With The Right Place, Bryan White delivers
the breakthrough record his fans have been anticipating. It showcases White as a
singer/songwriter whose artistry has reached new heights, producing a first
single, "Love Is The Right Place," that has taken off faster than any
of his prior releases, including his career-launching hit "Someone Else's
Star."
Already a multi-platinum artist with a string of five
No. 1 hits and a mantel full of awards, White proves again on The Right Place
why he is regarded as a master stylist, by wrapping his impressive vocals around
10 expertly crafted gems.
"His sense of self and style as an artist have
always been extraordinary, but in the past year, Bryan has taken his gift to a
different level," says Asylum Records Co-President and White's co-producer
Kyle Lehning. "It has been a treat to watch him develop, and every time I
get in the studio with him, I'm impressed by what he
brings to the table."
For White, the studio is a proving ground: "The
song is the most important thing. It is born with the writer and grows up in the
studio. I'm there with my producers to make the song believable and deep. It is
the most important thing to me. I am not going to be able to communicate the
real meaning of a song if I can't make it believable."
As a result, White is a relentless perfectionist,
although his effortlessly pure vocals never betray that. White's creativity
stems from his determination to build a career, rather than just score hits.
White has co-written hits for other artists, including
the Top 5 "I Don't Believe in Goodbye" for Sawyer Brown and
"Imagine That" for Diamond Rio--both featured on the artists' greatest
hits packages--and he contributes three collaborations to The Right Place.
His popularity with fans, critics and the entertainment
industry has garnered the highly likable 23-year-old Oklahoman platinum albums
for Bryan White and Between Now and Forever, in addition to numerous awards
including the ACM Top New Male Vocalist and the CMA Horizon Award. The
nominations continue with White's recent inclusion in the top male vocalist
ranks along with Vince Gill, George Strait and Alan Jackson.
The oldest child of two professional musicians, White
was born to entertain. His great-grandmother was a popular square dance caller
in Oklahoma. His grandfather, Wilford White, auctioned everything from antiques
to cattle in Oklahoma City and gave White some early career advice: "You've
got to have rhythm, a lot of endurance and a strong throat."
But it was his mother who put him on the road to
country at age 10 when she took him to a show she opened for Loretta Lynn.
"That show pretty much set me on fire," says White.
White's parents divorced amicably when he was young,
but no matter which household he visited, music was all around. White honed his
percussive chops on cardboard boxes and pots and pans until his parents bought
him his first drum set at age five. He was on stage before he reached his teens.
At age 17, Bryan switched
to guitar, began writing songs and made the decision to make music his
profession
with a gutsy move to Nashville after high school graduation in 1992.
"I grew up listening to everything, but it was the
country stuff that hit me right here," White says, pointing to his heart.
"Nobody ever discouraged me. My family was really supportive. They said,
'Okay, if that's what you want, here's $500; now get after it.' Reality hit when
they started sending me money every other week."
Things moved fast. Within three months, he landed a
songwriting and management deal with Glen Campbell Music and GC Management, the
same companies that launched Alan Jackson's career, and he was introduced to
Asylum's Kyle Lehning by Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (Lehning and Walker have produced
all of White's albums).
Lehning thought White was eminently talented and great
looking but a little young at 18. Lehning told him to write for a year, then
come back. White sang demos for $40 a pop and sold t-shirts for Liberty Records'
country band Pearl River.
He signed a deal with Asylum in 1993. At the start of
his career, White opened shows acoustically for Pam Tillis, Tracy Lawrence and
Diamond Rio. Later he hired members of Pearl River as his band. The
musicianship, camaraderie and exuberance between White and his players bring his
stage show to a new level, leaving his fans screaming for more. He continues to
develop his performance, opening a highly successful '97 tour with Vince Gill.
White has taken the weight of celebrity in stride, but
not for granted. After the tragic Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995, White
raised more than $75,000 to provide scholarships for children injured or
orphaned in the blast in his hometown. Now that the children are assured of
their college education, White is turning his energy toward raising money for a
memorial to be built on the site. He has participated in benefits for Cerebral
Palsy, the T.J. Martell Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,
"Country CARES," the Native American Clothing Drive and St. Jude
Children's Research Hospital.
White says the events of the last year have helped him
develop a broader perspective and overall sense of maturity, and he brings that
experience to The Right Place.
"My accomplishments are far from over," he
says. "One of the things I want to do is reach a larger audience. My goal
is to pull people into country music who weren't there before. Country music and
traditional family values have been part of me my whole life. If I were to go
anywhere else with my music, I'd be betraying something about myself. This is
where I belong."