Andrew Woolfolk Dies: Earth, Wind & Fire’s Longtime Sax Player Was 71
Andrew Woolfolk, who played saxophone for Grammy-winning R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire during its 1970s and early-’80s heyday, has died after a long illness. He was 71. EWF’s Philip Bailey announced the news on social media.
“Great Memories. Great Talent,” the singer wrote about Woolfolk. “Funny. Competitive. Quick witted. And always styling. Booski… I’ll see you on the other side, my friend. See the Instagram post below.
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Woolfolk played with Earth, Wind & Fire when it was among the biggest R&B acts in the country, joining the group in 1973 and playing on its gold or platinum albums from Head to the Sky to 1983’s Powerlight and beyond. The group scored eight consecutive Top 10 albums from 1975-81, including the chart-topping That’s the Way of the World and live set Gratitude.
Earth, Wind & Fire also had seven Top 10 pop singles during that era, ranging from “Shining Star,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1975 and won a Grammy, to “Let’s Groove,” which spent five weeks at No. 3 in 1981. Their other biggest hits included “Sing a Song,” Beatles cover “Got to Get You Into My Life (from the 1978 Sgt. Pepper’s movie), disco classics “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” — the latter with the Emotions — and double Grammy winner “After the Love Has Gone.” EWF also scored eight No. 1s on Billboard’s R&B singles chart.
The group amassed six Grammys from 1975-2005 and 17 total nominations.
Watch the official video for “September” here:
Its 1978 compilation disc The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire hit No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than 5 million units in the U.S.
Woolfolk and his bandmates appeared in and wrote the score for the 1975 film That’s the Way of the World — later retitled Shining Star — starring Harvey Keitel as a record exec tasked with breaking the struggling young band. The album would become the real EWF’s commercial breakthrough, spending three weeks atop the Billboard 200 and being named among Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The band also was widely known for its brightly colored outfits and elaborate, high-energy live shows, including a gig at the 2005 Super Bowl Pregame Show.
Born on October 11, 1950, in Texas and raised in Colorado, Woolfolk officially left the group in 1993 but reunited for later tours. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Woolfolk played a blistering sax solo during “Shining Star” at the induction ceremony.
The sax man also played on records by Valerie Carter and Deniece Williams and two of Bailey’s solo gospel discs during EWF’s mid-’80s hiatus.
The also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcwT90tJPtH/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcwT90tJPtH/
A post shared by Philip J. Bailey (@philipbaileyewf)
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