Fred White (musician)

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Fred (Freddy) White (born January 13, 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American soul, funk, and R&B drummer and percussionist.

[edit] Career

White is best known for his tenure with the R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire, which was co-founded by his older brothers Maurice and Verdine White. He has also performed and recorded with many prominent funk, soul, R&B, jazz and rock artists including Donny Hathaway, Ramsey Lewis, Willie Hutch, The Emotions, Deniece Williams, Jennifer Holliday, Stanley Turrentine, Ronnie Foster, Deodato and Little Feat.

Fred joined Earth, Wind & Fire in the autumn of 1974 for the recording sessions of their seventh album, That's the Way of the World, which was arguably the most successful release in the band's history. It remains the only album by the group to reach number one on both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Top 100 R&B charts. The band used two drummers for several years, with original drummer Ralph Johnson also working behind a kit. Fred remained with the band until 1983.

In 2007, Fred toured with guitarist Al McKay, who was also a member of Earth, Wind & Fire, as part of the Al McKay All-Stars.^[1]