The passing of Maurice White, drummer for and architect behind Earth, Wind & Fire, has already been widely reported—and with good reason. White, who died in his sleep yesterday at age 74 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease, was a towering figure in pop music: EWF have sold more than 90 million albums during a career that’s lasted nearly 50 years, and White produced countless hits for others as well. Most obituaries have mentioned the years he spent in Chicago in his teens and 20s, working as a studio musician at Chess Records (playing on legendary sessions by the likes of Etta James, Fontella Bass, Sonny Stitt, Sugar Pie DeSanto, and the Dells) and later replacing drummer Isaac “Red” Holt in the wildly popular jazz trio led by pianist Ramsey Lewis.
