Whether being a ham onstage, playing with his granddaughter, or laying down legendary tracks in the studio, Verdine White has left a huge mark on the history of bass guitar. Happy Birthday, Mr. Verdine White!
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Verdine White’s Birthday
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
Whether being a ham onstage, playing with his granddaughter, or laying down legendary tracks in the studio, Verdine White has left a huge mark on the history of bass guitar. Happy Birthday, Mr. Verdine White!
Verdine White's playing is for students of pop/R&B bass playing what Miles Davis' playing is for students of jazz: A master class in the use of space: Nobody does it better—and even if somebody finally does, Verdine's playing probably showed them the way!
That is a great way to put it. It reminds me of some saying Stevie Ray Vaughan played Voodoo Child better than Hendrix and someone replied that Hendrix showed the way.
I grew up on EW&F. Seen them in concert a few times. I always enjoyed them as a whole unit. Like a great orchestra. Verdine just never caught my ear or attention .
Could be the fact that he was surrounded by such great musicians that I always was overwhelmed by all of their abilities. I could never just focus on only one. But he must have been doing something right . Definitely one of the best bands of all time that we will never see the likes of again.
Could be the fact that he was surrounded by such great musicians that I always was overwhelmed by all of their abilities. I could never just focus on only one. But he must have been doing something right . Definitely one of the best bands of all time that we will never see the likes of again.
Verdine has always been one of my favorite players for his kinetic energy, sense of melodic bass, Funk, Swing and ability to Groove Groove GROOVE! That Funk, Swing & Groove that to me is essential for every master bass player to have that transcends style and substance - it is the thing that sets one player above all others. Verdine has that in abundance.
EW&F is Still my all time favorite band. Their Gratitude album is still my all time favorite album.
I was 14 and didn't know what that sound was I heard but I knew I wanted to play that instrument out of all the other instruments on that album. My cousin informed me it was Verdine White on bass.
Im not a frustrated guitar player or was forced to play bass and grew to love it, Nope Not Me. I knew I wanted to play bass because of his playing. When I meet him I'll tell him what a million bass players have already told him, Thank You.
BTW, my son met him and mentioned that I named my White bass Verdina.
I was 14 and didn't know what that sound was I heard but I knew I wanted to play that instrument out of all the other instruments on that album. My cousin informed me it was Verdine White on bass.
Im not a frustrated guitar player or was forced to play bass and grew to love it, Nope Not Me. I knew I wanted to play bass because of his playing. When I meet him I'll tell him what a million bass players have already told him, Thank You.
BTW, my son met him and mentioned that I named my White bass Verdina.
Love me some Verdine White. "That's the way of the world" and "Gratitude" are both in my top 20 lps, easily.
By the way, an LP is this big circular vinyl thing that used to play music….
Great story. Such an incredible live album, and the vibe with the crowd was incredible.
I still get chills when I crank "Devotion". Horns and rhythm section kicks in, crowd roars. "Thank you….we love y'all too. We believe if there's anything y'all wanna do in life, you need devotion. Can I hear a right on?" Crowd roars. "Want y'all to clap your hands y'all. SING THIS SONG WITH US Y'ALL"…aaaahh. Those were the days.
Btw, for any music lover or EWF fan in particular, Maurice White's autobiography is a beautiful book, a real treat. Mystical, positive and uplifting, just as you'd expect.
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For those who say Verdine cannot actually play, listen closely and he is definitely playing "That's the Way of the World" like the record.
That's some significant Al on piano too!
Verdine is my hero. He also seems such a nice guy.
I just wished he didn't solo, I feel vicariously embarrassed when he does.
The seventies EWF bass tracks however are nothing less than awesome. Some of the best ever.
One more thing on the Maurice White book someone mentioned:
I recommend to also read the Philip Bailey book to give you another perspective on the rise, the very ugly fall, and again rise (modest) of EWF.
EW&F was just on the nba allstar halftime show. Those guys still kick'n it. Love me some Verdine hair. 
Thank you PD! Verdine is a player that definitely makes you aware of his knowledge of harmony while being funky as all get out!
