It’s Been 53 Years Since We Lost the Bluegrass Innovator Who Inspired Guitar Icons and Recorded With the Byrds and Linda Ronstadt

On this day (July 15) in 1973, Clarence White died in Palmdale, California, after being hit by a drunk driver while loading equipment into a van after a show with his brother, Roland White. He was only 29 years old, but had already left a lasting mark on the music world. Throughout his career, he helped elevate the position of the guitar in bluegrass music and recorded with a long list of stars.

White grew up in a musical family. His siblings, father, and several uncles played a variety of instruments. Before long, the White siblings formed a band in which they played country and pop music from the 1940s and ’50s. By the middle of the 1950s, they were fixtures on Burbank, California’s KXLA.

According to the Bluegrass Hall of Fame, Clarence’s older brother, Roland White, changed everything for the band when he purchased Bill Monroe’s “Pike County Breakdown” in 1955. This shifted their focus away from the music of their elders to the emerging genre of bluegrass.

By the end of the decade, the band was going by the name The Country Boys. They regularly played at the Ash Grove in Hollywood. There, they caught the attention of a CBS cameraman, which led to two appearances on The Andy Griffith Show. Later, two of their songs appeared on the album Songs, Themes, and Laughs from the Andy Griffith Show.

In 1962, Doc Watson appeared at the Ash Grove. White was instantly captivated by Watson’s playing style and began studying how the elder picker approached the guitar. Watson, Django Reinhardt, Earl Scruggs, and Don Reno gave White the foundation from which he built his style.

The Kentucky Colonels

The Country Boys went into the studio in 1962 to record their debut album, The New Sound of Bluegrass America. At the time, Little Jimmy Dickens and Mac Wiseman had backing bands called the Country Boys. So, at the suggestion of Merle Travis, they became the Kentucky Colonels. The album introduced listeners to Clarence White’s blistering lead guitar style.

They continued to play and record throughout the early 1960s. Then, the British Invasion happened. Bluegrass became less popular and, therefore, less profitable. The Colonels went electric in 1966, but still couldn’t find their previous level of success. So, they chose to dissolve the band that year and go their separate ways.

Clarence White Played with Country Rock Pioneers

After the Kentucky Colonels disbanded, Clarence White began working with Gene Parsons and Gib Guilbeau in the Reasons and Nashville West. At the same time, he was an in-demand session player. As a session musician, White appeared on albums from Gene Clark, Rick Nelson, and Wynn Stewart. He also appeared on the Byrds’ landmark album Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

He and Parsons also worked together to develop the B-Bender, a device that bends a guitar’s B string, giving the instrument a steel guitar sound. The device is still used in country music today.

White joined the Byrds as a full-time member in the summer of 1968. He was with them until they disbanded in 1973. They toured extensively and released five studio albums with White on lead guitar.

While with the Byrds, White continued his career as a session musician. During this time, he recorded with the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Pat Boone, the Monkees, Randy Newman, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, and countless others.

White’s Impact on the Music World

Initially, there were very few recordings featuring Clarence White’s bluegrass flatpicking style. However, those recordings were impactful enough to change the way generations of bluegrass guitarists approached the instrument. Before him and a handful of other boundary-pushing pickers, the guitar was solely a rhythm instrument. Now, some of the genre’s brightest stars are widely known for their lead guitar techniques.

[RELATED: Why the Byrds’ ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ Changed Country-Rock Forever]

His impact can be seen in those who look to him as an inspiration. Notably, flatpicking legends Tony Rice and David Grier were among those who built their styles around White’s influence.

In short, the world of roots music would not be the same without Clarence White’s contributions.

Featured Image by Gems/Redferns

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