Former Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White has died age 64, TMZ reports.
His death was confirmed by his bandmate and brother Verdine White, the bassist and founding member for the band. “Dearest Family Friends and Fans, wrote Verdine in a post on Instagram. “Our family is saddened today With the loss of an amazing and talented family member, Our beloved brother Frederick Eugene “Freddie” White. … He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels!” No cause of death has been revealed.
Verdine described his late brother as a “child protege,” and one of the members of the “EWF ORIGINAL 9.” He noted that Fred got his first gold records when he was just 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,” he continued. “And we could always count on him to make a seemingly bad situation more light hearted!🙏🏾😍🙏🏾 He will live in our hearts forever, rest in power beloved Freddie!! 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!”
Aside from his work as part of Earth, Wind & Fire, Fred toured with Donny Hathaway and played drums on records from the likes of Willie Hutch, Albertina Walker, Deniece Williams, and R&B group The Emotions.
RIP.