DeMerris Whitewing

Born in the San Jose Bay area to legendary pedal steel guitar pioneer Pee Wee Whitewing and Cajun multi-instrumentalist and gospel singer Doye Ann Thibodeaux Whitewing, DeMerris was deeply steeped in music from her conception. Raised singing southern gospel harmony with her family in and out of church, her soulful, powerful voice carried her through a decades long career in music. She began performing publicly as a lead vocalist in the Lafayette, Louisiana area with singer Gary Walker before touring with national act Spiral Staircase at only 19. In her early 20s, she recorded in Nashville with Buddy Emmons, releasing a single "I Still Make Believe It's You" which received local radio airplay. She shared the stage with countless regionally loved players in Southwest Louisiana, including T. K. Hulin and G. G. Shinn, before moving to Central Florida in the late 1980s, where there was more opportunity to work full-time in music fronting show bands. Once there, she joined an established show band called "Thriller", which had previously recorded under the name "National Scene" and led by guitarist John Abaldo, and was a feature of the greater Orlando music scene for the remainder of her career with this act, with brief departures to fill in with the Paradise Band and in an original project with her cousin Kip Bacque called "Whitewing". In Thriller for a time she shared the lead with Lillie Nicole McCloud, who she says was the best vocalist she ever worked with. Performing with Thriller by night, she also recorded for Reebok with Muscle Mixes Music and was the voice of the early House/Techno scene coming out of Orlando, recording with DJ Icee/Icey. Songs like "Sweet Harmony" and "You Want My Love" experienced wide popularity not only in Orlando but in the larger scene as well. While she did not receive full credit for her contributions due to the niche nature of the house music scene, on all of the recordings that she did with DJ Icey, her vocal contributions are melodically her own original creations. Best known for her powerful, emotive live vocals, and often referred to as "the white Whitney Houston", DeMerris was nominated for a Jammy award in the Central Florida music scene. Widely loved not only for her talent, but for her beauty, kindness, and generosity, DeMerris continues to work in a different career, but her contribution to music will not be forgotten.