Former Singer, Bandleader Danny White Is Dead At 64 Times Picayune 01-11-1996 ************************************************* Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ Danny White, a former New Orleans rhythm and blues vocalist and bandleader, died Friday in Capitol Heights, Md., after suffering a stroke. He was 64. His best-known recordings, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" and "Loan Me Your Handkerchief," were sizable regional hits in the early 1960s. "Danny was never a big-name recording artist," composer Allen Toussaint said. "But he had a great band that used to work at the Sho Bar on Bourbon Street. Danny inspired me to write 'Mother-in-Law' and 'Certain Girl.' Unfortunately, I wasn't recording Danny, so I gave the songs to Ernie K-Doe. "There was something very influential about Danny that was absorbed by a lot of artists that had big records here." Joseph Daniel White was born in New Orleans in 1931. He began singing professionally in his early 20s after his discharge from the Marine Corps. By the mid-1950s, Danny White and the Cavaliers were a top attraction at the Golden Cadillac, a nightclub on Poland Avenue. After five years at the Golden Cadillac, Mr. White and his band began playing other venues, including the Sho Bar, where they played weekends from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. "Danny White and the Cavaliers were the hottest band in town in the early 1960s," said Jimmy Anselmo, the owner of Jimmy's music club. "You could compare him to the Cold or the Neville Brothers at their peak. Imagine Jimmy's or Tipitina's packed full of people with the sun coming up. That's what it was like every night when Danny played the Sho Bar." In 1961, Mr. White signed with Frisco Records, a New Orleans label owned by Connie LaRocca. The first of five Frisco singles, "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," arranged by Wardell Quezergue, was a strong local seller. The next year, Mr. White recorded an Earl King ballad, "Loan Me Your Handkerchief," which was leased to Decca for national distribution and sold more than 100,000 copies. Mr. White began touring with artists such as Jimmy Reed, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye. In 1962, he played the Apollo Theater in New York. Mr. White's second Decca single, "Cracked Up Over You," was recorded with backing by Booker T & the MGs at the Stax Studio in Memphis. So was his last single, "Keep My Woman Home," an Isaac Hayes-Dave Porter composition that was released on the New York-based Atlas label in 1965. In 1969, Mr. White became the road manager for the Meters, then getting their first taste of national success. He worked with them for two years. In 1972, Mr. White moved to the Washington, D.C., area to take a job as a sales manager for a furniture company. He often returned to New Orleans to visit and occasionally performed at oldies shows. Survivors include his wife, Rose Marie White; two sons, Joseph White Jr. and Shawn White; and five daughters, Debra White Jenkins, Lisa A. Bell, Dana A. Bell, Michelle Richardson and Tesha White. Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Charbonnet-Labat Funeral Home is in charge.