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 ...
,
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
The Righteous Brothers
The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...
,
Ike and Tina Turner
Ike or IKE may refer to:
People
* Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname
* Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname
...
,
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
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
. 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 ...
,
Walter Trout
Walter Trout (born March 6, 1951 in Ocean City, New Jersey, United States) is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter.
Biography
Trout's career began on the Jersey coast scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He then decided to rel ...
,
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...
and for eight years with
The Animals
The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...
/
Eric Burdon
Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...
. Currently he is in Norway with
Eric Sardinas
Eric Sardinas (born November 10, 1970) is an American blues-rock slide guitarist born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is noted for his use of the electric resonator guitar and his live performances. He sometimes sets his guitar alight on stag ...
, 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 ...
in
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