On May 20, 1954, Forrest White joined Leo Fender and his burgeoning Fender Electric Instrument Company in Fullerton, California, as General Manager. In early 1955, an employee came into building #3 at the Fullerton factory and asked Forrest what he wanted to do with the white nameplates that just arrived. He told the messenger to send them back because Fender nameplates only came in brown or chrome. The brave messenger came back with, “No, you don’t understand; they are ‘White.'” The employee proceeded to show Forrest the nameplates with his own name boldly inscribed. It would soon grace a “studio” amplifier model that Leo was developing for the new “White Instrument Company.” Leo surprised Forrest that day; even as General Manager, White had no idea what Mr. Fender was up to, and that his boss had named this new line after him.

The first White Amplifier was born soon after the nameplate incident. In his book, The Fender Inside Story, Forrest White (photo) wrote that they received the first White sales order, #402, for the new studio line–a White Amp Model 80 and a 6-String Lap Steel–on September 13, 1955. The units were constructed in October and November, just weeks later. The White lap steel guitar and amp usually came as a set and were sold at music instruction studios. Fender also planned a White student standard guitar, but never put it into production (Fender: The Sound heard ‘Round the World by Richard R. Smith).

I was able to talk with Adam Grimm, co-owner of Satellite Amps, at the Nashville Amp Expo last weekend. His company announced in June, 2011 that they will be recreating the original White Higher Fidelity amplifiers. They are making spot on reproductions–as close to the originals as possible.

Adam expressed to me that full rights to the name and design were acquired by Satellite. As you can see in the photos below from the amp show, it is not white in color, but a variation on battleship gray. Satellite, as shown in both photos, has added an optional extension speaker cabinet, not originally offered by Fender, which is convertible from closed to open back. Adam told me that the original series had varying cabinet depths, but that they settled on the current one. The original series, just like many Fender products, went through various changes in certain aesthetics over it’s lifetime–like a “square” power switch and some detailing around some of the controls. As Satellite proceeds with this model, some of the details may change in future incarnations. (In the photos I took of the reproduction, the toggle and chrome chassis are basic).

Adam also explained that, because of the safety and health issues surrounding the chroming process, these shiny chassis are hard to come by, and are expensive. Mojo Musical Supply still carries several chrome options.

The White Amplifier at Fender had a short run and, according to Adam Grimm, the number of amps manufactured is in question.

Forrest White went on to serve as Vice President of Fender. He also worked at Rickenbacker, CMI and Music Man. He died of cancer in 1994.

Below is a demo video of the Satellite Amplifier “White Higher Fidelity Amp“ by Doug Myer From Mountain Cat Guitars:

My daughter, Betsy, has surprised me at every stage of her life. She started out as a fighter: stubborn, and didn’t want to go to sleep because she wanted to be in the middle of everything that was going on around her. I would have to hold her against my shoulder as an infant so she’d go to sleep. I had long hair back then, so she would lay on my shoulder and curl a strand of my hair until it wrapped tight around her finger. Unfortunately, right about that time, she was asleep. So I had to carefully take her to her bed, lay her down and untangle her finger from the lock of my hair without waking her and starting the dance all over again.

I have images of Betsy with almost white blonde hair, standing on the front porch in her mom’s red high heel shoes, singing to the top of her lungs into a hairbrush. She has never been shy about speaking her mind to either of us. Maybe sometimes as a teenager, her wilfulness crossed the line from expressing herself to disrespect, but not often. She has a streak of her father in her DNA, so I know where that stuff comes from and I notice it quicker than anyone else. I’m not one to stand around and watch someone expel obvious B.S. without being confronted, and neither is Betsy.

How did these kids grow up so fast? How did they make it through unscathed? I know Brenda and I spent countless times praying for both Betsy and her older brother, Joshua. It isn’t too early to start praying for them, by the way–for their spouses, their place in the world, their salvation and membership in the Kingdom of God. There were bumps and challenges along the way, but our trust in God for Betsy and Josh was not betrayed. He was faithful at every turn, and I want to encourage those folks who are reluctant to have children because of the risks that today’s world brings: it is so worth it! As my dad always says, “What would life be if, at the end, there were no children to accompany us?” We wanted kids because we wanted to raise a family of our own and to leave a legacy. Children are so rewarding.

Betsy is a beautiful girl with a great husband, Adam. We are blessed that they have moved back to Nashville from Memphis after Adam’s law school graduation in May. They are awaiting the results of Adam’s bar exam last month.

I see Brenda shining through in Betsy. Surprisingly, they have become so alike in many ways. She still has that radical streak that her dad has though, God bless her!

Here’s a video she made last week of 15 crazy facts about her–just a few answers to questions to get to know her. She has a wonderful blog, too. I’m a proud papa!

Sometimes we have to change a tire on the way to work. To compound the frustration, it might be raining cats & dogs. We finally get to work soggy and frustrated, only to find out that an accident sending some to the hospital occurred at the exact time and on the same road you would have taken if not for the interruption. Thank God for flat tires! Who knows how many times God saves us and the blessings He brings us–while we’re not paying attention.

Earlier this spring, my dad had a crick in his hip that caused him to limp when getting the mail at the end of his driveway, His across-the-street neighbor saw him struggle and suggested a chiropractor; dad made an appointment. The x-ray showed nothing wrong with his hip but, instead, revealed a possible life-threatening aortic aneurism. Dad’s subsequent appointment with a specialist confirmed a serious condition which required immediate surgery.

At the same time, I left a position as a worship leader–one I had for almost seven years. Brenda and I trusted God for His provision since we had no other job to jump into. Thank God, as a songwriter, song royalties are a major source of our income. So we trusted God to show us a new direction. Frankly, the prospect of a new adventure was invigorating, but the flesh always craves physical proof that we’d be okay over the next several months. Through it all, my spirit always echoed the Lord, “I will provide!”

As I left my position and “financial security,” dad’s medical difficulties and pending surgery fell conveniently into my newly cleared schedule. As June marched on, I realized that it was God Who made it possible for me tend to my dad’s needs and to spend the summer hanging out together.

Since the surgery six weeks ago, dad has miraculously recovered. He has since left his home in North Carolina to permanently moved in with Brenda and me. He has always been reluctant to intrude on anyone, yet dad’s moving in with us has been anything but an intrusion. In fact, I have had the best summer in years! The opportunity has given us the time to spend long hours talking about my childhood days and his life before he married my mother. How can money buy any of the experiences I’ve had over the past three months? I look forward to many more years with my dad as we are now officially house mates!

Please take a moment and visit my dad’s website, one that my son Josh developed several years ago. The site will introduce you to a real cool guy named Tom Harvill. I know you will see how great this summer has been for me.

Just over a month after our first wedding anniversary, Joshua Arthur Harvill was born on January 30th, 1987. He was a hit with the nurses in the maternity ward because his smile created prominent dimples on his face.

When he was only a few weeks old, Brenda jumped (actually hobbled) at the chance to get out of the house for a dinner invitation at a friend’s home. With a full belly, Josh fell asleep. So Brenda put him down on a soft place between two stereo speakers. At some time during the evening, the host wasn’t thinking and cranked some music on the stereo. Josh never flinched–just kept on sleeping– like he was at home with loud music!

His sister Betsy was born a year and a month after him in March, 1988. Brenda brought the disciplined, quiet, patient and stalwart aspect to our child-rearing duties. I brought the “crazy dreamer” to the game as I was still at college while my kids were born. Even though I was pursuing a bachelor’s degree, I longed to be a musician and a song writer in the long run. My kids probably got a real balance with the both of us as parents. Thanks God for my sweet wife!

Josh was and is a true artist. He would always be drawing some kind of super hero or a human-animal hybrid (usually with huge claws)! He also loved music. We have a video of Josh and me sitting in our living room with our backs to the camera listening and singing to songs I had recorded. He was probably 7 years old then, and I said to Josh that someday he could work with me on a recording project. Little did we know then how true that would be in the future.

Josh told me one day that he wanted to play drums, not guitar, and hoped I wouldn’t be disappointed. So Brenda set out pots and pans with wooden spoons on the kitchen floor for Josh to practice. His uncle Jon is a drummer and, for some reason, we had Jon’s drums set up at my house. Joshua was so tempted to jump on them and start pounding away. We held him back from that so he wouldn’t hurt his uncle’s gear. Cookware had to do!

After my mother’s death in 1997, we moved from Mobile, Alabama to North Carolina so we could live near my dad. We soon started a new church with a local pastor, Mike Snelgrove. The first drummer we had on our new worship team was dying of cancer and we turned to Josh as our drummer, even though, up to that point, he had no real “kit” experience. He just got up there, took the sticks and was incredible. He was a natural right away! He even had to stand up to hit the crash cymbals, but then he’d quickly sit down in a split-second to start grooving again between the hi-hat, snare and kick drum. That was when he was 13. We bought him his own kit soon after and he has since turned into a marvelous, professional drummer.

He has a great reputation for being not only a great live player, but also an excellent session drummer. He has the ability to read music, find the right part and bring signature licks and grooves to each song. I use him exclusively on all of my projects because he is so good.

A few nights ago I sat in the audience while he recorded drums for a live album. He did so well–every lick, groove and fill were expertly executed. No fixes, just straight through from the first song all the way to the last. That’s-a-my-boy!

He’s married now to a beautiful girl named Amber. They are starting out on a journey just like Brenda and I did 26 years ago. I pray he has the courage to blast through all of the naysayers who might try to talk him out of pursuing his dreams. The funny thing is, he has since learned to play the guitar and keyboards–he can sing, too. Now that he’s graduated from college, I know he will set the world on fire. Maybe someday he will let me play on his project!

My neighborhood is filled with musicians. Unlike most American communities, we have sound guys, managers, producers, arrangers, singers, songwriters, recording engineers, and musicians of every stripe and style making their home here. Thirty miles south of Nashville, we live in a small town called Spring Hill, just on the outer edge of what Music City offers in the way of shopping, food and entertainment. We just choose to live a little further out of the craziness in a quaint, sleepy hamlet. You see, those who play in touring bands with the big acts, along with all of the peripheral supply persons for the music industry, escape to somewhere…and they all seem to live here in my little town!

I say “they” but it is really “we.” As a songwriter and a studio player myself, I am one of those crazy musician types who stand in line at Home Depot, or grab a bite to eat at Cracker Barrel. Its just that the folks I’m talking about have hairdos and tattoos that are hard to miss. Its not unusual to see a country or a Christian music artist driving around town or getting a to-go coffee at Starbucks. The locals don’t do double-takes anymore because they are used to it. Its not uncommon for me to hear the muffled yet prominent sounds of a recording session emanating from a few of the homes on my daily walking route. Again, the neighbors kind of expect it. I have yet to hear my neighbors complain as I crank-up the guitar amps during recording sessions in my own home (Its amazing how many famous records have been recorded in neighborhoods just like mine).

I prefer the relative quiet of my little neighborhood. I also appreciate the inclusiveness that our town offers the many musicians here. I know I live in an unusual place. Its not strange, just not like anywhere else–except for maybe New York or LA. The big exception is that you can actually raise a family here with great schools, churches and amenities–all the while enjoying the wide-open spaces that middle Tennessee offers.

I’ll miss it when “riff-raff” like accountants and business-types move in. Then we can say, “There goes the neighborhood!”