White Witch was an American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band from

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States, that made two albums for

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

in the early 1970s. Their name was a paean to "white magic", contrary to the "

black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...

" of groups like

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

. As the band announced before their shows: "To bring good where there once was evil, to bring love where there once was hate, to bring wisdom where there once was ignorance; this is the power of White Witch". The group was inducted into the Florida Musicians Hall of Fame's Florida Music Honor Roll.

History

White Witch formed in 1971 in Tampa. The band originally featured lead singer Ronald "Ronn" (or "Ron") Goedert, guitarist Charles "Buddy" Richardson, keyboardist Hardin "Buddy" Pendergrass, drummer Robert "Bobby" Shea and bassist Loyall "Beau" Fisher. Several of the band members had belonged to a popular late-60s Tampa-area band called

The Tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

. After touring small venues around the southeast for almost a year, White Witch signed with

, a label that included outfits such as the

Allman Brothers Band Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame southern rock band, formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Allman Joys, an early band formed by Duane and Gregg Allman *The Gregg Allman Band People *Allman (surname) ...

and the

Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Wh ...

. Though somewhat uneasy about being the only non-

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

performers signed to the label, the members agreed to the contract without a manager or any legal representation and quickly recorded their self-titled debut album in Capricorn's

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

studios. The band toured extensively to support the record, opening for established acts such as

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succes ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

, and others. Fisher left the group sometime after the first album and was replaced by Rabbi Barbee, who left before the group went back in into the studio in 1974. Bassist

Charlie Souza Charlie Souza is a bass player, vocalist, musician, writer and producer. He is best known for playing bass in Mudcrutch. He is married to Barbara Benischek Souza. Career Souza toured with The New Rascals, featuring Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

and drummer Bill Peterson also joined the band before the second album. Due to displeasure with their record label's lack of promotion and its interference in the band's recording sessions, Buddy Richardson left the group immediately after the second album (A Spiritual Greeting) was completed. He was replaced by guitarist George Brawley, who had spent the previous year as a session guitarist in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

after leaving the southern rock group Brother from

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Drummer Bobby Shea stayed with the group as percussionist and back-up singer. White Witch did a bit more touring and recorded four tracks on demo, but broke up in the late 1970s before a third album was recorded. After White Witch, Goedert made some solo recordings, Pendergrass wrote commercial

jingles A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

and opened a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

, and Richardson played in other bands ("Revolver"). Some of the original group members began planning a reunion in the late 1990s which became impossible when lead singer Ron Goedert died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on July 16, 2000. Pendergrass also became a victim of cancer on March 16, 2003.

Music

Though primarily known as a

band, White Witch's music cannot be easily classified into a single genre. Songs on each album ranged from

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

to southern boogie to

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

. The band has also been described as "a prototype

hair metal Hair is a protein filament that grows from hair follicle, follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick ter ...

band". The common threads through their work were lyrics with a

new age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

/spiritual theme and the use of an early

moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

. Most of the songs on their first album were written by Goedert and Pendergrass, with contributions from the other band members. All of the songs on the second album were written by Goedert, Pendergrass, and Richardson. Both albums were released on CD in 1999. White Witch lead singer released Ron Goedert "Breaking All The Rules' in 1980 on Polydor Records and

Frank Fenter Frank Fenter (February 25, 1936 – July 21, 1983) was a South African music industry executive. Fenter was the first managing director of Atlantic Records for Europe, where he helped discover and get signed to Atlantic late-1960s British Invasi ...

record company, featuring Riff West on bass, Jack West on drums and Jerry Runyan on guitar the group toured with major acts Toto, Joe Perry, ZZ Top, and Mountain, before disbanding in late 1980. Intended to be the third White Witch LP, Polydor execs would not allow the use of the name owned by Capricorn, so the record was released under Goedert's name. It has never been distributed on CD and is available only on vinyl.

Discography

*''White Witch'', LP (1972, Capricorn Records 0107) *''A Spiritual Greeting'', LP (1974, Capricorn Records 0129) *"And I'm Leaving", 45 (1972, Capricorn Records)

''White Witch''

''White Witch'' was released on Capricorn Records, Capricorn 0107. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

Record Guide'' gave it one star out of five, saying that it was a Southern answer to

. The original review in ''Rolling Stone'' described it as "Halloween music".''

Rolling Stone Record Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', p. 411 * all songs by Goedert and Pendergrass except as noted # "Parabrahm Greeting/Dwellers of the Threshold" (''Goedert, Pendergrass, Richardson, Shea, and Fisher'') # "Help Me Lord" # "Don't Close Your Mind" (''Goedert, Pendergrass, and Richardson'') # "You're the One" # "Sleepwalk" # "Home Grown Girl" # "And I'm Leaving" # "Illusion" # "It's So Nice to Be Stoned" (''Richardson and Fisher'') # "Have You Ever Thought of Changing/Jackson Slade" # "The Gift" (''Goedert, Pendergrass, Richardson, Shea, and Fisher'')

''A Spiritual Greeting''

''A Spiritual Greeting'' was released as Capricorn 0129. This album included Bill Peterson of Bacchus on drums and Charlie Souza of The Tropics and Cactus on bass guitar. ''Rolling Stone'' gave it two stars out of five, saying that the only thing it had going for it was the "fine production by Ron and Howard Albert". * All songs by Goedert, Pendergrass, and Richardson # "We'll All Ride High (Money Bag$)" # "Slick Witch" # "Walk On" # "Class of 2000" # "Showdown" # "Crystallize and Realize" # "Black Widow Lover" # "Auntie Christy/Harlow"

Notes

References

* ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', edited by Dave Marsh with John Swenson, 1979,

External links

Official site for White Witch

MySpace site for White Witch
* Allmusic.com entry for White Witch
Florida Music Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Witch (Band) Hard rock musical groups from Florida Musical groups established in 1971 Musical groups from Tampa, Florida Capricorn Records artists