Alan White – born on June 14, 1949, in Pelton, County Durham, England - is a rock and progressive rock drummer best known as a member of Yes and his studio work with other rock icons including John Lennon. At the age of 12, Alan White took piano and drums lessons with his uncle. A Ludwig drum set gifted by his parents led to him performing with several rock-oriented groups including The Downbeats (1962-1964), The Blue Chips (1964-1966), Billy Fury's group The Gamblers (1966), Griffin, and The Alan Price Set (1968). Already known to musicians, he was invited by John Lennon to join The Plastic Ono Band project during the Toronto Rock Festival in Canada in 1969, then to the sessions for the single “Instant Karma!” (1970) and the album Imagine (1971), then by George Harrison on the triple album All Things Must Pass (1971). After brief forays into Balls and Ginger Baker's Air Force, he was approached to take the place of Yes drummer Bill Bruford, who left the band just after the sessions for the album Close to the Edge (1972). Present during the recording without having contributed to it, Alan White was immediately hired. Alan White played on the albums Yessongs (1973), Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973), Relayer (1974), Going for the One (1977), Tormato (1978), Drama (1980), 90125 (1983), Big Generator (1987) and several Yes reunions until The Quest (2021). He would become the second-longest serving member of Yes, behind bassist Chris Squire, with a total of 43 albums in 39 years and 3,070 concerts. This loyalty to the progressive rock group did not prevent Alan White from recording the solo album Ramshackled (1976), in which Jon Anderson and Steve Howe participated. Alan White also performed with artists such as Rick Wakeman, Jesse Davis, Gary Wright, Paul Kossoff, Suzi Quatro, Donovan, Eddie Harris, Joe Cocker, Billy Sherwood, Trevor Horn, and Jon Anderson. He also participated in other side projects including like Bell + Arc (1971), White (2005) or Circa (2007). In 2011, he joined the trio formed by Tony Levin and David Torn for the album Levin Torn White. Grammy Award winner (1985) and inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2017) as a member of Yes, Alan White died on May 26, 2022, at the age of 72.
