[1] In addition to his work with Yes and John Lennon, White performed on over 50 albums by other musicians, including George Harrison, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Terry Reid, Joe Cocker and The Ventures.

[4] His father had different jobs, working as a clerk, shopkeeper, and a lorry and bus driver who also played the piano in local pubs.

[6] At age six, White began to take piano lessons, playing the instrument "very percussively", which his uncle noticed and informed his parents who bought him an Ajax drum kit for Christmas when he was twelve.

[5] White felt he was pushed to learn and play like his drum instructor and wished "to be more individual" on the instrument, so he began to develop his own style.

[5] The group became well known in the Newcastle area, playing working men's clubs and dance halls as much as seven nights a week until late.

[8] White reduced his music commitments in order to pass his school exams, after which he became interested in studying technical drawing at college with the plan to become an architect.

[4][5] At seventeen, he pursued music and toured the cabaret circuit as part of Billy Fury's band the Gamblers, which included several gigs in Germany.

[8] In 1969, White received a call from John Lennon who invited him to join his Plastic Ono Band for their live performance at the Toronto Rock and Roll Revival festival.

Lennon had attended a Griffin performance in a club and wanted White to join the band of Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton, and Klaus Voormann.

[11] White disbelieved Lennon's call and offer and thought he was a prankster,[12] but accepted the invitation for the show which took place on 13 September 1969, at Varsity Stadium in front of 20,000 people.

[11] In early 1972, White attended their session at Advision Studios to record a promotional film for their arrangement of "America" by Simon & Garfunkel.

They were due to join the abortive More Drama Tour, scheduled to begin in North America in August 2005, with three acts: White, The Syn, and Steve Howe, with Yes members Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Geoff Downes playing Yes material at the end of the evening (with Currie handling lead vocals).

[40][42] On 28 October 2017, to celebrate his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, White played in a halftime performance with the University of Washington Husky Marching Band.

[47] Two months before his death, many personal items and valuable musical instruments were stolen from White's home and from a nearby storage facility.

Stolen or damaged items included platinum record awards and a drum kit that White had used on the Plastic Ono Band sessions.