Southern Gentleman Dee White

• 1 Wherever You Go 03:20
• 2 Rose of Alabam 03:43
• 3 Bucket of Bolts 03:16
• 4 Crazy Man 03:15
• 5 Tell the World I Do 03:54
• 6 Ol' Muddy River 03:18
• 7 Road That Goes Both Ways (feat. Ashley McBryde) 03:21
• 8 Way Down 02:45
• 9 Oh No 03:11
• 10 Under Your Skin 03:04
• Total Runtime 33:07

Info for Southern Gentleman

Twenty-year old Alabama native and country music newcomer, Dee White will release his debut album, Southern Gentleman, via Dan Auerbach’s label, Easy Eye Sound, and Warner Music Nashville on March 1st. The initial five tracks on the album, Side A, were released early as an introduction to the Slapout, Alabama native who makes classic-minded country music for the modern world, and were debuted as an NPR First Listen. NPR says White “is up to something very different than most others in the swelling ranks of young artists with vintage country tastes” and says the album has a “finesse and a distinctly introspective angle on masculinity, and he applies those qualities in such an exhilarating way that his music is likely to sneak up on listeners and make a lasting impact.”

Additionally, White will make his debut on The Grand Ole Opry on March 8th. The Grand Ole Opry is the longest running radio broadcast in US history, and is taped at Nashville’s Opry House. Tickets for the February 8thperformance are available here.

Southern Gentleman features performances by Alison Krauss, Ashley McBryde, and Dan Auerbach, who co-produced the album alongside David “Fergie” Ferguson. Said Auerbach about working with White: “When Harold Shedd brought Dee to the studio, I knew he must be the real thing. And when he started to sing, what came out was the most original voice I’ve heard in years.” On the record White is also backed by legendary session players Gene Chrisman and Bobby Wood of the Memphis Boys (percussion and keys), guitarist Billy Sanford, keyboard player Pig Robbins, Mickey Raphael (harmonica) and others.

Dee White has recently wrapped up a string of tour dates opening for bluegrass legend Alison Krauss, featured on his album on the songs “Tell The World I Do,” “Oh No,” “Under Your Skin,” and “Bucket of Bolts,” as well as a tour in support of Ashley McBryde, also featured on the album.

Raised in small-town Alabama, Dee White is a raw, natural songwriter, spinning the sounds and stories of the American South into songs that nod to the past while still chasing down new horizons. It was Harold Shedd — the music mogul responsible for signing Alabama, discovering Shania Twain, and producing Reba McEntire’s first gold record — who encouraged White to pursue music. Impressed with Dee’s unschooled, captivating voice and sharp writing chops, Shedd became an unlikely mentor. With his support, Dee began turning his focus toward songwriting, transforming a hobby into something far more potent.

White spent most of his high school free time on the water in Slapout, Alabama. A competitive fisherman, he visited Lake Jordan every afternoon as a teenager. He’d take along his phone, too, soundtracking those daily fishing trips with the sounds of classic country. Almost by osmosis, the sounds of this timeless music seeped into his head. Dee left college and began making trips to Tennessee, where he found another mentor in Dan Auerbach. Together, the two co-wrote a number of songs, often teaming up with additional song-writers in town. Alison Krauss, whom White has opened for on numerous occasions, found a kindred spirit in the 20 year-old Dee, whose unforced vibrato and effortless tone floored her.

“Southern Gentleman, is a real head-turner indeed, its five tracks possessing a poetic gentility that recalls some of the most pleasing aspects of music Roy Orbison and Don Gibson made during the ’60s and Don Williams made in the ’70s.” (NPR Music)

“A Nashville newcomer with a timeless voice.” (Garden & Gun)

Dee White

Dee White
makes classic-minded country music for the modern world. Raised in small-town Alabama, he’s a raw, natural songwriter, spinning the sounds and stories of the American South into songs that nod to the past while still chasing down new horizons.

It was Harold Shedd — the music mogul responsible for signing Alabama, discovering Shania Twain, and producing Reba McEntire’s first gold record — who encouraged White to pursue music. A friend of Dee’s father, Shedd immediately saw something promising in the young teenager.

“Meeting him was like meeting the Queen of England,” says Dee. “The things he’s done have shaped not only country music, but music as a whole. He was always giving me incredible advice. He helped shape my sense of great music.”

Impressed with Dee’s unschooled, captivating voice and sharp writing chops, Shedd became an unlikely mentor. Although separated by nearly 70 years, the two quickly found common ground, bonding over old guitars, antique furniture, and enduring music. With his support, Dee began turning his focus toward songwriting, transforming a hobby into something far more potent. Not long after graduating high school, he sent his mentor a batch of original songs — including “Old Muddy River,” which would later find its way onto Southern Gentleman — and received an offer to come sharpen his craft in Nashville.

Before recording his debut album, Southern Gentleman, White spent most of his high school free time on the water in Slapout, Alabama. A competitive fisherman, he visited Lake Jordan every afternoon as a teenager. He’d take along his phone, too, soundtracking those daily fishing trips with the sounds of Pandora radio. Almost by osmosis, the sounds of timeless country music seeped into his head, laying the brickwork for a career that would find eventually him co-writing songs in Nashville and duetting with Alison Krauss at the tender age of 19.

Dee left college and began making trips to Tennessee, where he found another mentor in Dan Auerbach, producer and front man of The Black Keys. Together, the two co-wrote a number of new songs, often teaming up with additional composers in town. Alison Krauss sings on four songs, lending her gossamer harmonies to album standouts like “Bucket of Bolts” and “Tell the World I Do.” A world-class vocalist, she found a kindred spirit in the 19 year-old Dee, whose unforced vibrato and effortless tone floored her.

“It would be two of us,” Dee remembers, “and Dan would rotate these other writers — all older guys who loved classic music — in and out of the writing room every day. Each write would be completely different, which is why each song on the album sounds so unique.”

Eventually, they whittled down the list of songs to two-dozen finalists. They then recorded all twenty-four songs in two weeks, using Auerbach’s studio — Easy Eye Sound, a playground of vintage gear and analog equipment — as their home base. Southern Gentleman features ten of those tunes, along with guest appearances by a number of titans from the folk, country, and bluegrass worlds.

The guest list doesn’t stop there. Fellow Nashville newcomer Ashley McBryde duets with Dee on “Road That Goes Both Ways,” their voices backed by sweeping strings and steel guitar. Auerbach himself plays guitar throughout the album, while first-class sideman like Bobby Wood (keyboardist for Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks), Bubba Chrisman (drummer on Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man”), and Billy Sanford (the man behind Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” guitar riff) all appear on multiple tracks. On an album filled with all-star musicians, however, it’s Dee White who shines the brightest, filling Southern Gentleman with a mix of youthful energy, rich lyrical metaphors — particularly “Rose of Alabama,” a cheating song dressed up as an achingly gorgeous ballad — and swooning melodies.

“We were just trying to write standards,” says Dee.

Stripped free of pitch correction and studio trickery, Southern Gentleman is an honest portrayal of a 20 year-old natural. Dee White’s songs are classics-in-the-making, inspired by traditional sounds but happily rooted in the 21st century. This isn’t a throwback record. Instead, it’s a contemporary, ageless album — one that packs just as strong a punch today as it would’ve 50 years ago.

This album contains no booklet.