White, Bergen (18th July 1939-Present)

He is a singer-songwriter, musician, conductor and arranger born in Miami, Oklahoma, where his father was a minister in the Baptist church.

When he was a teenager, after years of having moved around, his family settled themselves in Nasvhille and he became a friend of Buzz Cason and Bobby Russell. Soon he found himself teamed up with them as a member of The Todds and released a single.

He left his music to one side when he studied science and maths at college but after two years he became a staff vocalist for the chart covers label, Hit Records. At the same time he wrote his own songs that would appear on the B-sides of these cover releases. He began to arrange sessions in Nashville and became a member of Ronny & The Daytonas, seeing the chart hit “G.T.O.” in 1964.

In 1967 he made another move and signed up with Monument Records, releasing his own single “If It’s Not Asking Too Much” and in 1969 recorded the album For Women Only and the subsequent single release “It’s Over Now” for the SSS record label which were put onto the shelves in 1970 with neither seeing success.

This hailed the end of his solo recording career at the time but his arrangements were nor going un-noticed. He worked with Tony Joe White on his hit “Polk Salad Annie” and impressed Elvis Presley so much he was asked to arrange the same song for him. This led to more work with him and subbing as a Jordinaire when required.

He went back to the recording studio as a solo artist in the mid-1970s, releasing the singles “Come Go With Me” and “Have You Taken a Good Look Lately” but when he was not eager to go on a tour for his cover of “Duke of Earl” as it would interfere with his other studio work, his label, Private Stock, removed its funding. He would later still release gospel and Christmas recordings but his career remained mainly as an arranger and/or session singer/musician.

The artists he has sung and arranged for are many and include Alabama, John Anderson, Chet Atkins, Moe Bandy, Bobby Bare, Boxcar Willie, Vikki Car, The Charlie Daniels Band, Roy Clark, Duane Eddy, Donna Fargo, Vince Gill, Bobby Goldsboro, Vern Gosdin, Faith Hill, Jim Horn, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Brenda Lee, John D. Loudermilk, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Ronnie Milsap, Mickey Newbury, The Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Esther Phillips, Charley Pride, Jerry Reed, Charlie Rich, Kenny Rogers, Earl Scruggs, Dan Seals, Spanky & Our Gang, The Statler Brothers, Ray Stevens, George Strait, Billy Swan, Joe Tex, B.J. Thomas, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Conway Twitty, Tammy Wynette and Trisha Yearwood to name just a few.

Albums he has worked on in one capacity or another run into the many hundreds but a small selection includes Bergen White Christmas Singers and Praise the Lord as well as Ultimate Hits by Garth Brooks, Living and Dying in ¾ Time by Jimmy Buffett, Letter to Home by Glen Campbell, Miss Randy Crawford/Raw Silk by Randy Crawford, Nights Are Forever by England Dan & John Ford Coley, My Father’s Eyes by Amy Grant, After Dark by Engelbert Humperdinck, Another Place Another Time/She Even Woke Me Up To Say by Jerry Lee Lewis, Personal Belongings by Dave Loggins, Horse Called Music by Willie Nelson, Don’t Stop Believin’ by Olivia Newton John, That’s The Way It Is by Elvis Presley.

Jimmy Buffett recordings
Havana Daydreamin’ (Jimmy Buffett)

Sources:

White, Bergen (18th July 1939-Present)

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