White Witch (band)

White Witch was a Progressive rock/Psychedelic pop band from Tampa, Florida. Upon the recommendation of Gregg Allman, they signed with legendary Southern rock label Capricorn Records.

History

Formed in 1971, White Witch was named as a paean to good magic, contrary to the "black magic" of a group like Black Sabbath. The band originally featured the almost screechingly-high range of singer Ronald "Ronn" (or "Ron") Goedert, guitarist Charles "Buddy" Richardson, keyboardist Hardin "Buddy" Pendergrass, drummer Robert "Bobby" Shea and bassist Loyall "Beau" Fisher. Fischer left the group sometime after the first album and was replaced by Rabbi Barbee.

New musicians were added to the band during the making of the second album. They included bassist Charlie Souza and drummer Bill Peterson. Buddy Richardson left the group after the second album was released and was replaced by guitarist George Brawley, who had spent the past year as a session guitarist in Los Angeles after leaving the southern rock group "Brother" from Columbia, SC. Drummer Bobby Shea stayed with the group as percussionist and back-up singer. A third album was in the making and four tracks were recorded on demo, but the group broke up in the late 1970s before a third album was recorded. After White Witch, Goedert made some solo recordings, Pendergrass wrote commercial jingles and opened a recording studio, and Richardson played in other bands ("Revolver"). Pendergrass, Souza, and Shea had previously been in the successful regional group "The Tropics".

As the story usually goes for unique bands that pushed the musical envelope in that era, especially those whose record company doesn't support the effort, the band recorded two albums for Capricorn that faded into cut-out bins everywhere. Their lyrics were indeed as venturesome as their music, with wildly-varying lyrical references that appeared to be leftovers from 1960s psychedelia. The tongue-in-cheek lyrics of the song "Class of 2000" are as incredible in hindsight now as they were in foresight in 1974 and could easily be compared (in reverse form) to the Pollyanna, retro-hindsight of the Donald Fagen album "The Nightfly", in which the main theme plays upon an expected, foreseen future that never was, although wearing silver suits could be the all the rage if greenhouse gases and rogue nuclear nations do indeed prevail.

Most of the songs on their first album were written by Goedert and Pendergrass, with contributions from the other band members. All of the songs on the second album were written by Goedert, Pendergrass, and Richardson.

It is rumored that the first album sold enough copies to qualify for an RIAA gold album, but the accounting was not done. The first album reportedly reached number 51 on the album charts and the single "And I'm Leaving" reportedly reached number 48 – without any promotion from the record company. "Rolling Stone" panned both albums, giving the first album one star (out of five) and the second two stars. Both albums were released on CD in 1999 but quickly went out of print. The songs are available as legal downloads.

Goedert died on July 16, 2000; Pendergrass died March 16, 2003, both of cancer. The group was inducted into the Florida Rock and Roll hall of Fame in Tallahassee.

Discography

*"White Witch", LP (1972, Capricorn Records 0107)
*"A Spiritual Greeting", LP (1974, Capricorn Records 0129)
*"And I'm Leaving", 45 (1972, Capricorn Records)

"White Witch" songs

* all songs by Goedert and Pendergrass except as noted
# Parabrahm Greeting/Dwellers of the Threshold ("Goedert, Pendergrass, Richardson, Shea, and Fischer")
#Help Me Lord
# Don't Close Your Mind ("Goedert, Pendergrass, and Richardson")
# You're the One
# Sleepwalk
# Home Grown Girl
# And I'm Leaving
# Illusion
# It's So Nice to be Stoned ("Richardson and Fischer")
# Have You Ever Thought of Changing/Jackson Slade
# The Gift ("Goedert, Pendergrass, Richardson, Shea, and Fischer")

"Spiritual Greeting" songs

* All songs by Goedert, Pendergrass, and Richardson
# We'll All Ride High (Money Bag$)
# Slick Witch
# Walk On
# Class of 2000
# Showdown
# Crystallize and Realize [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYVNpx8NK0Y YouTube]
# Black Widow Lover
# Auntie Christy/Harlow

References

* "The Rolling Stone Record Guide", edited by Dave Marsh with John Swenson, 1979, ISBN 0-394-41096-3

External links

* [http://www.orlandojams.com/WhiteWitch.html Official site for White Witch]
* [http://www.myspace.com/whitewitchband MySpace site for White Witch]
* [http://wm01.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:fpfpxql5ld0e~T0 Allmusic.com entry for White Witch]
* [http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,184851,00.html Review of second album]
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2003/03/18/TampaBay/Pendergrass__rock_mus.shtml Pendergrass obit]
* [http://www.geocities.com/badcatrecords/WHITEwitch.htm White Witch info]
* [http://www.floridahof.com/nominees.htm Florida Music Hall of Fame]