Hi, Vic,
They'll always be one of my favorite groups too.
Rosie
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Subject: [ourplace] Re: maurice white, 74; founder of earth, wind & fire
They are still one of my favorite groups.
Thanks Marty,
VicOn 2/5/16, Linda Gehres <ljgehres@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I’m sure he inspired many. I always had a positive feeling listeningYou are subscribed to Ourplace (
to their songs on the radio. Thanks for this one, Marty.
Linda G.
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Sent: Friday, February 05, 2016 6:18 AM
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Subject: [ourplace] maurice white, 74; founder of earth, wind & fire
Maurice White, 74; founder of Earth, Wind & Fire . Phil
McCarten/associated press/file 2004 Mr. White's band's sound was a
horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel, and Big Band music. NEW YORK -
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. Mr. 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, said 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. T hank you for your prayers and
well wishes. Earth, Wind & Fire, a nine-piece band featuring the two
White brothers, singer Philip Bailey, and a distinctive horn section,
were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. The band's
most successful period started with the 1975 album "That's The Way of
The World" and continued through the rest of the decade. Other hits
included "Serpentine Fire,"
"That's
the Way of the World," and a cover of the Beatles' "Got to Get You
Into My Life.
Mr. White publicly revealed he had Parkinson's at the time of the
band's Hall of Fame induction, but he had shown symptoms of the
neurological disease back in the 1980s. He stopped touring with the
band in 1995 because of weariness from the road combined with his
health problems. Mr. White said in an interview in
2000 that he wanted the band's music to inspire instead of just entertain.
"That
was the whole objective, to try to inspire young people to believe in
themselves and to follow thro ugh on their ideas," he said. "We've
touched so many people with these songs. A former session drummer, Mr.
White founded the band Salty Peppers in the Chicago area in the late
1960s and had some modest success in the Midwest. After relocating to
Los Angeles and ditching all of the band members except Verdine, he
renamed the outfit Earth, Wind & Fire after the three elements in his
astrological chart. Bailey's bright falsetto defined many of Earth,
Wind & Fire's hits. "We experienced pure magic together," Bailey said
during the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, standing next
to Mr.
White. The band's early sound was jazzy, but evolved into an
exuberant, horn-driven mix of jazz, funk, gospel, and Big Band music.
Their appeal wasn't just on records but on stage, their concerts a
whirl of dancing, fog machines, multi-colored lights, and glittery
costumes. Earth, Wind & Fire performed everywhere from the Super Bowl
to the White House. Maurice White also had a substanti al side career
producing other artists, including Barbra Streisand and Cher. In the
1970s, he co-wrote and co-produced the Emotions' No. 1 hit "Best of My
Love. Mr. White was born in Memphis in 1941, the son of a doctor and
grandson of a New Orleans piano player. He showed musical gifts at an
early age, studying at the Chicago Conservancy. During the 1960s, he
backed Muddy Waters, the Impressions, and others and worked as a
session drummer in Chicago. The band performed in the movie, "Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and had hits with the ballad "After
the Love Has Gone," "All 'n' All," "Let's Groove,"
and
"Fall in Love With Me. The band took a four-year hiatus in the 1980s
and then returned, its primary success then on the road. "We live in a
negative society,"
Mr. White told Newsweek at the height of the band's success. "Most
people can't see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine.
