Earth, Wind & Fire Drummer Fred White Dies At 67: 'Now Drumming With The Angels'

Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White has died at the age of 67. His older brother and former bandmate Verdine White shared the sad news on his Instagram page Sunday.

"Our family is saddened today with the loss of an amazing and talented family member, our beloved brother Frederick Eugene 'Freddie' White," Verdine wrote in the post, which came with pictures of his brother as well as promotional photos of the band.

"He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels!" he added.

Also in the caption, Verdine called his brother a "child protégé" and a member of the Earth Wind and Fire "Original 9 with gold records at the young age of 16 years old."

"But more than that at home and beyond he was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous!" the 71-year-old bassist 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!!" he noted further. "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!"

Neither the cause of Fred's death nor the date of his passing was disclosed in Verdine's post.

Born in Chicago on Jan. 13, 1955, Fred began taking an interest in drums at the tender age of 9. He played the drums for Linda Ronstadt and Donny Hathaway before joining Earth, Wind & Fire in 1974.

The band's official Instagram account also posted a tribute to Fred, showing the gifted percussionist enjoying a drum solo during Earth, Wind & Fire's gig in Germany in 1979.

"In memoriam: Fred White, 1955-2022. Seen here soloing during our performance of Runnin', during our Tour of the World in 1979, at Rockpalast in Essen, Germany. Rest in love," the caption read.

Philip Bailey, one of the band's original lead singers, also posted a tribute to their departed bandmate alongside an image of him, Ralph Johnson and Fred celebrating their double Grammy win in 1980.