Fred White (January 13, 1955 – January 1, 2023) – Hey Brother (1972)
Fred White (January 13, 1955 – January 1, 2023) – Hey Brother (1972)
Produced by Donny Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) who sadly died on this date, this powerful freedom song by The Voices of East Harlem featured Fred White on drums.
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The great Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White also played with Pieces of Peace, Willie Hutch, and Donny Hathaway before joining EWF in 1974. He appeared on numerous classic 70s albums both by Earth, Wind & Fire and other artists including Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, Deniece Williams, and The Emotions.
Frederick Eugene Adams was born in Chicago. The younger brother of Earth, Wind & Fire founding members Maurice and Verdine White, he began playing drums as a child. While he was a teenager he joined the legendary Chicago session band Pieces of Peace.
He played drums on and co-wrote their ultra-funky peace anthem masterpiece “Pass It On,” (1970) which was produced by Syl Johnson for Twinight Records.
He began drumming for Donny Hathaway and played on his seminal Live album, recorded in 1971 when White was 16 years old and released in February, 1972. He also appeared on Hathaway’s third solo LP Extension of a Man (1973).
When Donny Hathaway produced several tracks for the New York City youth vocal ensemble The Voices of East Harlem, Fred White was on drums as part of the backing band. Intended for their second album, the tracks were instead released as part of an import-only compilation titled Brothers And Sisters (1972). They included anthems like “I Wanna Be Free,” “Nation Time,” and the masterpiece freedom song “Hey Brother,” a reimagining of “Hey Joe.”
Here’s a 30-song playlist featuring some of White’s finest rare tracks and clips of him performing with Earth, Wind & Fire.
#soul #funk #DonnyHathaway #EWF #FredWhite