William White was born on the Caribbean island of Barbados and grew up on a small farm in the hills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Mom loved Beethoven Dad loved quiet .William loved to sing. It was the time when a ride through the country roads would be filled with music; Bob Marley and the Wailers booming at the rum shop on the corner, Marvin Gaye out of the window of the house a little further on, Sam Cooke, then Curtis Mayfield and everybody was kung-fu fighting with Jimmy Cliff.
It was then, that at the age of twelve, with a borrowed book and his mother's old classical guitar William started writing and singing his own songs. Country music with it's gripping texts became an issue Calypso with the beat the kids at school were listening to hard rock and William was singing tenor lead in The Five of Hearts, an accapella combo doing "Under the Boardwalk" gaining stage experience as well as writing a few songs of his own.
At nineteen, after College, he left Barbados for Switzerland, his mother's home land culture shock! The Army University . But soon William was singing in and writing songs for up to four bands at once, playing everything from reggae to funk, rock to punk and folk William had heard his calling and quit his studies.
William White is ready to launch his solo carrier. A firm believer in the power of music, he has set out to touch hearts, awake emotions and spread positive vibrations through his songs. His music is a blend of the Caribbean rhythms with pop, rock, funk and all that jazz but all packed into a very natural, very human-feel recording, creating a uniquely intimate and emotional style with a real roots message.
UNDONE (2005)
William White’s debut solo album, UNDONE was written, performed and produced by William himself was released independently, from at home, in February 2005.Undone has sold over 13 000 CDs in Switzerland without a Record Label. True independence. During the year 2006, William White & The Emergency had the opportunity to do the support for Moneybrother through Germany, Austria and Switzerland! They toured Switzerland intensively for the whole year, playing the biggest Festivals (Open-Air St.Gallen, Gurten Festival Bern, Greenfield Interlaken, Paléo Nyon, Caribana Nyon…), the album sales tripled in the shops! Some highlights of the autumn 2006 were William White's solo appearances as supporting act for Ben Harper in Geneva and Basel, Xavier Rudd in Zurich, Gabriel Rios in Paris and Amsterdam, Archive in Winterthur, John Butler Trio in Zurich and Shivaree in Zurich!
EVOLUTION (2008)
On the 15th of February 2008, EVOLUTION was released independently in Switzerland. This second album, again written, produced and performed by William himself was recorded in 2007. Hamish Stewart “Average White Band” appears on one of the tracks… The single “Can’t Stop Loving You” reflects the soul feel to William’s sound and enjoyed top nation wide airplay. The album Evolution entered N07 the Swiss Top10 Album Charts in its first week!
Eight weeks later it was still in the top fifty! The two week release tour saw William White and The Emergency playing sold out shows in clubs with capacities of 700 to 1000 spectators. Evolution has sold 9’000 copies in ten weeks.
William White Interview 2008Solo Live "Try a little Love"
William White & The Emergency Live at Les Docks 2008"Rain" filmed by Vidéoartvision Association
William White & The Emergency Live at Les Docks 2008"Try a little Love" filmed by Vidéoartvision Association
William White & The Emergency Live at St.Gallen Openair 2006"Can't get enough of you"
William White & The Emergency Live at St.Gallen Openair 2006"The Rock"
