{"id":64170,"date":"2026-08-12T09:43:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/64170\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:43:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:43:22","slug":"friends-launch-fundraiser-for-earth-wind-fire-drummer-john-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/64170\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends launch fundraiser for Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\"Earth\t\t\t\t\t\"Earth\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tEarth, Wind & Fire performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 25, 2018.\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"EarthJohn Paris (drums) performs with Earth, Wind & Fire at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 25, 2018. Alessio Neri\/STAFF.<\/p>\n

Friends and family of Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris have launched a GoFundMe to support his wife, Kathy Merrick, after Paris suffered a critical medical emergency before the band\u2019s postponed Aug. 6 concert at Chase Center.<\/p>\n

The fundraiser<\/a> has raised $56,258 toward a $75,000 goal as of Tuesday night. Organizers said the money will help Merrick cover travel, lodging, meals and other unexpected expenses while Paris remains under medical care.<\/p>\n

Paris was rushed to a hospital Thursday, Aug. 6<\/a>, shortly before Earth, Wind & Fire was scheduled to perform with Lionel Richie on the Sing a Song All Night Long Tour. Organizers postponed the San Francisco concert before doors opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn is now receiving the care he needs, surrounded by the love of his family and the prayers of countless friends and fans,\u201d the GoFundMe states.<\/p>\n

Paris\u2019 wife, Kathy Merrick, a member of soul group Honey Cone, has remained with him along with their daughter, Kyla. The couple lives in the Los Angeles area, creating additional travel and lodging expenses as Merrick stays near her husband in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n

Shelley Clark White, wife of Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White and Merrick\u2019s Honey Cone bandmate, has asked fans to support the family. Merrick has canceled her Honey Cone performances for the next couple of months so she can remain with Paris and their family.<\/p>\n

Paris has longstanding ties to the Bay Area, having lived in San Francisco and Oakland as a teen before going on to work with artists like Sheila E., Stephanie Mills, Patti LaBelle, Bruce Hornsby and Kelly Clarkson.<\/p>\n

He joined Earth, Wind & Fire in 2001 and played on the band\u2019s albums The Promise, Illumination, Now, Then & Forever and Holiday.<\/p>\n

Earth, Wind & Fire resumed the tour over the weekend with performances in Palm Desert and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

About The Author<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Glenn Gumin<\/a><\/p>\n

Glenn Gumin spends his days on a college campus as a higher education administrator involved in academic affairs and student & financial services. After many years of piano lessons, he\u2019s now attempting to learn to play the guitar and ukulele to prepare for island life in retirement. He\u2019s a live music enthusiast who loves to reminisce about shows he attended as a Bay Area teenager and a Midwest college student. He\u2019s also a big supporter of college radio.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Glenn Gumin spends his days on a college campus as a higher education administrator involved in academic affairs and student & financial services. After many years of piano lessons, he’s now attempting to learn to play the guitar and ukulele to prepare for island life in retirement. He’s a live music enthusiast who loves to reminisce about shows he attended as a Bay Area teenager and a Midwest college student. He’s also a big supporter of college radio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earth, Wind & Fire performs at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 25, 2018.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[39097,39753,30],"class_list":["post-64170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-paris","tag-earth-wind-fire","tag-earth-wind-and-fire","tag-paris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}