The Changin’ Times of Ike White

Ever heard of Ike White, the guitarist? How about David Ontiveros? Or David Maestro? On the way to stardom, playing backup for Big Mama Thornton, Ike White disappeared into the prison system, serving life for murder. Tipped off in the early ’70s, record producer Jerry Goldstein decked out a trailer with recording studio capabilities and hauled it onto prison grounds to record what became White’s 1976 LP Changin’ Times. It was destined for obscurity although everybody who heard it (including Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie) saw Ike’s potential. Filmmaker Daniel Vernon went in search of the MIA musician whose father had played keyboards in Ella Fitzgerald’s band – and with 138 home videos and saved recorded voice messages, what comes into focus is an amazing journey between numerous marriages, gangsters on his trail and the legacy of a man who never figured he’d have to deal with the difficulties of domestic life.

[NR]