The first country artist to ever have two albums to go platinum on the same day was Oklahoma City’s own Bryan White. After graduating from Putnam City West, White was signed to Asylum Records in 1994 at age 20, charting the first two of ultimately 21 songs he would place on the Billboard Country charts.
White also found success writing songs for other top country artists, including Wynonna Judd, Diamond Rio, Sawyer Brown, Joe Diffie and LeAnn Rimes. The biggest of these cover songs was “Imagine That,” which became a Top 5 smash for Diamond Rio in 1997. Recently Oklahoma has borrowed that song title to be the motto for our state vehicle tags.
While he charted six number one hits as a solo artist, many believe his chart-topping duet with Shaina Twain is his most famous song. The collaboration on “From This Moment On” was played at as many weddings as it was at country dance halls. Recorded in 1998, Twain said she and her then husband, Mutt Lange, wrote the song with White in mind. She called him while on the road touring.
White still remembers exactly how it unfolded, starting with a call that jolted him awake. “I was asleep on the tour bus in Chicago, Illinois—it was the era of no cell phones,” White says of how it came about. “We had this analog phone on our bus that we only used for emergencies. We got a call on it, and my tour manager came and woke me up, and said, ‘You need to get up.’ I said, ‘What for?’ He said, ‘Just get up, you need to get up … Mutt Lange and Shania Twain are on the phone.’ I was clearing my throat and trying to wrap my mind around why I was talking to Shania Twain and Mutt Lange at 9 o’clock in the morning—because for me, back then, 9 o’clock in the morning was ungodly early!”
Twain said she chose White because he was her favorite male country singer. Their song not only became a big U.S. market hit, but also scored high on charts throughout the world. The video would be played on CMT in constant rotation due to popular demand.
Besides selling more than five million albums worldwide, White has won a Grammy, CMA and an ACM award. In 2015, he received a major career resurgence with “God Gave Me You,” a song he originally released in 1999. Ironically the song became an international hit; in particular topping the charts in the Philippines.
This fall, White will celebrate his 26th wedding anniversary to actress Erika Page White. A star in her own right, she is known for her roles on soap operas like “One Life to Live” and appeared with Bryan on “The Private Lives of Nashville Wives.” She is also an Oklahoma native. They had two sons, Justin and Jackson. The younger son, Jackson, has recently been following in his father’s footsteps by releasing songs online. In 2024, he made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry performing with his dad. This year he appeared on “American Idol” with a Golden Ticket.
Although he was born in Lawton, White grew up in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City / County Historical Society is bestowing its prestigious Pathmaker Award—the highest honor one can receive from the society—to him at the banquet this month. “This is in recognition of not only his amazing contributions to music, but also for his reputation of being a Goodwill Ambassador, having used his celebrity to help so many wonderful causes all over the United States,” said society board member Kala Beard. The luncheon banquet ceremony will be held Tuesday, April 14, at 11:30AM at the Champion Event Center, 737 S Meridian Ave. Tickets can be purchased at okchistory.com.
White will be in attendance along with his wife to receive his award, and the public will be able to visit with him following the ceremony. A full interview can be seen on the SHINE on Oklahoma Music YouTube channel.
Brian Maughan serves as Oklahoma County Commissioner, District 2, and does a series of interviews with Oklahoma music stars for the Oklahoma History Center called SHINE on Oklahoma Music.
This article appears in Best of OKC Winners.