Roland Joseph White (né LeBlanc; April 23, 1938 – April 1, 2022) was an American

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...

artist, performing principally on the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

Biography

White was born in Madawaska, Maine, on April 23, 1938, as Roland Joseph LeBlanc, and grew up speaking French. He was of French-Canadian descent. At an early age, White formed himself, his two brothers (Eric and

Clarence Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a loca ...

) and his sister (Joanne) into a bluegrass band which performed locally. When the family moved to California, the group won a talent show on a local radio station, after which a television station hired them (minus Joanne) as The Country Boys. After a two-year US Army enlistment, White re-joined the Country Boys, now renamed

The Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

. In 1967, he had the opportunity to join the Blue Grass Boys, the backup band of his childhood idol

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

. He contributed to nine cuts with this band. He stayed with that group until 1969, when he joined the Nashville Grass, the new backup band of

Lester Flatt Lester Raymond Flatt (June 19, 1914 – May 11, 1979) was an American bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in the duo Flatt and Scruggs. Flatt's career spanned multiple decades ...

. White stayed with Flatt until 1973, when he, Clarence and Eric re-united as The New Kentucky Colonels. This only lasted a few months; he and Clarence were struck by an automobile as they loaded their equipment into their car after a performance. Roland White suffered a dislocated shoulder, but Clarence died in the accident. White then joined the progressive bluegrass group Country Gazette, staying with them for 13 years. In 1987, he joined the

Nashville Bluegrass Band The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984. The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members was an established musician from th ...

, staying with that group until 2000. After that he formed the Roland White Band, which was still active until his death. White was a noted mandolin teacher who gave many workshops and private lessons and published book/CD instruction sets. Roland White died on April 1, 2022, at the age of 83 from complications of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

.Roland White passes
/ref>

Discography

Solo albums

* 1976: ''I Wasn't Born To Rock'n Roll'' ( Ridge Runner) reissued in 2010 by Tompkins Square * 1994: ''Trying To Get To You'' ( Sugar Hill) * 2003: ''Jelly On My Tofu'' ( Copper Creek) with the Roland White Band * 2014: ''Straight-Ahead Bluegrass'' (Roland White Music) with the Roland White Band * 2018: ''A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels'' (Mountain Home) Roland White And Friends

Collaborations

* 1964: ''Dobro Country'' ( World Pacific) with

Tut Taylor Robert Arthur "Tut" Taylor Sr. (November 20, 1923 – April 9, 2015) was an American bluegrass musician. Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-pick ...

and

Clarence White Clarence White (born Clarence Joseph LeBlanc; June 7, 1944 – July 15, 1973) was an American bluegrass and country guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of the bluegrass ensemble the Kentucky Colonels and the rock band the By ...

* 2018: ''Jim Lauderdale & Roland White'' (recorded 1979) (Sky Crunch Productions, Inc./Yep Roc Records)

With the Kentucky Colonels

* 1964: ''Appalachian Swing!'' (World Pacific) * 1975: ''Livin' In The Past'' (

Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...

) live recordings 1961-1965 * 1976: ''1965-1966'' ( Rounder) compiled privately recorded live sessions * 1978: ''1966'' (Shiloh) * 1984: ''On Stage'' (Rounder) * 1991: ''Long Journey Home'' (

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

) recorded July 1964 at the Newport Folk Festival * 2003: ''Live in Stereo'' (FGM) 1965 Vancouver concert

With th
New Kentucky Colonels

* 2012: ''Live in Holland 1973'' (Roland White Music) * 2016: ''Live in Sweden 1973'' (Roland White Music)

With Country Gazette

* 1976: ''Out To Lunch'' (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird ...

) * 1976: ''Country Gazette Live'' (

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

) * 1977: ''What a Way To Make a Living'' ( Ridge Runner) * 1979: ''All This, and More Money, Too'' (Ridge Runner) * 1981: ''American and Clean'' (Flying Fish) * 1982: ''America's Bluegrass Band'' (Flying Fish) * 1986: ''Bluegrass Tonight'' (Flying Fish) * 1987: ''Strictly Instrumental'' (Flying Fish) * 1991: ''Hello Operator...This is Country Gazette'' (Flying Fish)

With The
Nashville Bluegrass Band The Nashville Bluegrass Band is an American bluegrass music ensemble founded in 1984. The group's members first played together in 1984 as a backing band for Vernon Oxford and Minnie Pearl; each of the members was an established musician from th ...

* 1990: ''The Boys Are Back in Town'' (Sugar Hill) * 1991: ''Home of The Blues'' (Sugar Hill) * 1993: ''

Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go ''Waitin' for the Hard Times to Go'' is an album by the Nashville Bluegrass Band, released through Sugar Hill Records in 1993. In 1994, the album won the group the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. Track listing # "Backtrackin'" (Mike Dowl ...

'' (Sugar Hill) * 1995: '' Unleashed'' (Sugar Hill) * 1998: ''American Beauty'' (Sugar Hill)

Also appears on

* 1969: Joe Greene - ''Joe Greene's Fiddle Album'' (

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

) * 1971:

and

Mac Wiseman Malcolm Bell Wiseman (May 23, 1925 – February 24, 2019) was an American bluegrass and country singer. Early life He was born on May 23, 1925, in Crimora, Virginia. He attended school in New Hope, Virginia, and graduated from high school the ...

- ''Lester 'N' Mac'' (

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

) * 1971: Lester Flatt - ''Flatt on Victor'' (RCA Victor) * 1972: Lester Flatt - ''Foggy Mountain Breakdown'' (RCA Victor) * 1972: Lester Flatt and Mac Wiseman - ''On The South Bound'' (RCA Victor) * 1972: Lester Flatt - ''Kentucky Ridgerunner'' (RCA) * 1973: Lester Flatt - ''Country Boy Featuring Feudin' Banjos'' (RCA) * 1973. Lester Flatt and Mac Wiseman - ''Over the Hills to the Poorhouse'' (RCA) * 1975: Alan Munde - ''Alan Munde's Banjo Sandwich'' (Ridge Runner) * 1976: Dave Ferguson and his Friends - ''Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Other Fiddle Tunes'' (Ridge Runner) * 1976: Dan Huckabee - Why Is This Man Smiling (Ridge Runner) * 1977: Charlie Hardiman - ''On The Well-Beaten Path To Bluegrass'' (Hillside) * 1977: Butch Robins - ''Forty Years Late'' (Rounder) * 1977: Buck White and the Down Home Folks - ''That Down Home Feeling'' (Ridge Runner) * 1978:

Bobby Hicks Bobby Hicks (born July 21, 1933) is a Grammy Awardbr>winningAmerican bluegrass fiddler and a professional musician with more than fifty years of experience. Career Hicks was born in Newton, North Carolina and learned to play the fiddle before h ...

- ''Texas Crapshooter'' (

) * 1978: Paul Warren with Lester Flatt and The

Nashville Grass The Nashville Grass was a bluegrass band founded by Lester Flatt in 1969, after the end of his partnership with Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Flatt hired most of the Foggy Mountain Boys for his new band. Over the years, as with most ...

- ''America's Greatest Breakdown Fiddle Player'' (

CMH John Glenn Columbus International Airport is an international airport located east of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as Port Columbus International Airport, it is managed by the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, which also over ...

) * 1980: Joe Carr - ''Otter Nonsense'' (Ridge Runner) * 1980: Alan Munde - ''The Banjo Kid Picks Again'' (Ridge Runner) * 1981: Blaine Sprouse - ''Summertime'' (Rounder) * 1983: The Dreadful Snakes - ''Snakes Alive!'' (Rounder) * 1988: Glen Duncan - ''Sweetwater'' (Turquoise) * 1990:

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ...

- ''

On Praying Ground ''On Praying Ground'' is an album by the American musician Doc Watson, released in 1990. It is a collection of gospel songs. The version of "I'm Gonna Lay My Burdens Down" was inspired by Mississippi John Hurt's arrangement. At the Grammy Awards ...

'' (Sugar Hill) * 1991: David Grier - ''Freewheeling'' (Rounder) * 1992:

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. ...

- ''Stuart Duncan'' (Rounder) * 1992:

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as ...

- '' Let There Be Country'' (

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

) * 1994: Gene Wooten - ''Sings & Plays Dobro'' ( Pinecastle) * 1995: Clint Black - ''

Looking for Christmas ''Looking for Christmas'' is the sixth studio album by American country music singer Clint Black. The album was released on October 17, 1995. His first album of Christmas music, it features the song "'Til Santa's Gone (Milk and Cookies)". This son ...

'' (RCA) * 1995: Joe Carr and Alan Munde - ''Windy Days and Dusty Skies'' (Flying Fish) * 1996: Leroy Mack - ''Leroy Mack & Friends'' ( Rebel) * 1996:

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

- ''I'll Be Your Baby Tonight'' (

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inc ...

) * 1998: Valerie Smith - ''Patchwork Heart'' (Rebel) * 2000: Kazuhiro Inaba - ''Dixie Dream'' (Copper Creek) * 2000: Valerie Smith - ''Turtle Wings'' (Rebel) * 2002:

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ...

and Friends - ''Sing The Songs Of Bill Monroe'' ( Lyric Street) * 2004: Clint Black - '' Christmas with You'' ( Equity) * 2007: Ry Cooder - '' My Name Is Buddy'' ( Nonesuch) * 2010: Skip Battin - ''Topanga Skyline'' (

Sierra Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

)

References

External links

Official website
* * *
Roland White Interview
NAMM Oral History Library, June 18, 2008.
Personal tribute.
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Roland 1938 births 2022 deaths People from Madawaska, Maine American bluegrass musicians American bluegrass mandolinists American country singer-songwriters Military personnel from Maine Musicians from Maine Kentucky Colonels (band) members Nashville Grass members Nashville Bluegrass Band members