Sheldon Reynolds, Guitarist with Earth, Wind & Fire and The Commodores Dies at 63

American guitarist, singer and songwriter Sheldon Reynolds, who made his name in the 1970s and 80s with a host of chart-topping bands that helped define the era, has died. He was 63.

Reynolds’ death was announced Wednesday by his former Earth, Wind & Fire band mate Philip Bailey. Reynolds joined the popular outfit in 1987 and remained with them on tour and in the studio until 2002.

During his period they earned a Grammy Award nomination for the song “Sunday Morning” in 1994 and as a member he was inducted into the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame.

“This news of Sheldon Reynolds transition is very sad for all of us who knew and worked with him,” Bailey wrote on Facebook, praising his fellow Ohio local  while including a photo of the band’s greatest hits sheet music book.

“Sheldon vocally had Reese down. That’s what Maurice said when he hired Sheldon to share vocals and play guitar,” Bailey wrote of Maurice White, the founder and frontman of Earth, Wine & Fire.

“Sheldon was an excellent addition to the band, a great writer and producer, and a genuinely kind and loving person,” Bailey continued. “He will be missed. Our condolences to his family. Rest in peace.”

Earth, Wind & Fire began in 1970 under the leadership of Maurice White, who created a band that could combine elements of jazz, funk, R&B, soul, dance, pop and rock, and celebrated African musicianship and spiritualism, Fox News reports.

They went on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Other achievements include performing during the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show.

Reynolds’ music career began with an opening act slot on tour with R&B artist Millie Jackson in the 1970s.

He then became part of disco and funk band Sun for a brief period before becoming a member of The Commodores in 1983.

Their 1977 hits “Easy” and “Brickhouse” had propelled the Tuskegee University band into a nationwide phenomenon.

Reynolds stayed with the funk and soul band — for whom Lionel Richie was a frontman and original member before his departure in 1982 — for four years, earning his first-ever Grammy award for the band’s “Nightshift,” which won best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals in 1985.

He then made his move to Earth, Wind & Fire which propelled him to even greater fame. Maurice White, Smokey Robinson and the band Chicago also benefited from his skills.

Reynolds was at one time married to Janie Hendrix, the adopted sister of Jimi Hendrix.

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