Roland's Bluegrass Books and CDs

Mandolin and guitar instruction sets and bluegrass music CDs from Roland White Band, Kentucky Colonels, and Clarence White.

Roland White at Mandolin Symposium Concert 2015

Mandolin and Guitar Instruction

Scroll down for band CDs.

Roland White's Approach to
Bluegrass Mandolin

$34.95 + shipping

60-page spiral-bound book with 2 CDs
For beginner and intermediate levels, but with challenges for advanced players too. By Diane Bouska and Roland White.

Roland White's Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin
$34.95 + shipping
  • 30 tunes in tablature (no standard notation)
  • 2 CDs with slow and medium tempo recording of each tune
  • guitar rhythm and mandolin in separate channels
  • for rank beginners progressing through all levels
  • complete instruction in how to play bluegrass mandolin
Roland White's Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin
$34.95 + shipping

Bile 'Em Cabbage Down, Cabin Home on the Hill, Cripple Creek, Soldier's Joy, Liberty, St. Anne's Reel, Clinch Mountain Backstep, Mississippi Sawyer, Sugarfoot Rag, Salty Dog Blues, Salt Creek, Old Joe Clark, Ragtime Annie, Golden Slippers, Blue Grass Stomp, New Five Cents, Spinning Wheel, Road to Columbus, Gold Rush, Wheel Hoss, John Henry, Blackberry Blossom, East Tennessee Blues, Pike County Breakdown, Wildwood Flower, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Amazing Grace in G, Amazing Grace in E, Kentucky Waltz, Lonesome Road Blues, Foggy Mountain Breakdown, Jerusalem Ridge

Roland White's Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin
$34.95 + shipping

Topics covered: Relaxing, Holding the Mandolin, The Pick, Picking,  Tuning, Fretting, Pick Direction, Practicing, Mandolin Setup, Strings, Caring for Your Mandolin, Reading Tablature, Chords, Playing Rhythm, Tremolo, Chord Reference, Coordination / Warm-up Exercises, A Note on Listening, Selected Roland White Discography, 18 photos

The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads

$39.95 + shipping

102-page spiral-bound book with 2 CDs/downloads.  Intermediate and advanced levels. By Diane Bouska and Roland White.

Preview:
Table of Contents
Roland's introduction sample pages
Notation/tab sample page - Shady Grove
Hear Shady Grove

The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads
$39.95 + shipping

• 14 songs and tunes with variations, in notation and tablature
• Detailed instruction with tab examples and exercises
• 30 page biography with photos 
• Disc contents also available to download 
• Disc 1: Clarence’s original recordings plus CD-ROM video of Clarence playing two tunes close-up
• Disc 2: Rhythm tracks: Play along at slow or fast tempo with Roland  White on guitar and Missy Raines on bass

The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads
$39.95 + shipping

Songs:  Shady Grove, Sally Goodin, Flop-eared Mule, Banks of the Ohio, Wildwood Flower, Billy in the Lowground , Black Mountain Rag,  Pretty Polly, Under the Double Eagle, Footprints in the Snow, Bury Me Beneath the Willow, Nine Pound Hammer, Farewell Blues, In the Pines

The Essential Clarence White Bluegrass Guitar Leads
$39.95 + shipping

Scope: This book/CD set presents Clarence's early but fully realized acoustic guitar style, as demonstrated in the recordings he made at home in 1962.  These songs were included in the  "33 Acoustic Guitar  Instrumentals" CD.  The book focuses on the core elements of his early style.  Our intent is to provide an entry point for intermediate players to understand and begin to play in this style, and to impart the flavor of Clarence's early musical environment.

Roland White's Mandolin Christmas

$24.95 + shipping

44-page book with CD. For all level players, with special material for complete beginners. By Diane Bouska and Roland White.

Look inside
Roland White's Mandolin Christmas book/CD set
$24.95 + shipping

10 classic Christmas carols and songs for mandolin, in notation & tablature. Songbook section with lyrics, mandolin & guitar chord diagrams. Shows easy two-finger chords and also closed position chords, has simple beginner tabs, plus "step up" versions with easy double stops. For beginners it's a great introduction to the mandolin, while advanced players will be challenged to master the nuances. CD has melody tracks w/separated mandolin & guitar, play-along tracks, oral instruction on tremolo and technique. A super package for all levels. 

Roland White's Mandolin Christmas book/CD set
$24.95 + shipping

Songs:  We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Silent Night, We Three Kings, What Child Is This?

Roland White's Mandolin Christmas book/CD set
$24.95 + shipping

10 classic Christmas carols and songs arranged for mandolin, in notation & tablature. Songbook section with full lyrics, mandolin & guitar chord diagrams. Easy two-finger open chords, closed position chords, additional simple versions in tab for beginners, plus several "step up" versions with simple double stops added. Beginners will find this a great introduction to the mandolin and advanced players will be challenged by the subtleties of Roland’s playing. CD has melody tracks w/separated mandolin & guitar, rhythm tracks, oral instruction on tremolo and technique. A super package for all levels. 

Roland White's Mandolin Christmas book/CD set
$24.95 + shipping

Review by Terence Pender. Reprinted with permission from Dec. 2003 issue of Mandolin Magazine.

This 44-page book contains ten Christmas classics arranged for the mandolin. The book is laid out in two sections. The first section includes an introduction, technical notes, and a few exercises. Next come arrangements of all ten tunes in both standard musical notation and tablature. These arrangements include chord charts for mandolin above the music and the words to each song.

These are excellent renditions of some of the best-loved Christmas songs. The melody on each piece is supported by a nice selection of double stops and chords that both enrich and fill out each selection. The book is obviously ideal for those who want to learn these holiday favorites, but it also contains example after example of how to harmonize a melody - ideas that could be applied to mandolin music of any style. Once you become familiar with Roland's approach to filling out a melody, you'll be able to start creating your own arrangements of any melody. This method of identifying the melody and chords and then harmonizing the material follows the same pattern laid out so well in Roland's first book, Roland White's Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin.

The second part of the book features another pass through each tune, but with an eye toward playing and singing the songs with a guitar-playing friend. On the left hand page are the words with the appropriate mandolin chords, and on the right hand page are the words with guitar chords. At the bottom of the page is a mandolin version of the song, this time in tab only. On the left hand page is a simple version of the melody, and on the opposite page, the version is filled out with a few double stops. In this section, each selection takes this two-page format so that both guitarist and mandolinist can easily play and sing from the same book without having to turn any pages. Likewise, the first section is also laid out so that there are never any awkward page turns, making this an ideal volume for those of you who may be doing some holiday entertaining.

To complement this wonderful folio, each selection is played on an accompanying CD. Each song is played twice. The first time through, Roland plays the main arrangement of the song as it is laid out in part one of the book. Roland is on the mandolin and Diane accompanies on the guitar. Then Roland and Diane play through all of the tunes again, this time playing rhythm so that you can play along with their accompaniment. This is another fine installment in what is shaping up to be a nice series of books from Roland and Diane. They have two more publications planned for release over the next few years: Clarence White's Guitar Transcriptions and Roland White's Approach to Mandolin Backup. This one is highly recommended.

Roland White's Christmas Chord Book

$7.50   pdf download

Chord diagrams and lyrics to Christmas favorites for mandolin and guitar. By Diane Bouska and Roland White.

Look inside
Roland White's Christmas Chord book
$7.50 - pdf download
  • diagrams for easy mandolin chords over the lyrics
  • plus guitar chords, also over the lyrics in same format
  • each song shown in two different keys
  • no "stretch" chords for the mandolin
  • appendix with larger diagrams of mandolin and guitar chords
  • immediate delivery by download - zip with 2 pdfs inside
  • this is not a melody or tab book--see Roland White's Mandolin Christmas for melodies and instruction
$7.50 - pdf download

Songs:  Jingle Bells in G and C, We Three Kings in Dm and Am, Deck the Halls in E and G,What Child Is This? in Em and Gm, It Came Upon The Midnight Clear in G and D, We Wish You a Merry Christmas in G and D, Silent Night in A and E, Joy to the World in D and G,Silver Bells in A and E, O Little Town Of Bethlehem in D and G

Roland White's Christmas Chord book
$7.50 - pdf download

If you've never played a mandolin before, this is a great way to start. The settings have lots of two-finger chords for mandolin, with open strings. You can play through several of these tunes with only two fingers and they'll sound great--the open ringing sound of the mandolin is wonderful for Christmas songs!  Also included are some three-finger chords that you should learn, and the neat thing is you don't have to move much to change between most of these chords.  Players of all levels will learn a few new chord moves.  Nowhere is there a "stretch" chord. The greatest reach in these chords is four frets. You can back up these songs nicely without ever having to stretch your pinky to the far side of the fretboard. Guitar chords, also clearly diagrammed with fingering,  are provided for the same songs in  the same keys, and in the same order as the mandolin chord book--so it should be easy to convince a friend to play along with you!

Bluegrass Fakebook

$19.95 + shipping

153-page songbook of bluegrass lyrics, chords and melodies, including 50 gospel songs. By Bert Casey.

Bluegrass Fakebook

$19.95 + shipping

This handy songbook contains lyrics, chords and melody to 150 all-time favorite bluegrass songs, including 50 gospel songs, as well as many "new" bluegrass songs. Printed in large, easy-to-read type with one song per page in alphabetical order, this book is excellent for use on stage or in jam sessions. Also includes chord charts for the guitar, banjo, and mandolin, a transposition guide, and a listing of currently available recordings of each song. Now all those obscure verses you can never remember are right at your fingertips. This book DOES NOT contain tablatures for any instrument. 153 pages. By Bert Casey.

Bluegrass Fakebook

$19.95 + shipping

Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow
All The Good Times Are Past & Gone
Amazing Grace *
Angel Band *
Angels Rejoice *
Are You Washed In The Blood *
Banks of the Ohio
Battle of New Orleans
Beautiful Life *
Bluebirds Are Singing For Me
Boil Them Cabbage Down
Born To Be With You
Bound To Ride
Bury Me Beneath The Willows
Careless Love
Children Go Where I Send Thee *
Columbus Stockade Blues
Cripple Creek
Crying Holy *
Dancin With The Angels *
Daniel Prayed *
Dark Hollow
Darling Corey
Do Lord *
Don't This Road Look Rough & Rocky
Don't You Hear Jerusalem Moan *
Dooley
Down The Road
Drifting Too Far From The Shore *
Dry Run Creek
East Virginia Blues
Every Time You Say Goodbye
Fair & Tender Ladies
Find Me Out On A Mountain Top
Foggy Mountain Top
Footprints In The Snow
Freeborn Man
Friend of the Devil
Get In Line Brother *
Ginseng SullivanGlendale Train
God Moves In A Windstorm *
Gone At Last
Good Woman's Love
Goodnight Irene
Green Pastures *
Hallelujah I'm Ready *
He Said If I Be Lifted Up *
He Will Set Your Fields On Fire *
He's Got The Whole World In His Hands *
High On A Mountain
Hobo Song
Hot Corn, Cold Corn
I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent)
I Am A Pilgrim *
I Never Will Marry
I'll Fly Away *
I'll Remember You, Love, In My Prayers *
If I Lose
In The Pines
It Won't Work This Time
Jacob's Vision *
Jesse James
John Hardy
John Henry
Jordan *
Katy Daley
Kneel Down & Pray Up *
Knockin' On Your Door
Last Train From Poor Valley
Legend of the Rebel Soldier
Life Is Like A Mountain Railway *
Like A Train
Little Bessie
Little Maggie
Little White Church *
Lonesome Road Blues
Long Journey Home
Lord, I'm Coming Home *
Lost & I'll Never Find The Way
Mama Don't 'Low
Man of Constant Sorrow
Memories of Mother and Dad *
Methodist Pie *
Midnight Flyer
Midnight on the Stormy Deep
Midnight Train
Milwaukee Here I Come
Model Church *
Moonlight Midnight
My Home's Across The Smokey Mountains
New River Train
Nine Pound Hammer
Old Home Place
Old Joe Clark
Old Train
Ole Slewfoot
One Way Track
Pallet On Your Floor
Panama Red
Pig In A Pen
Poor Wayfaring Stranger *
Precious Memories *
Pretty Polly
Rain & Snow
Rank Stranger To Me *
Reuben's Train
Rider
Rocky Top
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms
Roll Muddy River
Roll On Buddy
Roses In The Snow
Roving Gambler
Salty Dog
Satan's Jewel Crown *
Shady Grove
Silver Dagger
Singing All Day & Dinner On The Ground *
Sitting On Top Of The World
Some Day *
Sweet Sunny South
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot *
Take Me In Your Lifeboat *
Talk About Suffering *
Tennessee Stud
There's More Pretty Girls Than One
Think of What You've Done
This World Is Not My Home *
Tom Dooley
Train, Train
Troubles Up & Down The Road
Turn Your Radio On *
Uncloudy Day *
Wabash Cannonball
Way Downtown
Were You There *
When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall
When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder *
When The Saints Go Marching In *
When The Storm Is Over
When You Go Walking
Where The Soul Never Dies *
Whitehouse Blues
Whither Thou Go *
Wildwood Flower
Will The Circle Be Unbroken *
Working On A Building *
Worried Man Blues
Wreck of the Old 97

* indicates a gospel song

Mandolin Man: The Bluegrass Life of Roland White

$19.95 + shipping

by Bob Black

275-page paperback book

Mandolin Man: The Bluegrass Life of Roland White

From the back cover: "Roland White is bluegrass music royalty. He is, without question, the most dedicated soul I have ever known when it comes to playing and inspiring people to look into the beauty of the music Bill Monroe called 'the ancient tones'. Roland is especially gifted at encouraging young musicians to look deep into their hearts and play what they hear inside. He is a great professor. I know. He was mine. In reality, I owe my entire career to Roland White." --Marty Stuart

"Bob Black tells how a musician of humble beginnings successfully rose to the top of the bluegrass music business. Roland White's story differs from other bluerass biographies and autobiographies in its extended discussions of recordings, the deep historical era covered--from the postwar years to the present--and the depiction of a musician's working experiences." - Neil V. Rosenberg

Bob Black played banjo in Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys and recorded with Monroe on the Weary Traveler album. Black later played with Buck White and the Down Home Folks and has performed with Ricky Skaggs, Ralph Stanley, Rhonda Vincent, Marty Stuart, and many others. He is the author of Come Hither to Go Yonder: Playing Bluegrass with Bill Monroe.

$19.95 + shipping

 Band CDs

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Roland White and Friends: A Tribute to Kentucky Colonels bluegrass music CD

Roland White and Friends:
“A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels”
$15

Roland White and Friends:
A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels

Songs

1. If You're Ever Gonna Love Me
2. Nine Pound Hammer
3. I Am a Pilgrim
4. Little White Washed Chimney
5. Listen to the Mockingbird
6. Clinch Mountain Backstep
7. Roll in my Sweet Baby's Arms
8. Soldier's Joy/Ragtime Annie
9. Why You Been Gone So Long
10. Alabama Jubilee
11. I Might Take You Back
12. Farewell Blues

Press release

A living legend recently inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, master mandolin player and singer Roland White is celebrating a trailblazing period of his storied career with new recordings of songs he helped make classic a half century ago. Roland White and Friends: A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonels is a collection of hand-picked favorites that comprise an ultimate tribute to a groundbreaking era in the genre. The album is available for pre-order HERE and will be released from Mountain Home Music Company on October 26.

Featuring a broad range of some of today's most talked-about acoustic musicians and singers, the project offers a new take on the magic of the original music made by the Colonels in key live and studio recordings from the early 1960s.

The Kentucky Colonels -- with the line-up Roland first formed in 1954 -- became one of roots music's most iconic bands. It is only now, decades later, that we can see the strong threads of musical influences the group has had on bluegrass and the greater acoustic music world. Acknowledging that influence-- and White's career-long generosity to younger musicians -- this special project from Mountain Home Music Company produced by Ty Gilpin and Jon Weisberger, set out to join the pioneering artist with a myriad of today's players who both respect the legacy of White and the Kentucky Colonels and do justice to it by capturing the excitement, instrumental prowess, and emotionally delivered vocal performances for which the Colonels were known.

With artists Brooke and Darin Aldridge, Kristin Scott Benson, Aaron Bibelhauser, Russ Carson, Jeremy Darrow, Nick Dauphinais, Gina Furtado, Jeremy Garrett, David Greer, Brittany Haas, Josh Haddix, Justin Hiltner, Lindsay Lou, Kimber Ludiker, Drew Matulich, Patrick McAvinue, Darren Nicholson, Lyndsay Pruett, Jon Stickley, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and Jon Weisberger, Roland White and Friends: A Tribute to the Kentucky Colonelsreignites the spirit of the past and brings it to the present, transforming the music into modern-day classics.

About Roland White

Roland White is a living legend in Bluegrass Music. Inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2017, his career spans 60 years. From his start as a teenager with his brother Clarence in what would eventually become the Kentucky Colonels, Roland has been a musical influence on more than just one generation of musicians.

His career is pedigreed. From the far reaching influences of the Kentucky Colonels and the New Kentucky Colonels, to his time as a member of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys to his innovative musicianship in celebrated bands like Country Gazette and The Nashville Bluegrass Band, to his years of studio and solo work all the way to his current outfit, The Roland White Band, it's nothing short of consummate.

But above all, it's White's stylistic playing and singing that makes him an icon. It's the way he seems to dance through his instrument with a touch, tone and aliveness that expresses and communicates feeling to all that hear. In much the same way, White creates mood vocally with rare uniqueness and personality. It's White's creative innovation and professionalism that has made his music stand the test of time.

Even today, White is known in Nashville as a person who continues to bind the city's Bluegrass community together. A mentor to all who have a chance to meet or play with him, he has nurtured numerous performing artists and been an ambassador to the genre.

Roland White and Friends

Sound clips coming soon

New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973 bluegrass CD

The New Kentucky Colonels
“Live in Sweden 1973”
$20

New Kentucky Colonels Live in Sweden 1973 bluegrass CD

The New Kentucky Colonels
“Live in Sweden 1973”
MP3 Album Download  $12.99

Live in Sweden 1973

This CD contains all 26 songs performed by The New Kentucky Colonels at the Mosebacke club, Stockholm, Sweden on May 28 and 29, 1973. They have been re-engineered from the original recordings by Ben Surratt and re-mastered by Alex McCullough. Fourteen songs from these performances were previously released on the 1976 Rounder LP 0073.
Liner notes by Peter Cooper
Few of us were there, in Stockholm, in May of 1973, on those nights that the White brother--Roland, Eric, and Clarence--tore through the Mosebacke with water-clear picking and ethereal energy. Few of us were there to hear Alan Munde's banjo reveal marvels of tone, timing and technique. Few of us were there to hear Clarence White at the towering height of his powers. Let us praise Claes Bergstrom. He's the man who rolled tape. Without him, we wouldn't have this remarkable recording. Some of us heard portions of it on the long out-of-print vinyl Rounder LP credited to "The White Brothers", but now we have the whole thing, complete with occasional interference from the Mosebacke's microwave, which was connected to the same electrical feed as the venue's soundboard. Every time you hear a brief hum, just know that some long-ago Swede got a slice of hot pizza out of it.

The New Kentucky Colonels could have done something different. By then, Clarence had invented a new way of playing electric guitar, coaxing a Telecaster to sound like some warped and whimsical version of a pedal steel. But this wasn't a time to expand, it was a time to expound on the particularly, peculiarly American roots of this bluegrass-burnished brand of acoustic music. It was a time for harmony, and for virtuosity, and for joy. Joy was in short supply for Americans in 1973. The presidency was a tight-jawed concern. The South was a clenched consortium. And so the New Kentucky Colonels played. They were propulsive and virtuosic and amazing, and they thrilled the folks that heard them. They even thrilled themselves: Roland White says that the Stockholm shows were as fine a time as he ever had playing music.

"In my opinion, this is the best playing of Clarence's on record," Roland says, and a listen to the guitar solo on "New River Train" or "Alabama Jubilee" proves his thesis. "I know it was the best music I ever made. Clarence and Eric and I had grown up playing and singing together, so when we reunited as the New Kentucky Colonels, everything felt natural and right. And Clarence had a lot of fans in Europe, a lot of them from his days in the Byrds, and he was aware that a lot of them had come out to those shows. He was really pouring it on." They all poured it on, and they had more to pour than at any other point. Roland rebuilt his right hand technique in his late 1960s days as a guitarist in Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, and when he applied that technique to the mandolin, the results were righteous and distinctive. Clarence's work with the Byrds found him seeking and finding new approaches to guitar, and with the New Kentucky Colonels he fused new world ingenuity with the rigor and certainty of what Monroe called "the ancient tones". Munde applied lessons learned in stints with Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys and with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Eric White's bass provided propulsion and playfulness, and the band locked together, an unstoppable force of rhythm, melody, and harmony. This version of the New Kentucky Colonels was magical, but temporal. Munde was there as a last-minute replacement for Herb Pedersen, who joined with the White brothers earlier in 1973, and who started the European tour with the White Brothers but left to join up with Johnny Rivers. After the Stockholm gig, Munde returned to his own group, Country Gazette. And less than two months after Stockholm, Clarence White was killed, struck by a car outside the Palmdale, California club where he and Roland had just performed.

Tragedy ended Clarence's life, but it did not lessen his impact on generations of musicians, and it does not dull the wonder of his creations. Roland White went on to establish himself as one of the most important and adventurous mandolin players in bluegrass history, contributing to mind-bending west coast band Country Gazette and winning Grammy Awards with the Nashville Bluegrass Band, before leading the Grammy-nominated Roland White Band in the new century. Eric White's bass enhanced the soundscapes of Linda Ronstadt, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and others. And Alan Munde spent 35 years as a driving force in the groundbreaking Country Gazette, and has continually moved bluegrass forward, as a solo artist and as an in-demand teacher. Few of us were in Stockholm those nights in May of 1973. Thanks to Claes Bergstrom's tape, those Swedish nights are here for all of us, right now. Across decades and oceans, the music is present. It sustains and endures.

-Peter Cooper, Nashville, Tennessee

Liner notes by Alan Munde
When I joined Roland, Clarence, and Eric to play banjo on the European tour that produced these recordings, it was like being sucked up into a cosmic rhythm whirlwind. As I played there was no place to play other than get with them and hang on. Their playing was beyond the oft-cited sense of brothers or family connectivity - as I say, cosmic. They created a harmonic and rhythmical environment, a context, that made a new and wonderful sense of the music. It seemed to me my normal bluegrass banjo offerings were transformed into hyper-important moments in the music. They had that wonderful, too rare ability to make those around them not just sound better, but maybe sound and play the best they ever had. I think that was the case for me. It was quite something and is abundantly evident to me as I listen to the music. It was and is my honor to be a part of it all. When someone mentions that they really love these recordings, I internally use it as a marker that this person and I may share some understanding of how music can be.

-Alan Munde, Wimberley, Texas

Liner notes by Roland White
It has to be the best way to learn to play music, to grow up playing together. From the time I was 11, Eric 9 and Clarence 5, we played together. I'd say that by the time we were 14, 12 and 8 we were really a band. We played old-time country music for a few years, with sister JoAnne singing, until we moved to California and an uncle told me about Bill Monroe. I bought Pike County Breakdown on a 45 rpm record, and that record, and then all the great bluegrass records to come after, changed our lives. It put us on the path to play bluegrass. We worked hard at it. We were able to play on TV and radio shows and later toured the country and made recordings. We met many of our bluegrass idols at a Hollywood club where we played often, the Ash Grove - Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, Doc Watson, the Stanley Brothers. And we were able to participate in and soak up that great West Coast country music scene in the 50's, with the likes of Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, Merle Travis, Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant. It was a very exciting time. So much music, great entertainers, and they put a lot of zest into their music, a lot of showmanship. First we called ourselves The Country Boys (JoAnne dropped out of our group when she was about 17, and I was 18). In a few more years we were joined by banjo player Billy Ray Lathum,, and later The Kentucky Colonels. Mike and Marge Seeger helped us get booked at folk music venues across the country, and the Newport Folk Festival. We had a lot of attention, and we recorded a really nice instrumental album that is still talked about, Appalachian Swing. We had some great years touring in the early to mid-sixties, but gigs got scarcer with the end of the folk boom and by 1967 we all sought other work. I went to Nashville to play guitar with Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys. Clarence stayed in California and worked with a number of artists, acoustic and electric, played many recording sessions, and joined, toured and recorded with The Byrds. Eric also stayed in California and played sessions and bluegrass and country gigs. By early 1973 I had been working for Lester Flatt for 2 years and Clarence had quit The Byrds. This European tour was a reunion for us. We fell in together like no time had passed, except that we had all grown in our time apart. This was perhaps the best playing my brothers and I ever did; it was fantastic to be playing with them again after working apart for years. To have Alan Munde, banjo player extraordinaire, join us on the trip really capped it off. We loved his strong drive, perfect timing, and his own unique style that incorporated melodic as well as Scruggs style. Anything new we brought up, he had it after hearing it once. He could keep up with us - and we played fast! We've been friends since 1967 and played together in Country Gazette for 15 years. After the European tour we came back to the States, played a couple of festivals and had plans to continue together. Losing Clarence in July of 1973 was totally unexpected. We'll never play together again, but we have this recording that will live on forever.

-Roland White, Nashville, Tennessee

Live in Sweden 1973

Sound clips coming soon

Songs:
1. Fire on the Mountain
2. Never Ending Song of Love
3. Banjo Boy Chimes
4. Good Woman's Love
5. Sally Goodin
6. Mocking Banjo (Duelin' Banjos)
7. Old Joe Clark
8. You Won't Be Satisfied That Way
9. Shenandoah Valley Breakdown
10. I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome
11. I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome
12. Blackberry Blossom
13. Why You Been Gone So Long
14. Alabama Jubilee
15. Dark Hollow
16. Take a Whiff on Me
17. Last Thing on My Mind
18. Soldier's Joy/Black Mountain Rag
19. If You're Ever Gonna Love Me
20. John Henry
21. The Prisoner's Song
22. I Am A Pilgrim
23. Salty Dog Blues
24. New River Train
25. Rawhide
26. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms

Roland White Band: Straight-Ahead Bluegrass CD

The Roland White Band
“Straight-Ahead Bluegrass”
$15

Roland White Band: Straight-Ahead Bluegrass CD

The Roland White Band
“Straight-Ahead Bluegrass”
MP3 Album Download  $9.99

Straight-Ahead Bluegrass

Liner notes by Jon Weisberger
To call Roland White a legendary musician is the simple truth, but it might give you the wrong idea. "A legend” sounds remote, unapproachable, and somehow elevated above the day-to-day of the music world, whereas Roland’s about as down-to-earth, approachable—and as engaged in the day-to-day of the music world—as anyone. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bluegrass musician in Nashville who doesn’t know him, hasn’t picked with him, and doesn’t look forward to seeing him at the World Famous Station Inn, where he has, he says with a smile, a lifetime pass that he’s not afraid to use. He’s one of Music City’s best-known and best-loved “jam hounds,” always looking to pick a few with old friends and new acquaintances alike—and always ready to encourage them to do their own musical thing rather than rehash what’s already been done.That spirit of adventure has pervaded his long and stellar career, and it continues to do so today. There’s no need for a recap here—in this day and age, you can look him up on the internet and acquaint yourself with the facts of his 60+ years as an artist—but if you let the light of his past accomplishments distract you from the music he’s making now, you’re shortchanging yourself. Straight-Ahead Bluegrass is the proof that he’s as much of a master as ever, and maybe even more witty, more heartfelt, more Roland than ever in his singing and playing. No wonder so many musicians half his age (and even younger) are so gratified to get the chance to play with him.We who are a bit closer to his generation feel no differently, and I hope that sense of enjoyment comes through here. Some of these songs were newly worked up for the album, while others have been a part of nearly every show we’ve played, at least in the decade-plus that I’ve been able to be a part of the band. But whether new or old, each is filled with the life time of experience—and the vitality and the good humor—that Roland White brings every time he puts pick to strings and steps before a microphone to sing. He hopes—we hope—you’ll enjoy this music, and we’ll see you down the road!
--Jon Weisberger, Cottontown, TN, April, 2014
Liner notes by Roland White
This album consists of my traditional bluegrass favorites with our regular Roland White Band members, a super band: Brian Christianson is one of the top fiddlers here in Nashville, and proprietor of The Fiddle House. Diane Bouska, a co-founder of the band, plays straight-ahead bluegrass rhythm guitar and sings beautiful solos and harmonies. The fine banjo player Richard Bailey, also a co-founder of this band, plays anything you throw at him and complements everything I play. Jon Weisberger plays solid bass, sings a great baritone, and is a decorated songwriter and music writer as well. . Ben Surratt, who recorded us, is simply the best engineer and so easy to work with. We have loads of fun playing together, and I hope you’ll get a kick out of what we’ve done here!
--Roland White, Nashville, Tennessee, April, 2014
New Kentucky Colonels: Live in Holland 1973 bluegrass music CD

The New Kentucky Colonels
“Live in Holland 1973”
$15

New Kentucky Colonels: Live in Holland 1973 bluegrass music CD

The New Kentucky Colonels
“Live in Holland 1973”
MP3 Album Download  $9.99

Live in Holland 1973 

Liner notes by Mary Katherine Aldin
Rarely has there been a bluegrass “find” like these recordings. A never-before-heard concert tape of The New Kentucky Colonels (Roland, Eric and Clarence White and their good friend Herb Pedersen), recorded during a 1973 tour of Holland and then stored away for nearly four decades, these tracks sound as fresh and vital today as they did when they were originally recorded.The three brothers, Roland (b. 1938), Eric Jr. (1942-2012), and Clarence (1944-1973), moved with their parents from their native Maine to Southern California in the early 1950s and started playing as a family band with their father, Eric. Sr., and their sister Joanne. Eventually the three boys formed a group, won a talent show as the Three Little Country Boys, and soon, joined by bassist Roger Bush, banjo player Billy Ray Lathum and later dobro player LeRoy “Mack” MacNees, became well known in the Los Angeles area as The Kentucky Colonels. They made several appearances on the Andy Griffith Show, recorded an album for World Pacific Records, played at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, and performed frequently at Los Angeles’ prestigious Ash Grove. However, with the advent of the electrified, jangling sounds of the British Invasion, work for a full time bluegrass band was getting harder and harder to find, and in 1965 they disbanded.Clarence, a brilliant guitarist, had already started doing outside work as an in-demand session musician in the recording studios of L.A.; this led, in 1968, to an invitation to join the folk-rock band The Byrds, with whom he toured and recorded. Roland, keeping closer to his bluegrass roots, played guitar for Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys and mandolin for Lester Flatt and the Nashville Grass, and would later go on to perform for many years with Country Gazette and The Nashville Bluegrass Band before forming his current group, the Roland White Band.However, in January of 1973 Clarence had just finished his five-year stint as lead guitarist for The Byrds, and was more than ready for a return to his earlier acoustic roots. He called Roland and proposed that they put together a bluegrass band to do a tour of a few cities in Europe. Roland was still playing with Lester Flatt at the time, but was eager to reunite musically with his brother. Their longtime Kentucky Colonels banjo player, Billy Ray Lathum, was unavailable, so Clarence recommended Herb Pedersen for the tour; their Colonels bassist Roger Bush had gone on the road with Country Gazette, so middle brother Eric Jr. was glad to rejoin them.The repertoire here will be familiar to longtime Kentucky Colonels fans; it’s largely straight-ahead bluegrass, with selections drawn from the Bill Monroe/Flatt & Scruggs/Stanley Brothers/Osborne Brothers songbooks, along with a few more contemporary songs Clarence brought to the group (Tom Paxton’s plaintive “Last Thing On My Mind” was one) and several bluegrass instrumentals. Clarence and Roland had had most of this material in their back pockets since their Country Boys and Kentucky Colonels days, and Herb, already a bluegrass veteran after working in Northern California with The Pine Valley Boys and Vern & Ray, was familiar with most of it too. The performances are splendid, harking back to the Kentucky Colonels’ glory days, with the added bonus of many years of stage and studio experience; their vocals are perfectly attuned to each other, and Herb’s powerhouse banjo, Roland’s mandolin and Clarence’s guitar steer the tracks. Clarence, of course, was one of the most inventive guitarists ever to grace a stage, and having his too-slim recorded legacy increased by these sixteen cuts is a terrific bonus. By the way, there’s nothing wrong with your CD player; the final number, “Rawhide,” really is curtailed; apparently the tape ran out!The tour started in Holland in May of 1973, where these songs were recorded; after a few dates there, Herb Pedersen had to leave to fulfill a longstanding commitment to meet Johnny Rivers in Paris and go on tour with him, so banjo wizard Alan Munde of the Country Gazette flew over and completed the tour, which included several dates in England, Wales and Sweden, with the White brothers. They returned to the States to play the Indian Springs, MD bluegrass festival, and club dates in California. Within a few short weeks Clarence was dead, killed on July 15th by a drunk driver while he and Roland were loading their equipment into their car after a gig in Palmdale, CA. So this album contains some of the final recordings ever made of the three White brothers, playing bluegrass music together as they had done for most of their lives. Mary Katherine Aldin
Los Angeles, California
March, 2013

Live in Holland 1973

Click to play sound clips
1. Fire on the Mountain 1:10
2. Never Ending Song of Love 3:12
3. Dixie Breakdown 2:57
4. The Fields Have Turned Brown 3:12
5. Take A Whiff On Me 2:18
6. Is This My Destiny 2:44
7. Mocking Banjo 2:03
8. If You're Ever Gonna Love Me 3:13
9. Last Thing on My Mind 3:07
10. Dark Hollow 2:36
11. Soldier's Joy/Black Mountain Rag 2:09
12. Why You Been Gone So Long 3:01
13. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms/
     Will You Be Lovin' Another Man? 3:06
14. I Know What It Means To Be Lonesome 2:26
15. Working on a Building 2:55
16. Rawhide 1:42

Jim Lauderdale and Roland White bluegrass music CD

Jim Lauderdale and Roland White
$15

Jim Lauderdale and Roland White 

Songs
1. Forgive and Forget
2. Gold and Silver
3. (Stone Must Be the) Walls Built Around Your Heart
4. Six White Horses
5. I Might Take You Back Again
6. Try and Catch the Wind
7. Don't Laugh
8. Regrets and Mistakes
9. February Snow
10 (That's What You Get) For Loving Me
11. Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar
12. Nashville Blues

Jim Lauderdale and Roland White

Click to play sound clips

Roland White: I Wasnt Born to Rock n Roll bluegrass CD

Roland White
“I Wasn’t Born to Rock ‘n’ Roll”
$15

I Wasn't Born to Rock 'n' Roll

Original release ©1975 Ridge Runner Records, Produced by Slim Richey, engineered by John "Buff" Haskin, recorded and mixed and ATP Studios, Fort Worth, Texas. This album is a 2010 CD re-release on Tompkins Square Records. Musicians: Roland White, mandolin and vocals; Alan Munde, banjo and guitar; Kenny Wertz, guitar and vocals; Roger Bush, bass and vocals; Dave Ferguson, fiddle.

Songs: Kansas City Railroad Blues, The Storms Are On The Ocean, I'm Head Over Heels In Love With You, Door Step Of Trouble, If I Should Wander Back Tonight, Texas Gales, I Saw Your Face In The Moon, Prisoner's Song, Marathon (Medley of: Love Come Home, Nine Pound Hammer, Shackles and Chains, Live and Let Live, Doin' My Time, Sitting On Top Of The World), Same Old Blues Again, Powder Creek, Can't You Hear Me Calling, She's Her Own Special Baby

I Wasn't Born to Rock 'n' Roll - sound clips coming soon!

Roland White Band: Jelly On My Tofu bluegrass music CD

The Roland White Band
“Jelly on My Tofu”
$15

Jelly On My Tofu

Liner notes by Roland White
A few years ago I decided I wanted to start a new band. I wanted to play, sing and record some of my favorite country and bluegrass songs. I also had many new instrumental ideas brewing and wanted to realize them. So I purchased a small tape recorder to record tune ideas. In airports, cars, vans and hotel rooms I came up with quite a few new tunes. In November of 2000 I finally felt ready to embark on the new band and with regret left the Nashville Bluegrass Band, with which I had enjoyed playing for over 11 years. Three of my new tunes are on this CD, along with an original contributed by Richard Bailey and David Grier. What I like about this band is the freedom to work together on fresh new ideas and challenges. This is our first recording as The Roland White Band--I sincerely hope you'll enjoy us!  
-Roland

Jelly On My Tofu

1.   Jelly On My Tofu (instrumental) (Roland White)
 2. Sunday Sunrise (Mark James)
 3. Hoping that You’re Hoping (Betty Harrison)
 4. Bermuda Drive (inst.)  (Richard Bailey, David Grier)
 5. Someone You Have Forgotten 
(L. Certain, B. Graves, G. Stacey)
 6. Cabin On The Hill (B.F. Shook)
 7. Rose City Waltz (inst.) (Roland White)
 8. February Snow (Shel Silverstein)
 9. Satisfied Mind (Joe Hayes, Jack Rhodes)
10. Roland’s Rag (inst.) (Roland White)
11. Flesh, Blood and Bone (Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller)
12. Old Fashioned Love (R.C. MacPherson, James P. Johnson)
13. Rawhide (inst.) (Bill Monroe)
Roland White: Trying to Get to You bluegrass music CD

Roland White
“Trying to Get to You”
$15

Trying to Get to You

©1994 Sugar Hill CD 3826. Produced by Butch Baldassari, recorded and mixed by Rich Adler at Suite 2000 Studios, Nashville, Tennessee. Musicians: Roland White, mandolin and vocals; David Grier, guitar; Gene Wooten, dobro and vocals; Richard Bailey, banjo; Stuart Duncan, fiddle and vocals; Gene Libbea, bass; Diane Bouska, vocals; Alan O'Bryant, vocals; Pat Enright, vocals.

Songs: Trying To Get To You, The Wall Around My Heart, Lucky Break, Talk To Your Heart, Toy Heart, Crazy Blues, Gaiete Acadienne, Midnight, I'll Hold You In My Heart, Ocean Of Diamonds, Only You, Roll Along Kentucky Moon.

Trying to Get to You-sound clips coming soon.

Clarence White: Flatpick bluegrass guitar CD

Clarence White
“Flatpick”
$15

Flatpick - details coming soon.

Flatpick - sound clips coming soon.

Clarence White: 33 Instrumentals bluegrass guitar CD

Clarence White
“33 Instrumentals”
$15

33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals

"Clarence White: 33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals" Live recordings from 1962 © 2000 Sierra Records 26023-2  Musicians: Clarence White, guitar and Roger Bush, rhythm guitar.

Home recording made in 1962 with Roger Bush on rhythm guitar. Clarence made this to give to some students and friends who wanted to learn from his playing. David McCarty reviews it in the Nov/Dec 2000 Flatpicking Guitar Magazine, saying, "For anyone who has ever reveled in the genius of Clarence White's guitar playing, this is manna from heaven." 

33 Instrumentals - sound clips coming soon.

Kentucky Colonels: Livin in the Past bluegrass music CD

Kentucky Colonels
“Livin’ in the Past”
$15

Livin' in the Past

"Livin' In The Past" © 1997 Sierra Records. Produced by John Delgatto. Recorded by Brooks Adams Otis.Musicians: Roland White, mandolin and guitar; Clarence White, guitar; Billy Ray Latham, banjo; Roger Bush, bass and banjo; Scotty Stoneman, fiddle; Leroy Mack (MacNees), Dobro; Bobby Slone, fiddle.

Songs: Fire On The Mountain, If You're Ever Gonna Love Me, Julius Finkbine's Rag, Dark Hollow, Memphis Special, He Said If I Be Lifted Up, Get Down On Your Knees And Pray, Lee Highway Blues, Shuckin' The Corn, Ocean Of Diamonds, Angel Of Death, Barefoot Nellie, Train 45, Hard Hearted, Chug-A-Lug, Alabama Jubilee, Sunny Side Of The Mountain, Journey's End (A Life Of Sorrow), Sheik Of Araby, Good Woman's Love, Listen To The Mockingbird, Old Joe Clark, I Am A Pilgrim, Jordan, Shady Grove.

Livin' in the Past - sound clips coming soon.

Kentucky Colonels: Long Journey Home bluegrass music CD

Kentucky Colonels
“Long Journey Home”
$15

Out of stock

Long Journey Home

"Long Journey Home" ©1991 Vanguard Records CD 77004 Recorded Live at the Newport Folk Festival July,1964, with special guests Doc Watson and Bill Keith. Mixed and engineered for release by Jeff Zaraya, Executive Producer, Kent Crawford. Musicians: Roland White, mandolin; Clarence White, guitar; Billy Ray Latham, banjo; Roger Bush, bass; Doc Watson, guitar; Bill Keith, banjo.

Songs: Roll On Buddy, Bill Cheatham, There Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone, Shuckin' The Corn, A Beautiful Life, Get Down On Your Knees and Pray, Over In The Glory Land, Sally Ann, Brakeman's Blues, Soldier's Joy, Listen To The Mockingbird, Farewell Blues, Lonesome Road Blues, Beaumont Rag, Footprints In The Snow, Long Journey Home, In The Pines, Chicken Reel, Old Hickory, Auld Lang Syne, Nola, Flat Fork, Shady Grove.

Long Journey Home - sound clips coming soon.

Kentucky Colonels feat. Scotty Stoneman bluegrass music CD

Kentucky Colonels
& Scotty Stoneman
“Live in L.A.”
$15

Kentucky Colonels with Scotty Stoneman

Recorded at live shows in Los Angeles in 1965. Roland White, Clarence White, Scotty Stoneman, Roger Bush, Billy Ray Lathum.  Songs: Oklahoma Stomp, Once a Day, Eighth of January, Any Damn Thing, Lee Hightway Blues, Down Yonder, Sally Goodin, A Wound Time Can't Erase, Shuckin' the Corn, Listen to the Mockingbird, Cherokee Waltz, Cacklin' Hen, Orange Blossom Special, Goodnight Irene

Ky Cols with Scotty Stoneman - sound clips coming soon.