A gifted guitarist who was one of the pioneers of country-rock in the late 1960s. Although he died young, his work with the Byrds and the Kentucky Colonels, among others, remained celebrated among country-rock and bluegrass aficionados in the decades following his death.
Born in Maine to French-Canadian parents, Clarence and his brothers Roland and Eric took up music at an early age. In 1954, the family moved to Burbank, California, and the White children eventually formed a band called the Three Little Country Boys. They soon secured a regular spot on a local radio programme and attracted the interest of country star, Joe Maphis.
In 1958, Billy Ray Latham joined the White brothers and they abbreviated their name to Country Boys. With Clarence on guitar, Roland on mandolin, Eric on acoustic bass, Latham on banjo and LeRoy Mack on dobro, they could now play real bluegrass music. Although still only 15, Clarence in particular began to impress with his distinctive improvised solo guitar playing and the band released a couple of singles.
Eric had to leave the band in 1961 and was replaced by Roger Bush. Roland had to leave for military service and Mack also left in May 1962.
Now reduced to a trio, the group began calling themselves the Kentucky Colonels. Roland rejoined in September 1962. The Kentucky Colonels were very productive between 1962 and 1965, releasing several albums and experimenting with electric bluegrass music. The Kentucky Colonels disbanded at the end of 1965.
Clarence was offered the job to play guitar in Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, but he declined and recommended Roland instead. Fan pressure caused the band to reunite and tour for a year, but in 1967 they disbanded again.
White then became a session musician, playing electric guitar on many rock and pop albums. He also began playing with the duo of Gib Guilbeau and Gene Parsons in local California clubs. Guilbeau and Parsons frequently worked with the Gosdin Brothers and White got included on the Gene Clark With the Gosdin Brothers album. Around the same time, White recorded a solo album for Bakersfield International which the label didn't release.
In 1968, White joined Nashville West, which also featured Parsons, Guilbeau, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Glen D. Hardin and Wayne Moore. Nashville West recorded an album for Sierra Records, but the record didn't appear until 1978.
White was invited to join the Byrds in the fall of 1968. Roger McGuinn was rebuilding the Byrds' lineup after the departure of Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons, who went on to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. White fit into the revamped Byrds' country-rock direction and played on the group's Untitled album, which spawned the single Chestnut Mare.
While he was with the band, he continued to work as a session musician, playing on Randy Newman's 12 Songs (1970), Joe Cocker's eponymous 1969 album, and the Everly Brothers' Stories Would Could Tell (1971), among others.
When the Byrds disbanded in 1973, White continued his session work and joined Muleskinner, which also featured David Grisman, Peter Rowan, John Guerin, Bill Keith, John Kahn and Richard Greene. Muleskinner only released one album, which appeared later in 1973.
In April 1973, the Kentucky Colonels were revived again. But after one gig in July 1973, when White was loading the group equipment, a drunken driver lost control over her car and smashed in the group's van. White died shortly after.