Fred White, who drummed for Earth, Wind & Fire on many of their biggest hits, has died. He was 67. No cause of death has been given. News of his death broke on Instagram on New Year’s Day. His brother and former bandmate Verdine White wrote, “Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member, our beloved brother Frederick Eugene ‘Freddie’ White.” Verdine said his brother “joins our brothers Maurice, Monte, and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels!” According to Pitchfork, Fred White was a drumming prodigy, touring with Donny Hathaway before graduating high school and getting gold records with EW&F at 16. He drummed on such hits as “Shining Star,” “September,” and the band’s version of “Sing a Song.” White left the group in the early ’80s but returned for the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
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