What’s your favorite musical style? Earth, Wind & Fire was one of those rare bands whose members figured out how to blend them all. The band’s founding members were all part of the White family.
▬Contents of this video▬ 00:00 - Intro 00:27 - Maurice White 02:16 - Wade Flemmons 03:38 - Roland Bautista 04:56 - Jessica Cleaves 06:05 - Andrew Woolfolk 07:27 - Fred White 08:12 - Outro
Maurice came up with the name for the band based on his astrological chart. He was a successful drummer who’d already played with other bands such as The Salty Peppers before joining with his brothers. The band had to stop for a bit when he showed signs of Parkinson's. Fred was also a brilliant drummer. He co-founded the band and helped it reach success. He was a part of most of Earth Wind & Fire’s Top 10 records. His song September continues to be streamed millions of times on Spotify to this day.
Wade Flemmons was part of The Salty Peppers who later joined Earth Wind and Fire. He wrote over 200 songs. Roland Bautista loved the guitar since he was a child. He went off and on with the band but also enjoyed mentoring other musicians. His talent earned him a net worth of $2 million by the time of his death. Jessica Cleaves was a rolling stone who moved from band to band. She began with Friends of Distinction, sang backup for Earth, Wind, & Fire for a while, then disappeared from the public eye until her death.
Andrew Woolfolk was a saxophonist who played on most of Earth Wind & Fire’s platinum albums. He also worked with other artists, including Phil Collins. Robert Brookins was a multi-talented musician who could sing and play the drums and keyboard. There’s an annual concert held in his honor every year.
Like and subscribe to Facts Verse for more on how tragedy shaped your favorite musicians. Watch our video to learn about Earth, Wind, & Fire members who died too soon.
