The Most Heartbreaking Celebrity Deaths Of 2016

Maurice White

Influential artist and co-founder of Earth, Wind and Fire, Maurice White was pronounced dead on February 4, 2016. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in ’92, the performer stopped touring with the iconic group in 1994 but managed to stay on the business side of the R&B band.

Maurice and fellow group member Verdine were responsible for creating the then-innovative musical compositions of the funk, jazz, R&B, and Latin-infused sounds of the group that started the soulful revolution in the ’70s. After selling over 90 million albums, achieving an induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and winning six Grammys, White said goodbye peacefully in his sleep at 74.