Maurice White, the leader and co-founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 74.
His brother and bandmate, Verdine White, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. Maurice White was born Dec. 19, 1941, in Memphis, and started singing in his church choir at a young age. He later took up drumming, and studied composition at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. After working as a session drummer, he moved to Los Angeles in 1969 with a band called the Salty Peppers, which went on to become the soul group Earth, Wind & Fire. "In the beginning, my message was basically trying to relate to the community," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1988. "From that it grew into more of a universal consciousness; the idea was to give the people something that was useful."
Known for such hits as "Shining Star," "September," and "Boogie Wonderland," Earth, Wind & Fire won six Grammy Awards, had six double-platinum albums, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. White stopped touring with the group in the 1990s, after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
