Hailing from Maine, and relocating to Burbank, California as children, the White Brothers were exposed to traditional fiddle and country music early on. The boys' father, Eric White, Sr., moved the family west to pursue a position with Lockheed Aircraft. During his off hours, he was a multi-instrumentalist, playing fiddle, guitar, banjo, and harmonica and he strongly encouraged his children's interest in music. Soon enough, the eldest brothers, Roland on mandolin and guitar and Eric, Jr. on string bass, with the occasional help of their sister Joann, began performing. The youngest, Clarence, joined in on guitar in 1954 at age 10. Going by the name Three Little Country Boys, the brothers won a country music talent show sponsored by KXLA in Pasadena. First prize was an opportunity to perform on a local television program, Country Barndance Jubilee. The boys' enthusiastic approach to bluegrass was so well received that they were invited for frequent return visits to the show, while playing barn dances on weekends. As teenagers in 1957, they became regulars on local radio and attracted the interest of country music star Joe Maphis. A talented guitarist based out of Los Angeles, Maphis arranged for the boys to perform on Town Hall Party, a higher profile television show, and again they were a hit. Maphis, who enjoyed diverse tastes in music, exposed Clarence to jazz guitarists Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, both of whom would have a profound effect on the young guitar player. The following year, banjo player Billy Ray Latham joined the three bothers and the name was shortened to the Country Boys. By 1958, the folk music boom was taking hold, and like many bluegrass acts at the time, the Country Boys began frequenting coffeehouses and folk clubs, soon landing a week-long residency at the Ash Grove in Hollywood. Over the course of the next few years, the Country Boys would become truly adept musicians and in 1961 they landed several guest appearances on NBC's Andy Griffith Show, huge national exposure at the time. That same year Roland was drafted, an event that triggered personnel changes and the Country Boys evolved into the Kentucky Colonels.
Arguably the best urban bluegrass group of the era, the Kentucky Colonels recorded two albums,The New Sound Of Bluegrass America in 1962 and Appalachian Swing the following year, which featured the return of Roland from his 17-month stint in the Army. During the time Roland was away, Doc Watson made his West Coast debut at the Ash Grove, which had a profound effect on Clarence, listening intently in the audience. Already an accomplished guitarist himself, now Clarence began incorporating Watson's use of open strings and syncopation into his own rapidly developing flat-picking technique. More importantly, Clarence began thinking in terms of the guitar being a lead instrument. He spent most of his free time practicing and perfecting this new approach, and with Roland adapting his mandolin playing to Clarence's new style of flatpicking, the Kentucky Colonels were now attracting considerable attention.
While his brothers and band mates were primarily interested in bluegrass music, Clarence was more like a sponge. After studying the country picking styles of Doc Watson, Jimmy Bryant , Merl Travis, Chet Atkins, and Joe Maphis, he was now equally interested in jazz guitarists like Django Reinhart and Charlie Christian as well as rockers Chuck Berry and Duane Eddy. He also became friends with rockabilly guitarist, James Burton, who greatly impressed Clarence with his electric guitar technique and lucrative living as a session guitarist for hire. In 1965, Clarence purchased a 1954 Telecaster and with the encouragement of Burton, Eddy, and Bryant, began to modify his own technique for electric guitar. The Kentucky Colonels played a handful of acoustic/electric gigs, but Clarence was becoming increasingly interested in other forms of music and the group broke up in November of 1965.
By this point, the White brothers had become well-known, widely respected musicians, and following James Burton's example, Clarence began accepting numerous invitations for session work, despite his inability to read music. He quickly established a reputation in Los Angeles studio circles, performing on sessions for Ricky Nelson, Randy Newman, the Monkees, and even Pat Boone. Along with friends and fellow session musicians Gib Guilbeau, Gene Parsons, and Wayne Moore, Clarence formed what many consider to be the first country-rock group, Nashville West in 1966. Although enjoying the groundbreaking music he was creating with Nashville West, Clarence was making a far better living as a studio musician. That year (1966), Clarence's legendary association with the Byrds began. While recording and briefly touring with former Byrd Gene Clark and the Gosdin Brothers, Clarence became friends with Chris Hillman, who invited him to contribute his distinctive guitar to two songs on the Byrds' Younger Than Yesterday album sessions. Both of the songs, "Time Between" and "The Girl With No Name" were stylistic departures for the Byrds, featuring a distinct country flavoring that was greatly enhanced by Clarence. He would be invited back for sessions on the next two Byrds albums as well before joining full time, rejuvenating the group as a live performing band in the process.