Jason White (singer-songwriter)
| Jason White | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jason Sandbrink White |
| Born |
May 9, 1967 Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Rock, Folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, bass, harmonica, ukulele |
| Years active | 1985-present |
| Associated acts | The Janglers, Jason White and the Dying Breed |
| Website | www |
Jason Sandbrink White (born May 9, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America, he now resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He began his career as the lead vocalist and songwriter for The Janglers, a Cleveland-based rock band, then as the frontman for Jason White and the Dying Breed. He later moved to Nashville where he continues his career as a solo artist and songwriter. White has released four solo albums, Shades of Gray (2000), Tonight’s Top Story (2004), The Longing (2011), and Journal (2013). He tours throughout the U.S. and is a regular performer at songwriters’ festivals. He is also known for writing “Red Rag Top”, a controversial hit song for country artist Tim McGraw, as well as compositions for other artists, including Carrie Underwood, Old Crow Medicine Show and Liam Titcomb.
Jason White was the second child of Keith Ernsberger White (1930–2012, architect) and Leatrice Alonzo White (1923–2013, interior designer). White began playing guitar at the age of seven and wrote his first song at 12. He fronted several local garage bands in his Cleveland Heights, Ohio neighborhood during his elementary school years. At University School in the seventh grade, he met John Treadway (born June 19, 1967) who also played guitar. The two formed a partnership and began performing as Treadway and White in school talent shows, local cafes, and house parties. After attending college for one year, White dropped out of Middlebury College and Treadway left Yale University so the two could pursue their musical interests.
After their freshman year in college, Jason White and John Treadway moved to Austin, Texas with another high school friend, John “Sonny” Miller, who played bass guitar. The three worked restaurant jobs and played at local bars while honing their musical chops and writing songs. They returned to Cleveland in November 1987, added David Blackwelder on drums and named themselves the Brainbell Janglers, after a line from The Rolling Stones' song "Midnight Rambler." They began performing at local nightclubs in the Cleveland area, and almost instantly were drawing capacity crowds at Peabody’s Café, the Euclid Tavern, the Greenville Inn, and Peabody’s Downunder, among others. They shortened the group’s name to The Janglers, and in 1988 released the first of their two albums, Sweet Providence. The album received positive reviews from local and national critics, who repeatedly compared The Janglers’ sound to that of The Band. After replacing Blackwelder with drummer Will Douglas and adding keyboardist Henry Bruner, the Janglers began touring Midwestern college towns, playing at bars and fraternity parties and developing strong fan bases in towns throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana and New York. More personnel changes occurred during the next five years. Eric Meany replaced Bruner on keyboards in 1989. John Treadway, White’s best friend and longtime partner, left the band in early 1990 and was replaced by guitarist Jack Silverman. Treadway had struggled with depression for several years and committed suicide on April 21, 1990. Meany’s New Orleans-style piano playing and Silverman’s deft guitar improvisation took the Janglers’ sound in a more jam-oriented direction, and the band’s second album Circuit Ride (1991) was often compared by critics to the music of Little Feat and The Allman Brothers Band. White wrote all the songs on the album, and was recognized by journalists as a songwriter fluent in varied musical styles. The Janglers continued to tour constantly and opened shows for Phish, Widespread Panic, The Radiators, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Hot Tuna and The Dickey Betts Band, among others. They served as the backing band for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bo Diddley on two separate occasions. The Janglers performed their song "Ties That Bind" on the television show Star Search on April 20, 1991.
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