After a long illness, EWF's Philip Bailey has revealed the news on social media.
"Great Memories. Great Talent," the singer said of Woolfolk. "Funny. Competitive. Quick witted. And always styling. Booski... I'll see you on the other side, my friend. See the Instagram post below.
Woolfolk was a member of the group in 1973, gaining eight consecutive Top 10 albums from 1975 to 1981, including the chart-topping That's the Way of the World and live set Gratitude.
Earth, Wind, and Fire had seven of the most impressive pop singles during that period, from "Shining Star," which won the Grammy in May 1975, to "Let's Groove," which spent five weeks at no. 3 in 1981. Other big hits included "Sing a Song," "Single a Song," "Single, and "Boogie Wonderland," along with "After the Love has Gone," and "After the Love has Gone." EWF also had
Between 1975 and 2005, the group received six Grammy nominations and 17 total nominations.
Watch the official video for "September" here:
The Best of Earth, Wind, and Fire, a 1978 compilation disc, was no. 6 on the Billboard 200, and has sold more than 5 million units in the United States.
Woolfolk and his bandmates sat in and written the score for the 1975 film That's the Way of the World, which later renamed Shining Star, with Harvey Keitel, a record exec who was tasked with breaking the struggling young band. The album would become the real EWF's commercial breakthrough, spending three weeks on the Billboard 200 and being named among the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The band was also well-known for its brightly colored outfits and engaging, high-energy live shows, including a performance at the 2005 Super Bowl Pregame Show.
Woolfolk was born on October 11, 1950, in Texas and raised in Colorado, and officially left the group in 1993, but returned for later tours. Inducted into the group in 2000, and during the induction ceremony.
During the EWF's mid-'80s hiatus, the sax man also played on records by Valerie Carter and Deniece Williams and two of Bailey's solo gospel discs.
The actor is also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame and has a prominent star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
