His older brother and former bandmate, Verdine White, confirmed the news via Instagram on Jan. 2, posting a few photos of his younger brother with the musical act alongside an emotional note. “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. 🙏🏾🙏🏾💔💔🥁🥁” he opened in the caption. Details of the official cause of death have not yet been released. Verdine’s lengthy social media announcement continued: “He joins our brothers Maurice, Monte and Ronald in heaven and is now drumming with the angels! 🥁🥁 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. ❤️❤️❤️❤️” He also went on to share that more important than Fred’s accolades was his personality, adding that “at home and beyond he was the wonderful bro that was always entertaining and delightfully mischievous!” and that his family 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!🙏🏾🕊️🙏🏾🕊️🙏🏾🕊️🙏🏾 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈” Verdine wrote in closing. The official Instagram account of rock n’ roll group Chicago the Band took to the comments with: “So very sad. Truly sorry to hear this. 🙏” Lenny Kravitz dropped a sincere message showing gratefulness for the time he was able to spend with the musician. “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,” he wrote. Several other revered artists added endearing notes in response to the news including Questlove, Nile Rodgers and Israel Houghton. In addition, the band’s official Instagram account posted a memorial tribute to Fred White, sharing a clip of a drum solo during Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Tour of the World” at Rockpalast in Essen, Germany, in 1979. Lead vocalist Philip Bailey also uploaded a post honoring White. During his time with the iconic group, he won six Grammys and was nominated a total of 13 times, scoring trophies for best R&B instrumental performance for their 1979 track “Boogie Wonderland” as well as the same award for 1977’s “Runnin’.” In 2000, the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which described how they “solidified the growth of Black album music in the Seventies,” recounting how Earth, Wind & Fire scored six consecutive double-platinum albums and became Columbia Records’ bestselling R&B band of all time. Before officially joining Earth, Wind & Fire, Fred White toured and played drums as a child for Donny Hathaway.
