(ANSA) — NEW YORK, Jan. 2 — Fred White, former drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire, has died at the age of 67. Brother Verdine announced it.
Born in Chicago, Illinois in 1955, White began playing drums at a young age. During his career, he won six Grammy Awards with the legendary funk band, formed in 1969 by his brother Maurice White, who died in 2016. Quickly rising to fame in the 1970s, Earth, Wind & Fire were among the first to break racial taboos in pop and were hugely successful in both the white and African American communities. In 1979, the band became the first African American band to perform to a full audience at New York’s prestigious Madison Square Garden. As a member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, White was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, America’s pantheon of rock and pop music, in 2000. The group was notable for their songs, but also for their energetic shows, punctuated by a strong presence of brass and a kalimba, an African percussion instrument made of metal plates.
Without ever completely leaving the stage, the group experienced renewed prominence after the election of President Barack Obama, who invited them to perform as one of the first artists to perform after moving into the White House in 2009.
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