Robert White (19 November 1936 - 27 October 1994)
Nick names: he had one but hated it
Instruments Played: Gibson ES 335, Gibson L-5
You know that great,instantly recognizable guitar hook at the begining of "My Girl" by The Temptations,well thats just one example of Robert white's guitar playing at work.
Along with being able to come up with memorable melodic guitar lines he was also known for the bright tone that he achieved by picking his strings with a long thumbnail.
Arriving in Detroit in 1960 originally as the bass player for The Moonglows, Robert switched back to guitar for Motown and established himself in the studio with his relaxed guitar strums and jazz influenced voicings and chords which held everything else together.
At night time after their days work at Motown was over, Robert along with Earl Van Dyke,James Jamerson and Uriel Jones made up the core Funk Brothers who were the house band around town for clubs like the Twenty Grand and the Chit Chat.
Robert was a very spirtual man and one of the more deep thinkers in the Funk Brothers.