Maurice White
Maurice White ( born December 19, 1941 in Memphis / Tennessee) is one of the founders of American funk, soul and R & B band Earth, Wind and Fire.
Life and career
At the age of 14 he was playing with his friend Booker T. Jones in local bands. After finishing high school, the family moved to Chicago, where Maurice White discovered his talent for the drums and participated in many studio recordings of the Chess Record Company. Where he met the then- bassist Louis Satterfield know, who would later play with Earth, Wind and Fire. White began music at the Chicago Conservatory of Music to study.
Ramsey Lewis persuaded Maurice White to take over the drum part in his jazz trio in 1967. But Maurice White had a vision of a separate, larger band and so in 1969 he founded the Salty Peppers. After a national single entitled La La Time was released by Capitol Records, the trio now hoped to be able to produce an album. But the dream vanished into nothingness.
Maurice White, who was dissatisfied with the music of the Salty Peppers, had the idea to a larger group, which was to play a different kind of music. The direction he should be introduced more influenced by his funk, soul, African -American elements and R & B. After lengthy auditions on the West Coast in 1970, he formed a nine - strong force, which he called Earth Wind and Fire. Maurice took over the vocal part, played percussion and integrated the kalimba, an African instrument, in the EW & F sound.
He composed, arranged and produced most of the tracks the group brought 15 hit singles and 26 gold and platinum albums until 2003 on the international market. He has also collaborated with many other musicians, such as The Emotions, Jennifer Holiday and Barbra Streisand.
1985, a year after Earth Wind & Fire was broken in time due to musical differences, he released his first solo album on the market with the simple title "Maurice White". The single " Stand By Me " ( an adaptation of the Ben E. King classic ) was a minor hit.
For health reasons decided not to appear Maurice White in 1995 with EW & F. Later he announced that he is suffering from Parkinson 's disease. This, however, prevents him until today no doubt continue for EW & F and other musicians to compose songs, produce and arrange.
Celebrating The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire: In March 2007, his new solo project Interpretations appeared. On this CD, some EWF classics reinterpreted by various musicians, such as Chaka Kahn, Kirk Franklin and Angie Stone.
Solo album
- Maurice White (1985 )