OCEANSIDE — Rhino Entertainment re-released the album "Changin' Times" in 2026 for its 50th anniversary. The six-track album was originally released in 1971 by White, who recorded it while incarcerated.
White was convicted for the 1964 killing of John Stavropoulos, a grocery store owner in Oakland, during a robbery. He was incarcerated at age 19 and attempted suicide by hanging following his conviction. White was held at San Quentin State Prison, where he was incarcerated alongside Black Power activist George Jackson, who was killed in 1971. In 1971, White helped organize a concert called Malcolm X Day at San Quentin for over one thousand inmates.
White performed in an inmate band at San Quentin, where the warden held weekly public tours. These tours allowed visitors to eat in the cafeteria, view the execution chamber, and watch inmate bands perform. While incarcerated, White used the alias "Ikedelic," directed a church choir, and wrote songs in multiple musical styles. Both of his parents were professional pianists.
Producer Jerry Goldstein arranged to record White's album at Tehachapi State Prison. Administrators at Tehachapi State Prison allowed producers to convert a vacant building into a recording studio. Drummer Greg Errico, formerly of Sly and the Family Stone, produced the album and played on it. Santana bassist Doug Rauch also played bass on the album, which includes instrumental tracks named after White's sister, Antoinette, and George Jackson.
Record labels initially rejected "Changin' Times" before White's producers independently released it. While incarcerated, White married Debborah, his producer's secretary. Stevie Wonder later paid for a lawyer to help secure White's parole. Author Colin Asher wrote the book "The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music," which features White.
Asher stated, "There were tons of weapons, it was dangerous, and the guards said lots of racist shit, but also Ike White could get a keyboard and play all night." White's wife and their two children died in a car crash. During his life after prison, White faced multiple abuse allegations. Daniel Vernon directed the documentary "The Changin' Times of Ike White." White died by suicide in 2014 at his home in Oceanside. Asher said, "I wanted a story that drove home that prison is not just an incubator of talent. It is something that does people great harm."