Maurice White was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey. Described as a "visionary" by Vibe and a "mastermind" by Variety, White was nominated for a total of 22 Grammys, of which he won seven. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of Earth, Wind & Fire, and was also inducted individually into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He additionally worked with artists such as Deniece Williams, Cher, the Emotions, Barbra Streisand, Ramsey Lewis, and Neil Diamond. 

With Maurice as the bandleader and producer of most of the band's albums, EWF earned legendary status winning six Grammy Awards out of 17 nominations, a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame, and four American Music Awards. The group's albums have sold over 90 million copies worldwide. Other honors bestowed on Maurice as a member of the band included inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and The NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.

White brought the kalimba into mainstream use by incorporating its sound into the music of Earth, Wind & Fire. He was also responsible for expanding the group to include a full horn section at first being the Phenix Horns and then the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns. During 1996 Maurice stopped regularly touring with the band but still occasionally appeared on stage. He retained executive control of the band and was still very active in the music business, producing and recording with the band and other artists.



A website entitled www.Startalk.org was also set up in 1999 in honour of Maurice. Maurice later spoke of an ongoing affliction with Parkinson's disease. Artists such as Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine posted messages upon the site for White.

With EWF he appeared at several events such as the 2004 Grammy Awards Tribute to Funk. He also performed alongside Alicia Keys at Clive Davis's 2004 pre-Grammy awards party where they performed the band's 1978 hit "September".

During 1985, White released a self titled solo album on Columbia. Robin Denselow of The Guardian called the album a "lush collection of self produced dance tracks, and the occasional ballad, with synths and drum programming immaculately in place, and the vocals as classy as ever". J.D. Considine of Musician also said the "Given his status as Earth, Wind & Fire's Shining Star, it comes as no surprise that White's first solo project sounds a lot like classic EW&F: tight, focused and punchy. But while White remembers to sink a hook into every verse and chorus, the emphasis here is on subtlety and sophistication as he works his way from R&B basics, from the studio mechanics of 'Switch on Your Radio' to the modified doo wop of 'Stand By Me', with a sense of craft that makes slickness irrelevant". The album rose to number 12 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. Appearing upon the LP was a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me", with a guest appearance by jazz saxophonist Gerald Albright.

White's version of "Stand by Me" got to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles and No. 11 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart.

Another song from the album called "I Need You" rose to No. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs chart and No. 30 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.

White wrote and produced songs for the feature films Coming to America, A Low Down Dirty Shame, and Gatchaman OVA. He also composed music for the television series Life Is Wild. During 2006 he worked with Gregory Hines' brother, Maurice upon the Broadway play Hot Feet. White and Allee Willis also wrote several new songs for the play.

In the movie BAADASSSSS!, the actor Khalil Kain portrayed a young Maurice White leading the early incarnation of Earth, Wind & Fire. Released at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, the film was based on Melvin Van Peebles' struggles to film and distribute the movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. His son, Mario Van Peebles both directed the film and portrayed his father in the lead role. White also won an ASCAP Award as a composer of, "That's The Way Of The World", with it being a theme song of the sitcom Hearts Afire.

On the morning of February 4, 2016, White died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home from the effects of Parkinson's disease. He was 74 years old.

Source.