Earth, Wind & Fire drummer John Paris, 58, remains under sedation in a San Francisco hospital after suffering a cardiac incident backstage at Chase Center just hours before a scheduled show with Lionel Richie.
San Francisco Fire Department crews responded to reports of the incident at the arena and transported Paris to a local hospital in critical condition. The band cancelled the performance that night, issuing a brief statement: "We are unable to perform as scheduled tonight at Chase Center in San Francisco due to a medical emergency involving a member of our band."
Doctors placed Paris in an induced coma shortly after his arrival. He briefly regained consciousness, asking for his wife Kathy Merrick by name, "Where's Kathy?", and telling those at his bedside, "Get me outta here man!" But his blood pressure climbed and he developed difficulty breathing, forcing the medical team to sedate him again.
He has not regained consciousness since.
The family kept details of Paris's condition private for days while he received critical care. Shelly White, wife of Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White, broke the silence in a Facebook post on Thursday, August 13, offering the first detailed account of what happened and how Paris is doing. The Sun reported the contents of White's post, which described a scene of raw emotion at the hospital.
White praised tour manager Toshi for his "steady presence, care, and support" during the first moments of the emergency backstage. She also singled out a close friend identified as Eddie M, who she said has stayed with Paris every day in the hospital and was present when the drummer briefly came to.
"There were tears, laughter, hugs, and renewed hope."
That was how White described the atmosphere when Paris momentarily opened his eyes and spoke. But the hope was short-lived. After his blood pressure spiked and breathing trouble set in, doctors put him back under.
White wrote that Paris's wife Kathy and daughter Kyla have remained at his bedside throughout. She urged fans to keep praying for the family.
"Your kindness, your encouragement, and your unwavering support continue to lift this family during the most difficult days of their lives."
One small sign of hope: White reported that Paris appears to show slight responses when music is played at his bedside. Whether that observation came from medical staff or from family members watching over him was not clear from her account.
The detail about Paris responding to music carries echoes of another high-profile medical crisis in the entertainment world. When actor Jamie Foxx was hospitalized in 2023 during a medical emergency that left him in a coma for weeks, one of his daughters played a cherished song on guitar at his bedside. Doctors credited the music with improving Foxx's vitals while he was unconscious. An attendee of Foxx's later Netflix special recounted that Foxx described being "on the brink of death" with only a 30 percent chance of survival, Fox News reported.
Paris's family has not disclosed a specific diagnosis or underlying cause for his cardiac incident. The hospital where he is being treated has not been publicly named.
Paris has been behind the drums for Earth, Wind & Fire since 2001, performing alongside a rotating lineup that currently includes Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Myron McKinley, Morris O'Connor, Serg Dimitrijevic, B. David Whitworth, and Oshun Shango Oshunde. The band first broke through in 1975 with the chart-topping hit "Shining Star" and cemented its place in American music with "September" in 1978, a track the Library of Congress added to the National Recording Registry in 2018.
Over more than two decades with the group, Paris has been part of albums including "The Promise," "Illumination," "Now, Then & Forever," and "Holiday." The band has won seven Grammy Awards.
The cancelled San Francisco concert with Lionel Richie will be rescheduled. Ticket holders can keep their tickets for the new date or request refunds. No rescheduled date has been announced.
For now, a 58-year-old man who has spent a quarter-century keeping time for one of the most celebrated bands in American history lies in a hospital bed, and the only rhythm his family is counting is the one on the monitors beside him.
