John Paris is an American musician, best known as the drummer for

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

. Paris has also worked with artists such as

Sheila E Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957), known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the greatest musicians of her generation; she is known for skills as a multi-instrumental ...

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,

Mica Paris Michelle Antoinette Wallen (born 27 April 1969), known professionally as Mica Paris ( ), is an English singer, presenter, and actress. Her debut album, '' So Good'', was released in 1988, spawning the singles " My One Temptation" and " Where I ...

and

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

Early life

John Paris was born in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...

, into a musically inclined family. His mother was a musician and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer, and his father was a

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

leader and singer. Paris began playing drums at a young age. During his early teens, he relocated to San Francisco and later to Oakland, California, where he became involved in the local music scene.

Career

Paris firstly toured with Sheila E. and later performed on

' 1987 album If I Were Your Woman. He then played the drums on

's 1991 album Burnin', 1992 album Live and

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his fo ...

's 1994 self titled album. Paris also appeared on

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, folk music, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock music, rock, heartland r ...

's 1995 LP Hot House,

's 1995 album

Power Forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

and the

Dazz Band Dazz Band is an American R&B/funk band most popular in the early 1980s. Emerging from Cleveland, Ohio, the group's biggest hit songs include " Let It Whip" (1982), " Joystick" (1983), and "Let It All Blow" (1984). The name of the band is a por ...

's 1997 LP Double Exposure. What's more, he played on Wayman Tisdale's 1998 album Decisions,

' 1998 album

Black Angel The Black Angel or Black Angel may refer to: __NOTOC__ Films * The Black Angel (1942 film), ''The Black Angel'' (1942 film), a Mexican film by Juan Bustillo Oro * Black Angel (1946 film), ''Black Angel'' (1946 film), an American film noir * Black A ...

and

's 2017 album

Meaning of Life The meaning of life is the concept of an individual's life, or existence in general, having an intrinsic value (ethics), inherent significance or a Meaning (philosophy), philosophical point. There is no consensus on the specifics of such a conce ...

. In 2001, John Paris joined

as their drummer. Paris has since performed on the band's 2003 studio album The Promise, 2005's Illumination, 2013's '' Now, Then & Forever'' and 2014's

Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

. John Paris is also a member of the American music duo Back 2 Basics, which he formed with saxophonist

Eddie M Eddie Mininfield, known as Eddie M, is an American musician. As a saxophonist, he was a member of Sheila E's touring band, and also toured with Prince on his Purple Rain Tour. Early life Eddie M was born and raised in Berkeley, California. He b ...

ininfield.

Discography

Credits

- If I Were Your Woman - Drums (1987) * Jesse Johnson - Every Shade of Love - Drums, Percussion (1988) *

- Burnin' - Drums (1991) * Patti LaBelle - Live - Drums (1992) *

- Co-producer, Drums (1994) *

- Hot House (1995) *

- Drums (1995) *

- Double Exposure - Drums (1997) * Wayman Tisdale - Decisions - Drums (1998) *

- Drums (1998) * Earth, Wind & Fire - The Promise - Drums (2003) * Earth, Wind & Fire - Illumination - Drums (2005) * Earth, Wind & Fire - Now, Then & Forever - Drums (2013) *

- Drums (2017)

References

1968 births Living people Earth, Wind & Fire members African-American drummers American funk drummers American male drummers Rhythm and blues drummers 20th-century American drummers Drummers from California Drummers from New Jersey Musicians from Trenton, New Jersey {{R&Bsoul-bio-stub