James White is/was James Chance of the James Chance & The Contortions in a more jazzy disco version of the Contortions. The Contortions were a New York based band in the late 1970's that first appeared on a compilation produced by Brian Eno entitled No New York. The Contortions were the funkiest of the lot, led by James Chance on vocals and screeching sax. They became "James White and the Blacks" for their second album (presumably taking another name to get around Contortions record contracts).

Read more about James White and The Blacks on Last.fm.