“The world has lost another great musician and legend” said Verdine White, Maurice’s brother, in a Facebook post on Thursday announcing to the world what had happened.

At 74 years old, co-founder of Earth, Wind and Fire; Maurice White passed away in his sleep Thursday morning after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Maurice started his career in music as a teenager when he moved to Chicago to be a Drummer for the Ramsey Lewis Trio. In 1969 he founded the Salty Peppers and soon after moved to Los Angelos to sign with Warner Bros and release their self titled album with the new name for their band: Earth, Wind and Fire.

Maurice played a key role in the success of the band, writing, performing and producing many of their albums. He also released a solo album in 1985 that was self titled as well.  Eventually, his Parkinson’s disease stopped him from performing with the rest of the band (to see what they’ve been up to click here). Still determined to create music Maurice was able to continue producing for other successful artists such as Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and the Urban Knights reported Pitchfork.