Another accomplished musician to have sadly left us a few days ago is Alan White, former drummer with Yes, who he joined in 1972, replacing Bill Bruford. After bass player Chris Squire died in 2015, He became the longest serving member of Yes, appearing on no less than 20 studio albums (around 42 if you include those he made with other bands) over a period of almost half a century!
Born into a musical family in Pelton, County Durham in 1949, Alan began learning piano at age 6, before moving on to the drums at 12 years old. Later, at 13, he joined his first band, The Downbeats, who played cover versions of popular songs of the day in the local clubs, and would would later change their name to The Blue Chips in 1964, going on to win a band competition in London the same year. They were offered a recording contract and released a couple of singles, none of which charted and the band split up shortly afterwards.
Following this, Alan toured around Europe with Billy Fury & The Gamblers, and worked for a while as a session musician until 1969, when he received an invitation fron John Lennon to join his Plastic Ono band and actually played drums on John Lennon's "Imagine" - both the single and the album (1971)
Around the same time he also worked with a number of other musicians, including Ginger Baker and Steve Winward. At the time, he was living in Sussex, but to avoid commuting back and forth to London, he shared a flat with Eddy Offord, who was a producer and sound engineer with Yes, and that's how he came to join the band in 1972, and remained with the band until his death on 26th May 2022, aged 72
It's a shame that drummers never seem to get the same recognition as other band members - we all remember singers and guitarists, but rarely do we spare a thought for the guy sat at the back
Of course Alan White did gain recognition within the music industry as was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017
