Fred White, drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire, died Sunday at 67.
A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
“Child protégé, member of the EWF ORIGINAL 9, with gold records at the young age of 16 years old!,” wrote brother and bandmate Verdine White, in an Instagram post. “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!”
In the comments there are condolences from acts like Nile Rodgers, Questlove and Chicago. Lenny Kravitz shared: “I was blessed to have been in his presence and blessed to have been influenced by him. A true king.”
Born Frederick Eugene Adams in Chicago, he was a teenager when he started playing backing Donny Hathaway on drums. His work can be heard on Hathaway’s 1972 live album (and on two tracks on his 1973 album Extension of a Man).
He joined Verdine and their brother Maurice in Earth, Wind & Fire in 1974 and played on eight of their studio albums, including big hits like “September,” “Boogie Wonderland” and “Shining Star.” He left the band when it went on hiatus in 1984.
As part of Earth, Wind & Fire, White earned six Grammy Awards and, in 2000, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.