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Earth, Wind and Fire’s Maurice White passed away early Thursday morning in his sleep at the age of 74. He had battled Parkinson’s disease since 1992 and stopped touring with the band in 1995.

In a statement released on Earth, Wind and Fire’s Facebook pageVerdine White said, “My brother, hero and best friend Maurice White passed away peacefully last night in his sleep. While the world has lost another great musician and legend, our family asks that our privacy is respected as we start what will be a very difficult and life changing transition in our lives. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes.”

During Thursday evening’s NAACP Pre-Show Image Awards dinner in Pasadena, CA, Roland Martin, host of NewsOne Now, caught up with some of our best and brightest stars and asked for their reactions to the passing of Earth, Wind and Fire’s founder, Maurice White.

In the video clip above, you will hear from actor Brad James, actor Aaron D. Spears, White House Correspondent April RyanReverend Otis Moss, III, Pastor Jamal Bryant, Chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors Roslyn Brock, TV One’s Senior Director of Programming Jubba Seyyid, Executive Producers of TV One’s Unsung Frank Sinton and Mark RowlandElijah Kelley from The Wiz Live!Empire’s Jussie SmollettFor the Love of Ruth Director Christie Swanson, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gospel artist Tina Campbell, hip-hop artist Rhymefest, and ABC Scandal‘s Joe Morton.

TV One’s NewsOne Now has moved to 7 A.M. ET, be sure to watch “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

Subscribe to the “NewsOne Now” Audio Podcast on iTunes. 

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