IN: Maurice White (December 19, 1941 - February 4, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, and bandleader. He was the founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. He was also the older brother of current Earth, Wind & Fire member Verdine White, and former member Fred White. He served as the band's main songwriter and record producer, and was co-lead singer along with Philip Bailey.

With Maurice as the bandleader and producer of most of the band's albums, EWF earned legendary status winning six Grammy Awards out of a staggering 14 nominations, a star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame, and four American Music Awards. The group's albums have sold over 90 million copies worldwide. Other honors bestowed upon Maurice as a member of the band included inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame and The NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.  White brought the kalimba into mainstream use by incorporating its sound into the music of Earth, Wind & Fire. He was also responsible for expanding the group to include a full horn section - the Earth, Wind & Fire Horns, later known as the Phenix Horns. White began showing signs of the Parkinson's disease in 1987, and was finally forced to retire from Earth Wind & Fire in 1994. He retained executive control of the band and was still very active in the music business, producing and recording with the band and other artists. Messages of encouragement from celebrities including: Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson, Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine were published for White.  From time to time, after his retirement, he appeared on stage with Earth, Wind & Fire at events such as the 2004 Grammy Awards Tribute to Funk, and alongside Alicia Keys at Clive Davis's 2004 pre-Grammy awards party where they performed the band's 1978 hit "September".
QUESTION: Was he able to play any other instrument?
IN: For the theatre adaptation, see Shakespeare in Love (play). Shakespeare in Love is a 1998 American romantic period comedy-drama film directed by John Madden, written by Marc Norman and playwright Tom Stoppard. The film depicts an imaginary love affair involving Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) and playwright William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) while he was writing Romeo and Juliet. Several characters are based on historical figures, and many of the characters, lines, and plot devices allude to Shakespeare's plays.

The original idea for Shakespeare in Love came to screenwriter Marc Norman in the late 1980s after a rudimentary pitch from his son Zachary. Norman wrote a draft screenplay which he presented to director Edward Zwick, which attracted Julia Roberts, who agreed to play Viola. However, Zwick disliked Norman's screenplay and hired the playwright Tom Stoppard to improve it (Stoppard's first major success had been with the Shakespeare-themed play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead).  The film went into production in 1991 at Universal, with Zwick as director, but although sets and costumes were in construction, Shakespeare had not yet been cast, because Roberts insisted that only Daniel Day-Lewis could play the role. Day-Lewis was uninterested, and when Roberts failed to persuade him, she withdrew from the film, six weeks before shooting was due to begin. The production went into turnaround, and Zwick was unable to persuade other studios to take up the screenplay.  Eventually, Zwick got Miramax interested in the screenplay, but Miramax chose John Madden as director. Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein acted as producer, and persuaded Ben Affleck to take a small role as Ned Alleyn.  The film was considerably reworked after the first test screenings. The scene with Shakespeare and Viola in the punt was re-shot, to make it more emotional, and some lines were re-recorded to clarify the reasons why Viola had to marry Wessex. The ending was re-shot several times, until Stoppard eventually came up with the idea of Viola suggesting to Shakespeare that their parting could inspire his next play.  Among the locations used in the production were Hatfield House, Hertfordshire (for the fireworks scene), Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire (which played the role of the de Lesseps home), the beach at Holkham in Norfolk, the chapel at Eton College, Berkshire, and the Great Hall of Middle Temple, London.
QUESTION: Why did she withdraw?
IN: The Blockheads are an English rock and roll band. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000. Current members include Derek Hussey (vocals), Chaz Jankel (keyboards and guitar), Norman Watt-Roy (bass), Mick Gallagher (keyboards and piano), John Turnbull (vocals and guitar) and John Roberts (drums). There is rolling line-up of saxophonists that includes Gilad Atzmon, Terry Edwards or Dave Lewis and from time to time, the original sax player, Davey Payne.

In 1974 Radio Caroline's Ronan O'Rahilly set up the pop group The Loving Awareness Band, comprising John Turnbull (guitar) and Mick Gallagher (keyboards) both formerly of 1960s psychedelic rock band Skip Bifferty with the session musicians Norman Watt-Roy (bass) and Charlie Charles (born Hugh Glenn Mortimer Charles, Guyana 1945) (drums). In 1976 The Loving Awareness Band released their only album, Loving Awareness (ML001), on O'Rahilly's label More Love Records. The album has appeared on CD more than once, although these reissues have been sourced from a mint vinyl pressing rather than from the original master tapes.  The Loving Awareness Band broke up in 1977 and Watt-Roy and Charles joined a new band being formed by Ian Dury, who had begun writing songs with pianist and guitarist Chaz Jankel (the brother of noted music video, TV, commercial and film director Annabel Jankel). With Jankel fashioning Dury's lyrics into number of songs, the two began recording with Charles, Watt-Roy, Gallagher, Turnbull and former Kilburn and the High Roads saxophonist Davey Payne. An album was recorded, but was of no interest to major record labels. Next door to Dury's manager's office, however, was the newly formed Stiff Records, a perfect home for Dury's maverick style.  The band was invited by Stiff to join the "Live Stiffs Tour", and the band Ian Dury and the Blockheads was born, with the name ostensibly taken from the song of the same name which portrayed a drunken Essex Untermensch stereotype:  The tour, which also featured Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Nick Lowe, Wreckless Eric and Larry Wallis, was a great success, and Stiff launched a concerted Ian Dury marketing campaign.
QUESTION:
What were they called before that?