Earth, Wind & Fire : NPR

Fred White, drummer for the band Earth, Wind & Fire, has died

January 2, 2023 • White, the younger brother of the band's founder and principal songwriter Maurice White, joined the group in the mid-1970s and went on to lay the backbone for hits like "September" and "Shining Star."

Roséwave is light and breezy, but not necessarily unsophisticated — the sound of an experience kissed by sweet summer heat. Vanessa Leroy/NPR hide caption

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Vanessa Leroy/NPR

Roséwave: Your Summer Soundtrack

110 songs for your summer getaway

June 22, 2022 • Hit play and vibe all day. Roséwave is a lifestyle, not a genre, based around summer feels. To kick things off, here's a seven-hour soundtrack for your getaway or staycation.

The Man Behind Those Annual 'Sept. 21' Videos Has Made His Last Masterpiece

Demi Adejuyigbe's "September" videos have raised nearly $1 million in charitable donations, he announced hours after the latest edition went live online. YouTube hide caption

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YouTube

The Man Behind Those Annual 'Sept. 21' Videos Has Made His Last Masterpiece

September 22, 2021 • Since 2016, Demi Adejuyigbe has made increasingly lavish videos dancing to the Earth, Wind and Fire hit "September." "It just feels like doing the impossible with a bunch of friends," he says.

The Man Behind Those Annual 'Sept. 21' Videos Has Made His Last Masterpiece

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Young, Sexy And Black: 32 Songs For Unapologetic Confidence

Whether you're a tote bag or Telfie babe, the spirit of roséwave lives in us all. Kara Frame/NPR hide caption

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Kara Frame/NPR

Roséwave: Your Summer Soundtrack

Young, Sexy And Black: 32 Songs For Unapologetic Confidence

June 23, 2021 • Remember those barely planned, niche antics in the group chat? Grab your girls, choose life and get gone: Let Solange, Stevie Wonder and Janet Jackson soundtrack a summer of feeling yourself.

What's Going On? 50 Years Ago, The Answer Was Bigger Than Marvin Gaye

On a Brooklyn street in September 1971, a sea of fists greets the caskets of several of the incarcerated men killed in the violent clash at Attica Correctional Facility that month. Charles Frattini/NY Daily News via Getty Images hide caption

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Charles Frattini/NY Daily News via Getty Images

50 Years Of NPR

What's Going On? 50 Years Ago, The Answer Was Bigger Than Marvin Gaye

May 21, 2021 • The tension and loss that drove Marvin Gaye wasn't lost on his peers: In the same year as What's Going On, a wave of Black artists released explosive new work that put its politics front and center.

Songwriter Allee Willis, Whose Work Spanned 'Friends' And 'The Color Purple,' Dies

Songwriter Allee Willis attends PAWS/LA presents An Evening of Comedy and Kitsch at Avalon in 2012 in Hollywood. Brian To/WireImage hide caption

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In Memoriam 2016

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Maurice White performing with Earth, Wind & Fire in New York in the late '70s. Richard E. Aaron/Getty Images hide caption

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Richard E. Aaron/Getty Images

The Record

Maurice White: The Audacity Of Uplift

February 5, 2016 • His clever idea in forming Earth, Wind & Fire was to power forward with an ethical black music that could force us to keep our heads up to the sky when it matters most.

Do you remember? Why 'September' Sustains

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Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images

Music News

Do you remember? Why 'September' Sustains

September 19, 2014 • It begins, "Do you remember?" — and we supply the memories. Dan Charnas tells the origin story of the Earth, Wind & Fire hit that still unites generations on the dance floor.

Do you remember? Why 'September' Sustains

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Music Interviews

Earth, Wind & Fire, Back with 'Illumination'

October 4, 2005 • Members of the classic funk-soul band Earth, Wind & Fire tell Ed Gordon about the group's latest CD, Illumination.

Earth, Wind & Fire, Back with 'Illumination'

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Earth, Wind & Fire

Obituaries

Fred White, drummer for the band Earth, Wind & Fire, has died

Roséwave: Your Summer Soundtrack

110 songs for your summer getaway

Pop Culture

The Man Behind Those Annual 'Sept. 21' Videos Has Made His Last Masterpiece

The Man Behind Those Annual 'Sept. 21' Videos Has Made His Last Masterpiece

Roséwave: Your Summer Soundtrack

Young, Sexy And Black: 32 Songs For Unapologetic Confidence

50 Years Of NPR

What's Going On? 50 Years Ago, The Answer Was Bigger Than Marvin Gaye

Music

Songwriter Allee Willis, Whose Work Spanned 'Friends' And 'The Color Purple,' Dies

All Songs TV

Ozzy Osbourne Goes 'Off The Rails' In Disco Mashup With Earth, Wind & Fire

Music News

In Memoriam 2016

In Memoriam 2016

The Record

Maurice White: The Audacity Of Uplift

Music News

Do you remember? Why 'September' Sustains

Do you remember? Why 'September' Sustains

Music Interviews

Earth, Wind & Fire, Back with 'Illumination'

Earth, Wind & Fire, Back with 'Illumination'