White Lightning was an American psychedelic rock band, active from 1968 through 1971. The band was founded by guitarist Zippy Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich.(29 October 2001)
Monster Tracks
'' Star Tribune'' The band was very popular in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, mostly due to Caplan's fame playing with

The Litter The Litter was an American psychedelic and garage rock band, formed in 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They are best remembered for their 1967 debut single, " Action Woman". The group recorded three albums in the late 1960s bef ...

. The manager of radio station

KDWB KDWB-FM (101.3 MHz) is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, licensed to suburban Richfield. KDWB's radio format is Top 40/CHR. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, while its studios ...

mistook the single "Of Paupers and Poets" for a song by

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, giving valuable early airtime to the band. They also would perform a cover of the

William Tell Overture The ''William Tell'' Overture is the overture to the opera '' William Tell'' (original French title ''Guillaume Tell''), whose music was composed by Gioachino Rossini. ''William Tell'' premiered in 1829 and was the last of Rossini's 39 operas, a ...

.(30 May 1970)
Talent in Action
''

Billboard (magazine) ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the mus ...

'' "White Lightning" was on ATCO Records, a division of Atlantic Records. Eventually, the band broke up due to musical differences, especially between Woodrich and Caplan.

Band members

* Tom "Zippy" Caplan (lead guitar) * Woody Woodrich (lead & bass guitars & vocals) * Ronn Roberts (lead guitar & bass, vocals) * Mick Stanhope (lead singer & drums) * Bernie Pershey (drums, marimba, xylophone) * Garr Johnson (drums) * Russ Paul (guitar) * Joey Boom Boom Winters (drums) * Peter Dean Korellis (guitar) * Ron Merchant (bass, keyboard) * Dan Burniece (drums, vocals) * Nickolas Jack Miller * K Zakk Williams (guitar)

Line-ups

Discography

* '' Of Paupers & Poets'' (1968) * ''

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

'' (1970) * '' Zachariah (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (1971) * '' (Under the Screaming Double) Eagle'' (1995) * '' The Lost Studio Album 1969'' (1995) * '' White Lightning Strikes Twice'' (1997)

Filmography

Members of the band appear in the film Zachariah and perform on the movie soundtrack.

Band members' whereabouts as of 2010

Ronn Roberts toured with numerous acts in the 1970s and early 1980s, including

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

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, Jim Messina, John Mayall, Bread,

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

and

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. He has formed two companies, Esoteric Pictures and Rave On Entertainment. He is married to the former Mary Catherine Percy and the couple have five daughters: Paris, Ashley, Regan, Ryanne and Taylor. In the summer of 2010, Roberts and Pat Robinson are at work on "Kidz That Rock (USA)", a concept for teaching music to children across the Los Angeles area. Zip Caplan is recording another music project with his Ventures tribute band, The Surf Dogs, in Minneapolis. Bernie Pershey has toured with

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

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and for eight years with

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. Currently he is in Norway with

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, playing gigs. Bernie & Eric et al., also played gigs with

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sou ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

and other parts of the world during their fall swing through Europe. Mick Stanhope is married and living in Las Vegas.

References

Sources

Official The Litter, (White) Lightning Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Lightning (Band) American psychedelic rock music groups Musical groups from Minnesota