Growing up in the sleepy little English town of Letchworth Garden City in the 1960s, Peter first got interested in music while listening to the Beatles on the radio. His parents bought me an acoustic guitar when he was about eight and he taught himself to play while simultaneously taking lessons on the recorder, piano and then later, clarinet. His music education was going along just fine until one day in 1967 he heard the Jimi Hendrix song “Purple Haze”. He had never heard sounds like that coming out of his acoustic guitar and decided that from that day on, the electric guitar was to be the most important thing in his life. Now if only he could convince his parents to buy one…
Eventually he got his electric guitar and furiously studied the works of Hendrix, Clapton and Page, but his rock star dreams were soon put on hold when his beloved axe was burned in a fire (accidentally) set by his brother Danny. Distraught, he found solace in his old acoustic guitar which had been gathering dust in the corner. He had no idea that this incident, however tragic at the time, would prove to be a turning point in his life. He started to develop a love for the instrument, a feeling that continues to this day. Losing his electric guitar at that time proved to be a blessing - he soon found lots of inspiration in the music of Crosby Stills and Nash, James Taylor and Joni Mitchell who were all playing acoustic guitar based music. He started to carry that guitar with him everywhere he went - it became his best friend.
He knew by this time that music was his calling, and while all his friends went to college, he worked factory jobs until he landed his first musical engagement playing at an English holiday resort in the summer of 1974. After the summer was over he briefly joined a group by the name of “Principal Edwards’ Magic Theatre”, only to watch them disband a few weeks later. However, one of the members of that group recommended him to Al Stewart and he was asked to join Al’s band for a tour of England, Scotland and then the USA, starting in 1975. It was a very exciting time for him, being his first trip to America. The band was opening up for artists like Linda Ronstadt, Billy Joel and Queen. To be around these musical luminaries was a great thrill for a 20 year old! That summer saw his first studio experience at the famed Abbey Road studio in London, working with Al Stewart on the Year of the Cat album, soon to become a million seller. This was the beginning of a musical collaboration that was to last 20 years, during which time Al and Peter wrote and recorded many songs together, including Al’s 1978 Top Ten hit “Time Passages”.
Along the way, brother Danny (remember the guitar burning incident?) had made his own way in the music business and made up for his pyromaniac ways by hiring Peter to work with a then unknown Polish singer - Basia. Peter played on her first album which was released in 1987 to much acclaim. It went on to sell millions worldwide and since then he has played on many tours and recordings with her.
In 1990, having been a backup musician for 15 years and inspired by the English group “Acoustic Alchemy”, Peter decided to start recording his own music and released his first CD Reveillez-Vous, a French title in honor of his French mother, Gilberte. It means Wake Up. Many other solo CDs followed, with several songs becoming No.1 hits on Smooth Jazz radio, such as “Midnight in Manhattan” a song he recorded with one of his idols, Grover Washington Jr. Basia also collaborated with him on "Just Another Day", a song from the Caravan of Dreams CD.
As well as recording his own music, he has performed on recordings by many of my friends, including Dave Koz, Gato Barbieri, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Craig Chaquico, Jeff Golub, Lee Ritenour, Third Force, The Rippingtons, Kirk Whalum, Boney James and Marc Antoine. He has been part of numerous “Guitars and Saxes” tours and also have established his annual “Peter White Christmas Tour”.
Over the years, he has become more comfortable as a performer. He feels a tremendous joy when he is able to connect with the audience. The purpose of being up there is to simply invite everyone to have a good time. Meeting people after shows to sign CDs and chat is also something which Peter likes to do, whenever possible. It’s quite different from the days when he was just in the background getting little recognition!
Tickets on sale Monday, November 30. For more information about Peter White, check out
his website at www.peterwhite.com or watch the clip below.
