CNN
—
“September,” Earth, Wind & Fireplace’s effervescent ode to the final night time of summer season, is an everlasting jam for all seasons. A part of its alchemy lies in Andrew Woolfolk’s jubilant saxophone.
Woolfolk, a longtime Earth, Wind & Fireplace member whose candy signature instrument made songs like “September” unimaginable to not dance to, has died, group member Philip Bailey introduced. Woolfolk was 71.
Bailey, co-lead singer of the genre-spanning band, mentioned on Instagram that Woolfolk died after a six-year sickness.
“I met him in Excessive Faculty, and we shortly grew to become buddies and band mates,” Bailey wrote. “Nice reminiscences. Nice expertise. Humorous. Aggressive. Fast witted. And all the time styling.”
Woolfolk joined the band within the early Seventies, in line with the band’s official roster. The EW&F lineup modified typically all through the years, however Woolfolk formally performed the sax (in addition to flute and percussion) with the group on and off till 1993.
However he hadn’t initially deliberate on becoming a member of the band – as Bailey describes within the 2014 memoir “Shining Star: Braving the Parts of Earth, Wind & Fireplace,” Woolfolk was learning music in New York when Bailey referred to as him and requested him to affix the group after the 2 had performed collectively in Denver. Woolfolk grew to become often called one of many “authentic 9,” Bailey wrote.
When he toured with the band, Woolfolk would cease the live performance chilly with rip-roaring saxophone solos, commandeering the stage till the remainder of his bandmates joined in. He wasn’t the group’s lead, however onstage, he possessed the unmistakable charisma of a star.
Offstage, Bailey wrote in his memoir, Woolfolk was a “jolly prankster” who “may fill your resort room trash can with sizzling water and steadiness it atop your bed room door, simply ready so that you can return late at night time.”
Apart from EW&F albums, Woolfolk additionally recorded with Phil Collins and Bailey for the latter’s solo efforts.
In 2000, Woolfolk was inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame alongside together with his fellow authentic Earth, Wind & Fireplace members. That night, Woollfolk, the one member of the group wearing a fiery purple go well with jacket, carried out a victorious solo on “Shining Star.”