Ray White (full name Ray Shirley White Sr) is an American soul vocalist and rock and blues

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist, best known as a member of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

's touring ensembles. He was drafted into Zappa's band in late 1976, being featured on

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

and vocals, forming a vocal harmony partnership with

Ike Willis Isaac Willis (born November 12, 1955) is an American vocalist and guitarist who was a regular member of Frank Zappa's studio and touring bands from 1978 until the last tour in 1988. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 because he wanted ...

on later tours in 1980 and 1984. White's vocals can be heard on ''

Zappa in New York ''Zappa in New York'' is a double live album by Frank Zappa released on his own DiscReet Records label. It was recorded in December 1976 at a series of concerts at the Palladium in New York City. The album was scheduled for release in mid 1977 b ...

'' (March 1978), ''

You Are What You Is ''You Are What You Is'' is a 1981 double album by American musician Frank Zappa. His 34th album, it consists of three musical suites which encompass pop, doo-wop, jazz, hard rock, reggae, soul, blues, new wave and country. The album's lyrics sat ...

'' (September 1981) as well as others. White can also be found on a '' The Torture Never Stops'' and '' Does Humor Belong in Music?''; the former is a DVD from Zappa's 1981 tour (without Ike Willis) and the latter filmed at the pier in New York in 1984; the video features White and Ike Willis' vocal harmonies. According to Zappa, White, who was deeply religious, was uncomfortable with the atheistic views of some of the other band members, which led to his departure. White has also worked with jam-oriented groups like

KVHW KVHW was an American rock band, that was active and toured nationally from January 1998 through December 1999. The band's name came from the last names of its four members: Steve Kimock (guitar), Bobby Vega (bass), Alan Hertz (drums), and Ray Whi ...

, Don't Push the Clown and

Umphrey's McGee Umphrey's McGee is an American jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana. The band experiments with many musical styles, including rock, metal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk. They have toured regularly ...

since his contributions to the Zappa band, and has worked with a variety of Michigan artists, including former Rare Earth drummer Bob Weaver, as well as members of the funk/fusion combo Generic Produce. In 2007 Ray White joined

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil deve ...

as a special guest for the

Zappa Plays Zappa Zappa Plays Zappa is an American tribute act led by Dweezil Zappa, the elder son of late American composer and musician Frank Zappa, devoted to performing the music of Frank Zappa. History The band debuted in 2006 with shows in Europe, Canada ...

Tour. White is also a member of the group Band From Utopia, formed by former members of different formations of Frank Zappa's band who wanted to pay tribute to his work. White is also a members of The Zappa Band, an alumni band consisting of former Frank Zappa contributors, keyboardist/guitarist

Mike Keneally Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer. Early years and musical influences Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...

, multi-instrumentalist Robert Martin, bassist

Scott Thunes Scott Thunes (pronounced "TOO-nis") (born January 20, 1960) is a bass player, formerly with Frank Zappa, Wayne Kramer, Steve Vai, Andy Prieboy, Mike Keneally, Fear, The Waterboys, Big Bang Beat, and others. Thunes was raised in San Anselmo, ...

, drummer Joe Travers, guitarist

Jamie Kime Jamie Kime is an American guitarist who has worked with Michelle Branch, Jewel, and as a member of the Zappa Plays Zappa world tour. Kime attended the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, California, training under guitarists such as Peter Spr ...

and White on vocals and guitar.

References

External links

Official Ray White website

Project Object
African-American rock musicians American male singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) African-American guitarists 21st-century African-American people {{US-rock-singer-stub