b. Joseph Daniel White, 6 July 1931, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, d. 5 January 1996, Capitol Heights, Maryland, USA. Although he only enjoyed regional success during his brief recording career, this gritty New Orleans-based singer has remained a firm favourite of soul aficionados in the decades since. White worked with several local R&B acts during the 50s, including a stint with Huey Smith’s backing group the Clowns. He made his solo debut in 1961 with the Dot Records platter ‘Give A Take’/‘Somebody Please Help Me’. Over the next six years he recorded singles for Frisco, ABC-Paramount, Kashe, Atlas, Atteru, Unity, and Decca Records, performing tracks by up-and-coming songwriters such as Earl King, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and Allen Toussaint. His two Decca singles, 1966’s ‘Taking Inventory’/‘Cracked Up Over You’ and 1967’s ‘You Can Never Keep A Good Man Down’/‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye’, were produced by the pre- Hi Records Willie Mitchell. All of White’s recordings were characterised by his raw New Orleans vocal style, which led to some success on the local charts but limited his wider appeal. Apart from a couple of late 70s singles for the Rocky Coast label, nothing more was heard of White as a recording artist. He died in January 1996 after suffering a stroke.