The History of Arthur White: The Sweet World

The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Will to Art on 2 January 2013.

In the early seventies, music was evolving at a rapid pace, and both Arthur and Will understood that Arthur White and The Five Wits' brand of hard-rocking Motown covers were too old-fashioned.

Arthur was heavily influenced by the new directions of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and Curtis Mayfield. Will just knew it was time for something new, and that the Five Wits weren't the right vehicle for Arthur's songwriting anyways. Luckily, the other Wits were off to college or were too busy with their assembly line jobs and wished Arthur luck. Arthur and Will put out ads and assembled the new group, which they both decided they should call The Sweet World of Arthur White. Arthur liked the name because all he had ever wanted to do was tell the story of The Sweet World, which still occupied his dreams even if it wasn't as vibrant as it used to be. Will liked the name because it was a big middle finger to everyone who had ever messed with his brother, and because it capitalized on the success of the Arthur White brand.

The Sweet World combined Arthur's Motown influences with psychedelic and folk elements plus Arthur's mystical lyrics. The band was a huge local smash and Will made getting the band to California, cutting a demo, and getting signed a one-year goal. Will worked hard on this goal and succeeded, but he did so with a type of single-mindedness that kept him from being an empathetic brother. The more the band worked, the more Arthur lost his mystical connection to the real Sweet World. That, coupled with the loss of his mother, led him to get married too early to Agniesczka, a childhood friend  Arthur reconnected with on tour.

Unfortunately, Arthur idealized her for the child she used to be, just as he idealized his own childhood as a way of retreating from the miseries of middle school. One night Arthur touched a woman during one of the Sweet World's more intense numbers, and she had a mystical experience that unnerved him. Will made Arthur make touching a woman's cheek and singing directly to her part of the act, and the sexual-mystical-spiritual confusion that resulted terrified Arthur and also drove him to an early marriage so that he could stay chaste if not celibate.

On top of all that, The Sweet World wasn't like the Five Wits: it hadn't evolved out of the friendship of neighborhood buddies and family members, but out of a search for great players. Those great players brought a lot of habits with them that kept Arthur distant from them. He was always afraid of guys because of the bullying and never was very good at making friends with them and, on top of that, it seemed like the only way to spend time with the guys on their terms was to chase girls and party. By the time the first album was recorded, Arthur was in a steady pattern of running from the band to Will, from Will to Agniesczka and the kids, from Agniesczka and the kids into prayer, from prayer into songwriting, and so on.  Every part of Arthur's life attracted him and terrified him, every part was sanctuary and cause to flee.

Then, a bunch of horrible stuff happened all at once.