Earth, Wind & Fire soul band founder Maurice White dies

The founder of soul group Earth, Wind & Fire, Maurice White, has died in the US, his brother has said.

White, 74, died in his sleep in Los Angeles on Thursday morning. He suffered from Parkinson's Disease.

His band had a series of hits including September, Boogie Wonderland, Shining Star and After the Love has Gone.

The singer-songwriter was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1992 but his condition was reported to have got worse in recent months.

Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Maurice was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.

Philip Bailey, (left), Maurice White (centre) and Ralph Johnson, of Earth, Wind & Fire hold up the plaques from their induction at the Hollywood Rock Walk at a ceremony in Los Angeles. (07 July 2003) — Image captionMaurice White (centre) pictured here in 2003 with fellow Earth, Wind & Fire band mates Phil Bailey (left) and Ralph Johnson picked up numerous music industry awards

Earth Wind & Fire In Concert (file photo) — Image captionEarth, Wind & Fire is perhaps best known for its exuberant, horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band music

Maurice White (left) and Ralph Johnson of Earth Wind & Fire (file photo) — Image captionMaurice White (left) is reported to have shown symptoms of neurological disease as far back as the 1980s

Popularly known by his nickname of Reese, he worked with various well-known recording artists such as The Emotions, Barbra Streisand, Cher and Neil Diamond.

Earth, Wind & Fire have sold more than 90 million albums worldwide.

"My brother, hero and best friend Maurice White passed away peacefully last night in his sleep," Verdine White, also a member of the band, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

"While the world has lost another great musician and legend, our family asks that our privacy is respected 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 centred around the two White brothers and singer Philip Bailey
The band's most successful period began with the 1975 album That's The Way of The World
They remained prominent in the charts for at least a decade afterwards
White publicly revealed he was suffering from Parkinson's at the time of the band's Hall of Fame induction
He stopped touring with the band in 1995 because of a combination of tiredness and health problems

White said in an interview with the Associated Press news agency in 2000 that he wanted Earth, Wind & Fire's music to inspire people rather than just entertain them.

"That was the whole objective, to try to inspire 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 drummer, White formed a band called Salty Peppers in the Chicago area in the late 1960s.

He subsequently moved to Los Angeles, disposing of all of the band members except Verdine, The band was renamed Earth, Wind & Fire after the three elements in his astrological chart.

Many of the group's earlier hits were characterised by Bailey's bright falsetto voice.

The band is perhaps best known for its exuberant, horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel and Big Band music played at concerts where they performed in glitzy costumes underneath multi-coloured lights. They played at many top venues including the Super Bowl and the White House.

"We live in a negative society,'" White informed Newsweek at the peak of the band's success. "Most people can't see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine."

__._,_.___

Posted by: Grandmaof3grandsons <grandmaof3grandsons@comcast.net>

Reply via web post

•

Reply to sender

•

Reply to group

•

Start a New Topic

•

Messages in this topic (1)

Remember to visit the Dead Celebrity Alert
Blog, a searchable database of obituaries
back to 2001:

http://DeadCelebrityAlert.com

- - -

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section
107, any copyrighted work in this message is
distributed under fair use without profit or
payment to those who have expressed a prior
interest in receiving the included
information for non-profit research and
educational purposes only.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

Visit Your Group

New Members 1

• Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

__,_._,___

Bob Elliott, best known for his work with comedy partner Ray Goulding, has died, his son Chris Elliott -- also a comedian -- The New York Times reports. He was 92.

Bob and Goulding first showcased their comedy on radio shows beginning in the '40s and went on to host a television show titled The Bob and Ray Show for two years in the early '50s, but remained loyal to their original medium of choice.

"Ray and I both grew up with radio," Bob once said, according to the Times. "Our whole hopes for the future were that we'd get into radio." The duo also dabbled in theater, debuting The Two and Only on Broadway in 1970.

Bob and Goulding worked together up until Goulding's death in 1990. Bob started his run on Get a Life, a Fox sitcom starring his son Chris that aired until 1992, that year. He most recently voiced a character in a 2008 episode of King of the Hill.