Locals young and old are remembering Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White, who died Wednesday at age 74.
The horn-driven band sold more than 90 million albums and made hits like "September," ''Shining Star" and "Boogie Wonderland.” White's music and legacy are being honored by friends, fans and young musicians who were not even alive when the band was topping charts.
“Maurice leaves a hole that no one could fill, man,” MAJIC 102.3 DJ Donnie Simpson said. White and Simpson knew each other for years. They met at a listening party when Earth, Wind & Fire was a small group that had not yet achieved shooting-star success.
“The way he did things just made the group different. And cooler, to me,” Simpson said.
White was the lead voice on many of the group’s songs, but he stopped touring with the band as he struggled with Parkinson’s disease.
When Earth, Wind & Fire brought an old African instrument called kalimba -- or thumb harp -- into their pop sound, young harpist Jeff Majors was inspired.
Majors recalls being introduced to White.
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“Hey, Maurice, we got this young kid that fell in love with your kalimba, man. And he wants to play some of it for you,” he recalled someone saying.
“I’m the only one who plays kalimba around here,” White retorted.
“That sound was indicative to the sound of the '70s. It was a whole new wave of awareness,” Majors said.
White’s legacy with locals transcends those who knew him. One of his biggest hits, “Shining Star” is being brought to life by a student chorus at Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.
After news of his death broke, White’s music surged in popularity.
“They cross boundaries,” said Johnson Lee, who owns Joe’s Record Paradise in Silver Spring, “They were such a tight band."
