RIP Alan White of Yes

[Dan Roth]

From Jon Anderson:

Dear Alan. love you so...My best man at my wedding to Janee in Maui 1997
We love you and will miss you
You were just the best of the best for Yes and wonderful soul..
We wrote Turn of the Century together all those years ago, just one of so many wonderful times i will remember...
And now you’re in heaven ….resting after the long journey Home to meet your dear Mom...and Chris of course
Blessings brother ��������
We love you so Alan. Jon&Janee����������

Billy Sherwood:

I’m lost for words except for one… devastated. I’ll post my thoughts when I come out of this horrible shock

[Dan Roth]

Oliver Wakeman:

I heard the very sad news about the passing of Alan White earlier today from the Yes management. I’ve been thinking about him a lot today. I’ll post something soon about my memories of working with Alan in YES (official).
Dad and I spoke earlier to talk about Alan too.

These sticks he gave me have been in my studio on display since I left the band. (Currently on top of my framed From a Page record). RIP Alan.

[FirthOf5th]

[IMWeasel]

Master of time
Setting sail over all of our lands
And as we look forever closer
Shall we now bid
Farewell, farewell

blasting this on my stereo right now

[dropforge]

Hell, yes!

[IMWeasel]

Also...Levin / Torn / White -- this album is awesome if you don't get have it....get it!

[Progatron]

My brief tribute to Alan:

https://www.velvetthunder.co.uk/farewell-alan-white/

[Digital_Man]

Horrible news. A true drumming icon (even if he wasn't really a virtuoso). The bottom line was he helped take Yes where they needed to go and he fit in well with the band. A big loss and a real bummer for me personally as a longtime huge Yes fan. RIP Alan.

[Steve F.]

It’s nice to read various appreciations of a FINE player where seemingly EVERYONE speaks of what a kind person and patient person he was.

Rest in peace, Alan! I totally enjoyed both times that I saw you play.

[Mister Triscuits]

And I'm actually one of those who sincerely enjoy parts of Ramshackled, so I'll go there afterwards. And then on.

I like Ramshackled. It’s a bit all over the place stylistically, but that can be fun.

Farewell Alan!

[The_Lurker]

My brief tribute to Alan:

https://www.velvetthunder.co.uk/farewell-alan-white/

This was a very nice read. Thanks for sharing.

I have not been able to organize my thoughts about Alan. Just a terrible gut punch today. I was fortunate enough to meet the band prior to their 35th Anniversary Tour gig in Sunrise, Florida. The Florida Panthers, for whom I worked at the time, wanted to present the band with personalized jerseys and I was the guy who could tell them who was who, so I took part in the presentation, handing Rick his jersey. I got to say hello to all five classic-era members and thank them for the music and Jon and Alan were kind enough to have a picture taken with me. And the show was amazing. It was a memorable evening.

MeAndYes.jpg

[Dan Marsh]

I have to admit, most musical deaths don't bother me.

Two that have:

Chris and Alan

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

What a shame, but not unexpected. The man's been ailing for years.

Think I'll put on Yessongs, or maybe Relayer. Or Going for the One. Or......

[Aggie87]

Andrew Fletcher of Depeche Mode passed away today too. As did actor Ray Liotta. Rough day.

[Dave (in MA)]

I managed to see him in 77, 78 and 79 and enjoyed his playing immensely. I pretty much gave up seeing Yes after that, but continued to enjoy his recordings ever since. I remember thinking in '77 that I hoped somebody would invent a world wide web so that I could look up and find out info on those funny-looking drums that he was using.

If you haven't yet checked out Levin/Torn/White, give it a try.


I have to say that it took me a long time to appreciate Ramshacked because out of all the contemporaneous Yes solo albums, it was the least "prog"-sounding, but now I like it.

[progcd54]

OMG...I'm in tears. I saw YES 14 times...always with Alan. He was the backbone of the band along with Chris. Now they can play "Run With The Fox" together again...throughout eternity.......

RIP Mr. White

Let us live to tell our story
Here on earth and out in space
Forward on the road to glory
History records the chase

[proggy_jazzer]

Now the other half of the battery of my favorite concert memory is gone: 1979, April, Ten True Summers tour. Rest in peace, Mr. White, and thanks for all your great playing. I think I'll start tomorrow with Yessongs; tonight will be quiet.

[Tangram]

Spent many an hour listening to Alan and the rest of Yes. RIP to the man behind the kit.

[BravadoNJ]

RIP.... all they were talking about today on the radio was Ray Liotta. no one mentioned that Alan had died.

[timmy]

Damn. I have been in meetings all day long and just heard.
Like others mentioned above in the thread, I need to blast some Tales and Relayer.

Go in peace, Alan White.

[AncientChord]

He really achieved the difficult task of filling Bill Bruford's shoes beautifully, and didn't plagiarize his chops. Saw him with YES 6 times and he was always impressive. The bombastic opening of Sound Chaser, live, with Chris and Alan was amazing. The Levin/Torn/White album IS, as others have said is truly great. Alan's playing on this is stellar. and really shows off his talents! Another prog icon gone. RIP Alan

[Frumious B]

OMG...I'm in tears. I saw YES 14 times...always with Alan. He was the backbone of the band along with Chris. Now they can play "Run With The Fox" together again...throughout eternity.......

RIP Mr. White

Let us live to tell our story
Here on earth and out in space
Forward on the road to glory
History records the chase

Yep, I’ve been going to Yes shows since Big Generator and, except for ABWH and ARW, White was a part of every “evening of Yes music” I’ve seen. So I think I’ve seen Alan White play more times than I have seen any other individual musician. Second-fourth would go to some combination of Squire, Anderson and Howe. Outside of Yes the only artist I’ve seen more than three times is Kevn Kinney I think.

[Progatron]

cd9.jpg

[Koreabruce]

So long, Mr. White. As a musician, you were the never-failing, rock-solid anchor no matter what was going on around you. However, the fact that you were also a never-failing, rock-solid gentleman in a world where such persons are exceedingly rare makes this loss an even more poignant one. You've more than earned your rest, so farewell, and thank you for being the backbone of so much great music over so many years. I thank heaven your time on this earth intersected with mine!

[Finn_McCool]

Is the first show that Alan White played with Yes after three days of practice available? Is it part of the Progeny set? That is an amazing story.