Early years In 1954, the three White brothers,
Roland (
mandolin),
Clarence (
acoustic guitar), and Eric Jr. (
banjo and
double bass) formed a
country music trio called Three Little Country Boys. The family group, which was occasionally augmented by the brothers' sister Joanne on bass, won a talent contest early on in their career, on radio station
KXLA in Pasadena, California, and, by 1957, had managed to attract the interest of country guitarist
Joe Maphis.
Commercial success In September 1962, the Country Boys recorded their debut
album for Briar International. Around this time, Clarence's
flatpicking guitar style became a more prominent part of the group's sound, Following the release of their debut album, the Kentucky Colonels became well known on the bluegrass circuit during 1963 and 1964, performing at a multitude of folk and country venues throughout California and the United States, including an appearance at the prestigious Monterey Folk Festival in May 1963. In 1964, while continuing to make live appearances, who would later become the manager of the
folk rock band
the Byrds. After the recruitment of
fiddle player Bobby Slone, Although it failed to chart, the album was a commercial success, with White's flatpicking permanently expanding the language of bluegrass guitar. Owens also noted that White's playing on the album "helped pioneer a new style in bluegrass; namely, he redefined the acoustic guitar as a solo instrument." The band added fiddle player
Scotty Stoneman to their line-up in mid-1965, as a replacement for Slone, This line-up of the band made sporadic concert appearances and also recorded a series of
demos that were eventually released in 1979 on the archival album
Kentucky Colonels 1966. The trio was augmented by
Herb Pedersen on guitar and
Alan Munde on banjo. After playing a handful of shows in California, including one at the
Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles, the White Brothers departed for Europe in May 1973. Returning to the United States, the New Kentucky Colonels took part in a four-date
country rock package tour in June 1973, with
Gram Parsons,
Emmylou Harris,
Country Gazette,
Sneaky Pete Kleinow,
Gene Parsons,
Byron Berline, and
Chris Ethridge among others. Clarence White died on July 15, 1973 in Palmdale, California following a concert by the New Kentucky Colonels. He was struck by a
drunk driver while he loaded his gear into the back of a car. This tragic event marked the end of the Kentucky Colonels. ==Members==