With his big voice, easy-going manner, and streamlined mainstream
country-pop,
Bryan White easily fit into the post-
Garth Brooks climate of the mid-'90s. His first album, Bryan White, began a
string of number one hits that ran into 1996.
Bryan White was born and raised in Oklahoma City, where he became involved in
music in an early age. Both of his parents were professional local musicians and
when
Bryan White was five, his father taught him how to play drums. As a teenager, he
played drums in both of his mother and father's band -- his mom sang rock &
roll, his father country -- which gave him a broad musical knowledge and skill.
Eventually, he formed his own trio. At first, he only drummed but during a sound
check his mother heard him sing "Stand By Me." After the song was over, his
mother was in tears and she encouraged him to become a vocalist himself. In no
time, he learned how to play guitar and began writing songs.
Following his graduation from high school,
Bryan White headed to Nashville, where he hooked up with
Billy Joe Walker, Jr., a family friend who happened to be a session musician
in the Music City. Over the next two years,
Walker helped
Bryan White hone his act and helped him land a job as a demo singer. Eventually,
producer Kyle Lehning, who worked with
Randy Travis and
Dan Seals in the past, began working with
Walker and
Bryan White. The three crafted
Bryan White's debut album and landed the singer a record contract with
Asylum. The self-titled debut appeared in 1994.
The first two singles from the record -- "Eugene You Genius" and "Look At Me
Know" -- didn't gather much attention, with the latter peaking at number 24.
However, in the spring of 1995, "Someone Else's Star" rocketed to number one,
followed by "Rebecca Lynn" in the fall. In the spring of 1996, his second album,
Between Now and Forever, was released, accompanied by the number one single "I'm
Not Supposed to Love You Anymore." "So Much for Pretending" became his fourth
number one single in a row in the fall of 1996. Also in the fall, he won the
Country Music Association's 1996 Horizon Award, as well as their award for Best
New Touring Artist. The Right Place followed in 1997, and two years later
Bryan White resurfaced with How Lucky I Am. His first seasonal release, Dreaming
of Christmas, appeared in 1999. Warner Bros. pulled together his four number-one
hits and a handful of Top 20s for a Greatest Hits album, released in late 2000.
~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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