Lari White

Lari Michele White Cannon (, ; May 13, 1965 – January 23, 2018) was an American country musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress.

Lari Michele White was born May 13, 1965, in Dunedin, Florida.

Her parents, Larry and Yvonne White, were both school teachers.

As a child, she sang in her family's gospel group called The White Family Singers.

The group included both parents along with her sister (Natasha) and brother (Torne).

White took piano lessons starting at age four, and continued to play throughout her childhood despite losing her left pinky finger in an accident.

She sang at talent contests, and performed in a local rock band called White Sound.

She graduated from Dunedin High School in 1983.

In 1987, she graduated from the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, where she studied vocal technique and sound engineering.

During this time she also composed music and performed in local clubs.

While at Frost School of Music, White was a classmate of Paul Deakin, who would go on to become a founding member of The Mavericks.

She made her debut in 1988 after winning You Can Be a Star, a televised talent competition on The Nashville Network.

White made her first national appearance in 1988 on the television talent show You Can Be a Star on the former TNN (The Nashville Network); she won first prize, including a recording contract with Capitol Records Nashville.

She released one single through Capitol titled "Flying Above the Rain", which she wrote with Lisa Silver.

When it failed to chart, White was dropped from Capitol's roster without releasing anything else.

Following her departure, White continued focused on songwriting, which led to Tammy Wynette recording her song "Where's the Fire?"

in 1990.

She also did radio and television commercial jingles in this time span.

In the early 1990s, she joined a publishing house owned by Ronnie Milsap, also taking acting lessons and performing at local dinner theaters.

White ultimately decided not to pursue acting at the time, as she preferred music.

Despite this, she attributed the acting lessons as helping her become more confident on stage.

White unsuccessfully auditioned to become lead singer of the band Highway 101 after their previous vocalist (Paulette Carlson) quit.

After attending an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) showcase in 1991, she was discovered by a cousin of country singer Rodney Crowell, who at the time was looking for a backing vocalist in his touring band.

Crowell liked her vocals and thus encouraged her to sign with RCA Records Nashville, which she did in January 1992.

After an unsuccessful stint on Capitol Records Nashville, she signed to RCA Records Nashville in 1993.

In 1993, the label released her debut album Lead Me Not.

Co-produced with Crowell and guitarist Steuart Smith, the disc included three singles: "What a Woman Wants", the title track, and "Lay Around and Love on You".

All three of these singles entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, although none reached the Top 40.

Both "What a Woman Wants" and the title track received music videos which were aired on CMT and TNN.

The former was the first country music video to be shot in Europe; specifically, at a setting in Rome.

Research conducted by music journalist Joseph Fenity in 2021 declared the "Lead Me Not" video to be a lost television broadcast, as RCA Records Nashville executives were unable to find the video in their archives.

Smith also played guitar on the album, while Crowell, Claudia Church, Russ Taff, and Radney Foster provided background vocals.

Brian Mansfield of AllMusic noted the musical variety on the album, but thought that this variety kept the album's singles from being successful on the charts.

White released four albums for RCA between then and 1997: Lead Me Not, Wishes, Don't Fence Me In, and the compilation The Best of Lari White.

Wishes was certified gold and charted three top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "That's My Baby", "Now I Know", and "That's How You Know (When You're in Love)".

In 1998, she was the first artist signed to the former Lyric Street Records; she released Stepping Stone before leaving the label in 2000, and recorded all subsequent projects independently.

Her musical style is defined by her vocal delivery and a variety of musical influences including country, blues, and contemporary R&B.

In addition to her own work, White has produced albums for Toby Keith and Billy Dean, and has written songs for Tammy Wynette, Travis Tritt, Danny Gokey, and Sarah Buxton.

She also acted in the television pilot XXX's and OOO's, the 2000 movie Cast Away, and her own cabaret production My First Affair.

White was also married to songwriter Chuck Cannon until her death from peritoneal cancer in 2018.