British progressive rock drummer.
Born: June, 14 1949, in Pelton, Co. Durham, England.
Died: May, 26 2022, in Newcastle, Washington, USA.
Not to be confused with the English drummer of the same name Alan White (of Oasis fame).
Throughout the mid to late 1960s, he played in England and Europe with a variety of bands, including
The Downbeats (who changed their name to
The Blue Chips),
The Gamblers,
Billy Fury,
The Alan Price Set,
Bell + Arc, and
The Happy Magazine (later called
Griffin). In 1969, he was asked to join
The Plastic Ono Band. His association with
John Lennon continued, recording singles (like [m=72843]) & the subsequent album [m=72879]. He also performed on
George Harrison’s [m=56036]. Around the same time, he worked with
Denny Laine in his band
Balls for several months which was followed by a ten-week stint with Ginger Baker’s Air Force. He joined
Yes in late July 1972. He played drums and percussion on over 40 studio and live Yes albums, additionally adding piano parts and collaborating on the songwriting. In 2005, he formed
White.
In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Yes.
He was married to
Gigi White.