In March of that same year, another Commercial Entertainments act, Desmond Dekker and the Aces, topped the UK chart with "Israelites." One of reggae's earliest crossover successes, "Israelites" reached the pinnacle position on numerous charts throughout Europe and peaked at no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. In an interview included in Michael de Koningh and Marc Griffiths' "Tighten Up: The Story of British Reggae" White cited "Israelites" as "the record that acquainted the ordinary British record buyer with the reggae sound."
Following the commercial breakthrough of "Israelites," White and Cousins began producing Jamaican music on their own Creole Records label, often licensing their work to Trojan Records using the pseudonymous production name Bruce Anthony. They also created several Creole Records subsidiaries including Cactus, Revue, Glitter and Winner. With a steady release of best-selling singles that included "Irie Feelings" by Rupie Edwards, Desmond Dekker's "Sing A Little Song" and numerous bawdy tracks from Judge Dread (real name: Alex Hughes), the first white reggae artist to have a hit in Jamaica, Creole Records became the U.K.'s most profitable Jamaican music venture by the mid '70s. The label also triumphed with soul and mainstream acts including Ruby Winters, the Chequers and Boney M.
White and Cousins struck an agreement with Jamaican bandleader Byron Lee's Kingston based label Dynamic Sounds in the late '70s, which yielded several reggae hits for Creole Records throughout Europe including Jamaican balladeer Barry Biggs' "Wide Awake In A Dream," Sophia George's dancehall smash "Girlie Girlie" and the label's first U.K. no.1, Boris Gardiner's romantic "I Want To Wake Up With You."
Creole Records continued to sign and release new recordings through the end of the 1990s, at which time White decided to focus on the label's extensive back catalogue. However, the death of business partner Tony Cousins, along with changes in prevailing styles, dampened White's interest in the music business.
In 2003 White sold Creole Records to the Sanctuary Records Group. Universal Music bought Sanctuary in 2007 and acquired ownership of the Creole Records catalogue.
White continued to run Creole Publishing, which he and Cousins established shortly after founding their label. White's son Julian, who worked with his father for 20 years and now operates his own artist management company, Urban Influence UK Limited, says the family has not yet decided the fate of Creole Publishing, which he estimates has tens of thousands of song titles.
In addition to his son Julian, Bruce White leaves behind his wife Sue White and his daughter Natalie White. Funeral services will be held in London on Monday.
