While watching Questlove’s fantastic new documentary on Earth, Wind & Fire, I was surprised to learn that one of the original members of the band was a drummer named Yackov Ben Israel.

That’s a Hebrew name: Jacob son of Israel. Was Ben Israel — born Phillard Williams — Jewish? Or did he, perhaps, identify as a Hebrew Israelite? (Many Israelite men use the surname Ben Israel instead of their original “slave” names.)

From a quick Google search I learned that later in life he went by Afifi Phillard. Afifi is an Arabic name meaning “virtuous.” Did he convert to Islam?

Curious about Phillard’s background, and especially his spiritual journey, I tried to find more information about him online. He doesn’t have a Wikipedia page, and I couldn’t find an obituary for him. His profile on Discogs is incomplete, and it appears to conflate him with another Ben Israel — guitarist Yehudah Ben Israel of the Chicago soul band The Pharaohs.

I reached out to a few of Phillard’s relatives and collaborators, but I didn’t get very far. Tatsu Aoki, with whom Phillard recorded a jazz album in 1997, told me Phillard died many years ago.

Below is what I have been able to piece together about his biography from various sources.

• Phillard was the first drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire. He was credited as Phillard Williams on the band’s first album, “Earth, Wind & Fire” (February 1971), and as Yackov Ben Israel on its second, “The Need of Love” (November 1971). This suggests he may have had a spiritual awakening in 1971.

• Phillard lived in Chicago for some portion of his life. I don’t know if he was born there or not.

• He was involved with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) in Chicago, according to Aoki. Abshalom Ben Shlomo, a Hebrew Israelite saxophonist about whom I’ve written, was also part of AACM. It’s unclear if the two knew each other.

• Maurice White, the founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, mentions Phillard just twice in his 2016 memoir, “My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire.” He writes that Phillard was with the first iteration of the band when they drove from Chicago to Los Angeles in April 1970. White also writes that he and Phillard frequented a restaurant and health food store in L.A. called Organicville. (White met his longtime partner, Marilyn Orefice, there.)

• In photos and concert footage, Phillard can be seen wearing a red fez on his head. The fez is associated with the Ottoman Empire and Freemasonry. It was also one of the head coverings of choice for followers of Noble Drew Ali and his Moorish Science Temple of America.

• By 1973, Phillard was no longer a member of Earth, Wind & Fire. Ralph Johnson became the band’s main drummer/percussionist.

• Phillard linked up with the Sun Ra Arkestra and played drums with the group for many years, according to several sources. However, I can’t find any mention of him in official lists of band members.

• In the 1980s, he changed his name to Afifi Phillard and wore a kufi while performing. This suggests he may have identified as a Muslim.

• He was a supremely talented drummer. Jazz journalist Howard Mandel once wrote: “Afifi can stomp and/or sizzle — having been the drummer for Earth, Wind & Fire as well as Sun Ra for 17 years, he’s learned to control a vast array of dynamics, to dispense an impressive breath of accents, to summon an unassuming but astounding variety of beats.”

Does anyone have any more information about this fascinating and accomplished musician?