Sadly, Maurice White, founding member of the seminal 70s and 80s R&B band Earth Wind & Fire, died yesterday at age 47.
Read the rest of the Associated press obituary at Today.com
Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White, whose horn-driven band sold more than 90 million albums and made hits like “September,” ”Shining Star” and “Boogie Wonderland,” died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, his brother Verdine said.
White, who was 74, suffered from Parkinson’s Disease and had retreated from the public even as the band he founded kept performing.
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.”
Some of the band’s best known hits are “Serpentine Fire,” “That’s the Way of the World,” “Shining Star,” “September,” “Sing a Song,” “After the Love has Gone,” “Reasons,” a cover of the Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life,” and the list goes on.
Here’s one of my favorite’s from the band, the joyful, “September.”
