White's brother and bandmate, Verdine, shared the sad news Sunday.
Fred White, one of the original members and drummer for the band, Earth, Wind & Fire, has died. He was 67.
Fred's brother and bandmate, Verdine, shared the sad news on Instagram Sunday.
"Dearest Family Friends and Fans.....Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member, Our beloved brother Frederick Eugene 'Freddie' White.🙏🏾🙏🏾💔💔🥁🥁," Verdine began, sharing photos from Fred's time with the band.
"He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels! 🥁🥁," he continued, noting the death of their brother and bandmate, Maurice, who died in 2016 after a battle with Parkinson's disease. As well as Monte, who died in 2020.
Verdine also listed Fred's accolades, which included earning gold records for the group when he was just 16.
"Child protégé, member of the EWF ORIGINAL 9, with gold records at the young age of 16 years old! He was brother number 4 in the family lineup. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ But more than that at home and beyond 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!🙏🏾😍🙏🏾," Verdine added.
"He will live in our hearts forever, rest in power beloved Freddie!!," he said, concluding the post by thanking fans for their love and support during this difficult time. "We thank you all for your love, blessings and support at this time. Soar high baby bro, we love you to the shining ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️and back! 🙏🏾🕊️🙏🏾🕊️🙏🏾🕊️🙏🏾 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈."
A cause of death for the famed drummer was not given.
The music world shared their condolences in the comments, with Lenny Kravitz writing, "Sending my love and deepest condolences to you and the family. I was blessed to have been in his presence and blessed to have been influenced by him. A true king. Rest in power."
Questlove also commented, simply writing, "Love."
Fred joined the band in 1974, just as Earth, Wind & Fire cemented themselves as pop figureheads of the disco era. Best known for songs like 1976's "Saturday Nite," "September" and "Boogie Wonderland," Fred saw great success with the band before leaving the group in the early 1980s.
His music career continued outside of Earth, Wind & Fire, with Fred singing with artists like Diana Ross and Bonnie Raitt, collaborating with Ross as recently as 2021 on her comeback album.
While Fred never re-joined the group, he did return in 2000 for their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
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