TOMMY'S COURSES
Join Tommy White & Paul Franklin as they teach the History and Evolution of pedal steel guitar technique, including 3-element blocking, tone, the PF4, the TW Split, and modern harmony and soloing.
Pedal steelers Tommy White and Paul Franklin sit down and trade licks, talk-teaching over some of the most popular and frequently-encountered chord progressions.
TOMMY WHITE
Born in Louisville, KY on January 9 1960, Steel Guitar Hall of Famer Tommy White is considered a pedal steel guitar prodigy.
He received his first pedal steel at age nine, and at 11 he joined Grand Ole Opry member Stu Phillips’ band, touring the upper Midwest playing in high school auditoriums and private parties.
By the time he was 13 he was appearing at various steel guitar shows, at 15 years old he was teaching others how to play and that year released his first album, “Tommy White, 100 Proof Steel, Aged 15 Years”.
He was 16 when he took a gig with Nashville star, Donna Fargo (Happiest Girl in the Whole USA), a job that launched his professional career. Tommy stayed with Fargo from 1976 to 1985. That year, he joined The Whites and stayed with the family band until 1993.
Tours with great guitar players like Vince Gill and Steve Wariner in the early 2000’s, countless recording, TV and radio gigs with notable positions in the staff band of Nashville Now and The Grand Ole Opry, where he remains the staff pedal steel guitarist. Recent work with Alison Krauss on her acclaimed record “Windy City” and appearances with Pop icon Lady GaGa (Academy Awards and Grammys) have put the amazing Tommy White in the larger public eye, bringing the sound of the pedal steel to whole new audiences in 2021.