Born in Pelton, County Durham, White began learning to play the piano at age six and after switching to drums, played publicly with a local band at 13. Later he worked with a number of bands during the late 1960s, notably the Alan Price Set, before being invited to join Ginger Baker's Airforce with Steve Winwood in 1968.

The following year, 1969, White received a call from John Lennon (he thought it was a prankster) asking him to join the Plastic Ono Band for a show that became the hit album, Live Peace in Toronto. He also performed with Lennon on the legendary Imagine album and the single, "Instant Karma". When Lennon introduced White to fellow Beatle alumnus, George Harrison, he was asked to perform on the All Things Must Pass album, including the single, "My Sweet Lord".

In 1972, White was touring with Joe Cocker when he received an invitation to join Yes, to replace Bill Bruford who had left to join King Crimson. Three days after meeting with Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, White played at the first show of the group's US Close to the Edge tour. Despite the fact that White had spent time in the studio with the band and even tried playing some of the Close to the Edge material, it is something of a legend that he learned the entire repertoire of extremely complex music in just three days. White and the band gave each other three months to see if he fit in, and over thirty years later, he has appeared on every Yes album since.

Alan White released his only solo album, Ramshackled, in 1976. However, it is usually considered a White solo album in name only, as everything except the drumming (and including all the songwriting) is done by the various musicians White gathered to help with the project.

In addition to his drum playing, White has played piano and written music for several Yes albums. When he is not performing with Yes or travelling around the world conducting drum clinics