Michael White & The White
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Michael White & The White is a Hard Rock combo and occasionally Led Zeppelin tribute band formed around singer Michael White. It is also possibly one of the first to be credited as tribute band [1].
Michael White started his career in 1973. He played with L.A. based The Boyz, which line-up included Mick Brown and George Lynch of later Dokken fame, and he is even credited for being vocalist in an early incarnation of Mötley Crüe and the previous Nikki Sixx's band London in the The Official Mötley Crüe biography [2].
Michael White formed The White in 1977 with guitarist Lanny Cordola (Giuffria, House Of Lords). Though not exploiting Zeppelin material at first, the similitude with Led Zeppelin was so critical that he eventually decided to comply. The case was that White not only sang like Robert Plant but was actually an almost perfect look-alike. According to his official website, while on tour in Denver in 1983, he actually met Robert Plant and was directed by him to contact Atlantic Records, which resulted in a $350,000 record contract with the label and the release of his self-titled debut album in 1987, produced by Mack of Queen and Billy Squier fame. The cover picture amazed Led Zeppelin fans for the extraordinary resemblance between White and Plant.
Since then he toured with The White extensively through North America and Europe [3] (most notably at major Zep Conventions) and recorded two CDs for the Griffin Music label: one in 1990 titled "Michael White/The White" and another in 1994, "Michael White Plays the Music of Led Zeppelin" (later relaunched and expanded to two albums under the name of "A Tribute To Led Zeppelin - Studio Sessions" Volume One & Volume Two).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bullseye Records
- ^ The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band, by Mötley Crüe and Neil Strauss (p. 36-37) ISBN 0-06-098915-7
- ^ Kerrang! Magazine, June 1992, reported this on the verge of the European debut: "The Los Angeles-based band have performed their 'Live musical tribute to Led Zeppelin' to over 2.5 million people in the US and Canada in the course of some 2,000 shows."
