Maurice White

Born: December 19, 1941.

Died: February 4, 2016.

MAURICE White, who has died aged 74 after suffering from Parkinson's disease, was the founder, singer, songwriter, producer and creative energy of the popular soul band Earth, Wind & Fire.

Most successful in the 1970s and '80s but still touring today, the band played a unique, horn-driven blend of jazz, funk, soul, gospel and rhythm blues, with danceable hits such as September, After the Love has Gone, Fantasy, Shining Star and Boogie Wonderland.

Known for their concerts featuring gaily-coloured dancers, lights, fog machines, pyrotechnics and glittering costumes, the band played everywhere from the White House to the half-time extravaganza at the American football Super Bowl. (A young Michael Jackson was said to have taken some of his own stage effects from their shows). They were one of the first acts to break the colour barrier in pop music, the first African-American group to sell out Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. To date, they have sold close to 100 million albums, won six Grammy Awards and were nominated a further 11 times. Their sound, fronted by White as tenor and Philip Bailey in falsetto, backed by horns and an African kalimba for added percussion, was among the most instantly-recognizable in pop music.

After a lull towards the end of the 20th Century, the band gained a new lease of life and popularity in 2009 after newly-elected President Barack Obama invited them to play among his first performers at the White House. By then, White had already been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was forced to stop touring but Earth, Wind & Fire kept playing, with White remaining as a mentor, producer, creative inspiration and still retaining executive control. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2000 as well as the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, while White was individually inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The band are to be honoured this year with a Grammy lifetime achievement award and are scheduled to play the 3Arena in Dublin on June 28.

Sometimes using his nickname Reese, White also wrote, produced or arranged for numerous other star acts including Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisland, Cher, Deniece Williams and The Emotions. For the latter, he co-wrote and co-produced their No. 1 hit Best of My Love. "Maurice really set the bar," his former co-singer in Earth, Wind & Fire, Philip Bailey, said after his death. Even when we were in our stride back then, as a producer he was the sought-after cat at that time." Bailey famously duetted with Phil Collins on the smash hit Easy Lover.

Before founding Earth, Wind & Fire, White had been a much-in-demand session drummer for the renowned Chess label in Chicago. He played on records by artists including Etta James, Ramsey Lewis, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy and it was White who played drums on Fontella Bass's timeless Rescue Me and Billy Stewart's radical up-tempo scat version of the George Gershwin classic Summertime.

Maurice White was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 19, 1941. His father was a saxophone-playing doctor and his grandfather a New Orleans honky-tonk piano player. Maurice attended Booker T. Washington High School in South Memphis, named after the educator and presidential adviser of that name who was the predominant African-American of his era. One of White's best friends and schoolmates was Booker T. Jones, named after the great former slave, who would go on to found the group Booker T. and the MGs. After showing a musical gift as a child, White moved to study drums and percussion at the Chicago Conservancy of Music and it was in the "windy city" that he found himself surrounded by jazz, blues and rock musicians and became a session drummer for the big Chess label.

His big breakthrough was when he was hired as drummer for the Ramsey Lewis Trio, one of the most popular acts of the era, and played on their big hit (I'm in with) The 'In' Crowd. It was while in the trio that he discovered and began playing the kalimba, a kind of thumb piano used as a percussion instrument. He left the trio in 1969 to found Earth, Wind & Fire and create his own type of music, which he described as about happiness and love at a time when American boys were both killing and suffering in Vietnam. The kalimba and assorted horns gave that music a unique sound and White eventually named his production firm Kalimba Productions.

"We live in a negative society," he told Newsweek magazine at the peak of the band's popularity. "Most people can't see beauty and love. I see our music as medicine." And in another interview, he said: "Being joyful and positive was the whole objective of your group. Our goal was to reach all the people and to keep a universal atmosphere. All of our songs had that positive energy."

While still with Earth, Wind & Fire, White co-produced Barbra Streisand's 1984 album Emotion and Neil Diamond's 1986 album Headed For The Future. He also co-wrote Barry Manilow's song Only in Chicago on the album Barry and was a vocalist on Cher's 1987 platinum album titled simply Cher.

After White's brother Verdine, who still tours with the band as bassist and backing singer, announced his death on Facebook -- "my hero and best friend" -- tributes poured in from musicians all over the world on social media. Lenny Kravitz tweeted: "King. Genius. Leader. Teacher. Producer. Arranger. Writer. Multi-instrumentalist.…"

Maurice White died at his home in Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife and two children.

PHIL DAVISON