits, including “Shining Star,” “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” according to TMZ.
He left the group in the early 1980s, Pitchfork reported. He was one of nine band members to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
He was preceded in death by Maurice White — his and Verdine White’s brother and another founding member of Earth, Wind & Fire — and two other siblings, Verdine White said.
Earth, Wind & Fire remembered Fred White in a post Monday on social media.
“Rest in love,” the band wrote.
