David White

David Ernest White (November 26, 1939 – March 16, 2019), also known as David White Tricker, was an American singer and songwriter. He formed the doo-wop quartet Danny & the Juniors, as well as being a founding member of the pop trio The Spokesmen. He wrote "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay" and co-wrote a number of other hit songs, including "At the Hop", "You Don't Own Me", and "1-2-3".

Early life White was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1939. Prior to attending school, White toured the country performing with his parents in their acrobatic/hand-balancing act called Barry and Brenda and Company. He started playing piano, trumpet and clarinet as a child, and began writing songs at the age of 14. He described first hearing R&B groups on the radio as "such a neat experience... We were never exposed to that kind of music before."

The Juvenaires/Danny & the Juniors

In 1955, White auditioned friends and acquaintances from his neighborhood, to form a vocal group that he named The Juvenaires, in which he sang first tenor. The other original members were Danny Rapp (lead singer), Joe "Terry" Terranova (baritone), and Frank Maffei (second tenor).

The group was discovered by John Madara. In 1957, White and Madara wrote "Do the Bop" for the group. Madara, who had a chart record at the time called "Be My Girl" on Prep Records under the name of Johnny Madara, took The Juvenaires to his vocal coach/record producer, Artie Singer, for an audition. White said: "We recorded "Do the Bop" with Johnny Madara singing lead vocals and my group, The Juvenaires, backing him up. Artie took it to Johnny's label, Prep Records, but they turned it down. Artie then took it to Dick Clark, who suggested the title change to "At the Hop". Artie changed some of the lyrics and became a co-writer. We went back into the recording studio and this time, my group recorded the song with Danny singing lead. Artie took it back to Dick Clark and gave him half the publishing of the song.” his daughter Wendy said he died of lung and throat cancer.

Awards and honors In 1991, White's piano was donated to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1992, White and Danny & the Juniors were inducted into The Hall of Fame and Walk of Fame in Philadelphia by The Philadelphia Music Alliance. In 2003, Danny & the Juniors were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pennsylvania. In 2013, White and Danny and the Juniors were inducted into The Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in Philadelphia. Also in 2013, White and John Madara were inducted into The Walk of Fame by The Philadelphia Music Alliance.