• ABOUT
    • Contact
    • The Team
    • FAQ
    • Use & Privacy Policy
  • ADVERTISE
  • ROWFAX
  • JOB LISTINGS
MusicRow.com
  • CALENDARS
    • Album/EP Releases
    • Single/Track Releases
    • Industry Events
  • OBITS
  • CHARTS
    • Radio Chart (Current)
    • Radio Chart (Archives)
    • No. 1 Challenge Coin
    • Songwriter Chart (Current)
    • Songwriter Chart (Archives)
  • REVIEWS
  • MY STORY
  • NEWSLETTER
    • Newsletter (Current)
    • Newsletter (Archives)
    • SIGN UP (FREE!)
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • STORE
  • Click to open the search input field Click to open the search input field Search
  • Menu Menu

Bluegrass Mandolin Great Roland White Passes

April 5, 2022/by Robert K Oermann

Roland White

Bluegrass Hall of Fame member and Grammy Award winner Roland White died at age 83 on April 1 following complications from a heart attack.

White was a top-flight mandolinist noted for his work in The Kentucky Colonels, Country Gazette and The Nashville Bluegrass Band. He was widely loved for his musical generosity, for his welcoming of newcomers, for his mentorship of youngsters and for being a kindly ambassador of Nashville music.

 

White was born in Maine, where he began his career in a band with his siblings. When he was 16, the family relocated to California. He and his guitarist brother Clarence White (1944-1973) formed The Kentucky Colonels in Burbank in 1954. It became one of the most influential bluegrass bands of the 1960s.

The Kentucky Colonels disbanded at the end of 1965, and Clarence White joined The Byrds. Roland White moved to Nashville and joined Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys for two years, 1967-69, then became a member of Lester Flatt’s band, The Nashville Grass in 1969-73. While in Flatt’s group, he was instrumental in recruiting as a band member the 13-year-old Marty Stuart, a fellow mandolinist.

Billed as The New Kentucky Colonels, the Whites’ original star-making group reorganized in 1973 and began touring again. The reunion was short lived. Clarence White was killed by a drunk driver while loading band equipment into his car following a concert.

Grief stricken Roland White carried on, becoming a member of the progressive bluegrass group Country Gazette in 1973-77. He became a part of the “founding family” of The Station Inn when it opened in 1974. The venue has since acquired a worldwide reputation as a bluegrass-music Mecca. White was a welcoming presence there, particularly after its relocation to The Gulch in Nashville in 1978.

J.T. Gray bought The Station Inn in 1981 and it became a proving ground for The Whites, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, Sam Bush and other up-and-comers. Roland White was their resident greeter. During this period, White also recorded solo albums in 1976 and 1984.

Bluegrass superstars began dropping into the venue, often after appearing on the Grand Ole Opry. Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Peter Rowan and Bobby Osborne were known to stop by to pick and sing in the 1980s. Since then, a who’s-who of bluegrass has played at the club.

In 1989, Roland White became a member of The Nashville Bluegrass Band. During the next few years, he recorded five albums with the group, including the Grammy winning Watin’ for the Hard Times to Go (1994) and Unleashed (1996).

A singer and guitarist as well as a mandolin virtuoso, Roland White formed his own group in 2000. The Roland White Band recorded albums in 2003 and 2018.

He continued to sit in at Station Inn jam sessions. He curated an annual Bill Monroe Tribute night at the club and organized many benefit shows for musicians in need.

During his long career, White appeared on recordings with Mac Wiseman, Doc Watson, Clint Black, Ry Cooder, Marty Stuart, Alan Munde, Bernadette Peters, Ricky Skaggs, Valarie Smith, Stuart Duncan, David Grier, Gene Wooten, Glenn Duncan, Bobby Hicks, The Whites, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Butch Robbins and many others.

Roland White was inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2017. His band The Kentucky Colonels was inducted in 2019.

He is survived by his wife and musical partner Diane Bouska, daughter Roline Hodge, son Lawrence Lee LeBlanc, sister Rosemarie Johnson, two grandchildren and a great-grandchild. There will be a visitation from 3-7 PM on Wednesday (April 6) at Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5110 Gallatin Pike. A celebration of life will be organized at a future date.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the International Bluegrass Music Association Foundation at bluegrassfoundation.org.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Robert K Oermann
Robert K Oermann
Robert K. Oermann is a longtime contributor to MusicRow. He is a respected music critic, author and historian.
Robert K Oermann
Latest posts by Robert K Oermann (see all)
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: Zach Top Kicks Off Summer - June 12, 2025
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: Old Dominion ‘Live & Breathe Hooks’ - June 5, 2025
  • DISClaimer Single Reviews: Sister Sadie Brings ‘Tart Lyric & Swaying Fiddling’ - May 29, 2025
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://music-row-website-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/06233926/roland-white.jpg 1782 2000 Robert K Oermann https://musicrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/MusicRow-header-logo-Mar19B.png Robert K Oermann2022-04-05 10:26:412022-04-05 10:26:41Bluegrass Mandolin Great Roland White Passes

RECENT NEWS

  • Industry Ink: Miranda Lambert, CMHOFM, Deluge, Edgehill June 24, 2025
  • Niko Moon Slates New Album ‘American Palm’ For July 18 June 24, 2025
  • Weekly Register: Morgan Wallen Continues To Rule The Charts June 24, 2025
  • Briana Calhoun Signs With Sony Music Publishing & Kix Brooks June 24, 2025
  • Kane Brown Lands 13th No. 1 With ‘Backseat Driver’ June 24, 2025
  • MercyMe Seek The ‘Wonder & Awe’ On Latest Project, Due Aug. 8 June 24, 2025
  • John Oates Revisits R&B & Pop Grooves On New Self-Titled LP Due In August June 24, 2025
  • Owen Riegling Inks With UMPG June 24, 2025
  • New Vinyl Collection Of Randy Travis Hits Due In August June 24, 2025
  • JUST IN: Lost Highway Taps Casey Thomas & Vincent Masino June 24, 2025

Like Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter

Tweets by MusicRow
© 2025 Music Row Enterprises, LLC - Enfold WordPress Theme by Kriesi
Website hosted by Nashville web design company, All My Web Needs.
  • Link to Facebook
  • Link to X
  • Link to Instagram
Scroll to top