William Drake White (born October 3, 1983) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer and the leader of Drake White & The Big Fire.

Early life

White was born in Hokes Bluff, Alabama, where he attended Hokes Bluff High School. White started writing his thoughts down when he was 14, some of which would later become lyrics in his songs. He started singing when he was asked to join the youth choir at First Baptist Church of Hokes Bluff by his parents. He later attended

Gadsden State Community College Gadsden State Community College (Gadsden State, Gadsden, or GSCC) is a Public college, public Community college#United States, community college with campuses in Gadsden, Alabama, Gadsden, Centre, Alabama, Centre and Anniston, Alabama. The coll ...

and then

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, graduating with a degree in building science. Later, he worked with a general contractor in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

before quitting that job in favor of a musical career.

Music career

In concert, he and his band ("Drake White & The Big Fire") opened up performances for such musicians as

Eric Church Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released seven studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billb ...

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...

Tyler Bryant Tyler Dow Bryant (born February 24, 1991) is an American guitarist from Paris, Texas. He is best known as the lead guitarist and vocalist of the rock band Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown. Early and personal life Bryant got his first guitar at th ...

, and Channing Wilson. White has opened for

Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook. Fa ...

and the

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...

. In early 2013, he released his debut single "Simple Life" through

MCA Nashville Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

. White signed to

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta and ...

' re-establishment of

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...

in June 2014. The first single, "It Feels Good" released to country radio on February 24, 2015. The second single, "Livin' the Dream" released to country radio on December 7, 2015. On August 19, 2016, White released "Spark", his debut album under Dot Records. It charted at No. 4 on the Top Country Albums chart. The album's third single, "Makin' Me Look Good Again", was released in 2016. A new 5-song EP titled "Pieces" was released on May 4, 2018.

Personal life

In January 2019, White was diagnosed with

arteriovenous malformation An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, bypassing the capillary system. Usually congenital, this vascular anomaly is widely known because of its occurrence in the central nervous system (usually ...

(AVM), a rare vascular disorder.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Drake 21st-century American singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Auburn University alumni Country musicians from Alabama Country musicians from Tennessee Dot Records artists Living people MCA Records artists Singers from Nashville, Tennessee People from Etowah County, Alabama Singer-songwriters from Tennessee 1983 births 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Alabama