Lari White

Taking a radical left-turn from her country-pop past, Lari White draws on her deepest roots for the inspiration behind "Green Eyed Soul," the debut CD from her Sony/Red distributed indie label, Skinny WhiteGirl Records, released July 26, 2005.

Lari's granddaddy was a hellfire-hollering Primitive Baptist preacher, while her Daddy was the electric guitar player in a rock and roll band.  Surrounded by music - gospel, R&B, classical and country - it was the sweet sounds of artists such as Ray Charles, Al Green and Stevie Wonder, that sank the deepest into Lari's soul.  She sang her first "professional" performance at age four, with her family's folk and gospel act, The White Family Singers. She also studied classical piano, and eventually won the regional Chopin Competition. When she received a full academic scholarship to the University of Miami, she opted to major in Music Engineering - a degree which got her free studio time, and went a long way towards busting the "chick singer" stereotype that she was determined to avoid.

Immediately after graduating, Lari threw all her possessions into her second-hand mini-van and drove north virtually non-stop to Nashville, Tennessee.  She got a speeding ticket just as she crossed into the city limits.

She immersed herself in the underground artistic community, studying and performing with several theater groups and playing writers' nights at the Bluebird Café. She worked as an actress with an improv comedy group and with the regional Repertory company, writing songs all day and performing theater shows at night. Her tiny apartment was nicknamed "The Hang" as every Sunday evening it was crammed with a motley collection of songwriters, actors, playwrights and artists coming together to share their latest work and chew the fat.  Despite eking out an existence somewhere below the poverty line, she remembers those times as some of the richest of her life.

Within three years of her arrival in Nashville, Lari was snapped up by a major label, RCA, going Gold with her sophomore album, and garnering several awards. These included three prestigious Grammys, earned over consecutive years, for her lead tracks on both volumes of the "Amazing Grace - A Country Salute To Gospel" albums as well as her standout performance on the soundtrack to Robert Duvall's acclaimed movie, "The Apostle."

But despite these successes, she increasingly felt she was straying from her roots - being pushed towards the Country mainstream and finding herself in an artistic straightjacket. Lari stepped back from touring, and took time to reconsider her future.  She built her own studio - The Holler - behind her home in the Nashville countryside, and when she started writing and recording again, what tumbled out marked a stark departure from her previous work - a blend of soul, Southern Americana and jazz that she calls Green Eyed Soul.

Like her contemporary and favored guest vocalist, Shelby Lynne, Lari digs beneath the placid surface into the dark underbelly of life in the Deep South.  Drawing heavily on her formative influences, she blends classic Soul/R&B sensibilities with modern technology to tackle subjects such as love and the loss of innocence, conjuring up heady images of languorous, sultry Southern nights.

Taking the helm as sole Producer, she assembled a team of top musicians, including legendary horn arranger Jim Horn - a key Muscle Shoals figure and veteran of countless seminal tracks with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and The Righteous Brothers.

The sensuality at the core of "Green Eyed Soul" speaks from the very first track, "Nothing But Love," with lyrics laying bare the emotions of a grown woman. The vibe runs through "Loved Right" ("...you ain't ever been loved right, the way I'm gonna love you"), and the sexy recitation of "Groove W/ Me Baby."

The soaring gospel tinged blues backing on "Right Here, Right Now" calls to mind the Raylettes, while "Let's Keep It Together" tips a hat to Steely Dan and Boz Skaggs.

When Lari delves into her memories her church roots show through - whether she's singing: "I'm sleepin' with the devil and there's gonna be hell to pay," over what she describes as the "greasy" track to "One More Time," or crooning "Lyin' on a bed of magnolia leaves, he said I was an angel Lord and I believed" on the succulent "Eden Before The Fall" - the imagery is potent.

"Eden..." could easily be taken as a tale of first sexual awakening, but as Lari explains, the words paint a broader picture.  "I started describing where all my family's from, my granddaddy's Primitive Baptist church, the spring-fed creek in Washington County...  The first few lines fell out of that description, rhymed and everything.  I think it's a grieving song, mourning the loss of innocence, of unshakable faith, and of the simplicity of childhood."

Some of the lyrics however, are way more upfront; the sassy "Because I'm A Woman" makes it clear that White is no shrinking Southern belle as she pours scorn on antiquated attitudes towards the female sex.  "I was lucky enough to grow up with parents, especially a dad, who always told me I could to and be anything I wanted, and while I know that's more true for girls now than it's probably ever been, it's been a long, slow disillusionment to face the realities of growing up as a woman."  She voices concern at the thought of a future where parents can decide the sex of their offspring and is active in supporting and orphanage in India, where 80% of the abandoned babies are female.

The groove continues, but the emotions run the gamut, from the softest, most intimate vunerability on "Bare," to the muscular soul/funk workout of  the Ashford & Simpson inspired strut "We Got It Goin' On."

Lari says "This is the most honest music I've ever made. I guess I'm finally comfortable with myself - a little less concerned about what other people are going to think and say."

Since finishing GES, Lari has contributed her producing talents for other high-profile recording artists, producing Toby Keith's "White Trash with Money" earning a #1 single and Top-5 Singles from that cd.  She also landed two singles in Billboard's Top 10 on the Country Charts, as co-producer on both Toby Keith's hit duet with his daughter Krystal, "Mockingbird" (from his Greatest Hits, Volume 2), and Billy Dean's smash "Let Them Be Little" and follow-up album. She is currently putting finishing touches on the highly anticipated second CD from her husband, acclaimed singer-songwriter Chuck Cannon, which is set for release in the latter part of 2007, on their Nashville Underground Records label.

Lari, whose previous acting credits include the memorable role as the "girl at the crossroads' opposite Tom Hanks in the blockbuster film "Cast Away," also starred in the romantic drama "No Regrets," opposite Janine Turner and Kate Jackson, which airs on the Lifetime Cable Network.  She also portrayed June Carter Cash in the 2006 Broadway production of Ring of Fire, , a musical based on Johnny Cash. She received rave reviews for her performance in the Marilyn and Alan Bergman Tribute with Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall, and returned to perform for the Bergman's in their Lincoln Center tribute in February.  Broadway By The Year audiences have enjoyed her in both the Jerome Kern Tribute and Broadway Originals shows, as well as editions 1978 and 1928.  She recently debuted at the Algonquin Oak Room with a week-long run of My First Affair, a broadway musical salute.

A true Renaissance woman, Lari White continues to forge new paths on her creative journey, and "Green Eyed Soul" reflects the many facets of this dynamic talent.