Tour Bus Leasing - Custom Touring Coaches - Serving Entertainment Industry - Entertainers Home on Wheels

Ellis White is from Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born into a large family (the baby of 13), and he has always loved music from an early age. Inspired early on by artists such as The 5 Blind Boys, The Consolers, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Shirley Ceaser, he began singing and performing at the age of 10, and that is where he found his love for country music. Overwhelmed by the talents of artists like Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap and The Oakridge Boys, he began to supplement his charismatic voice by learning to play several instruments. He had a natural affinity for percussion and drums remain his passion to this day. In 1978 Ellis decided to follow his artistic dreams to be a musician by moving to Nashville, Tennessee. Before he could begin auditions, another aspect of the entertainment industry caught his attention and he started to pursue an interest in the music touring business. Always a hard worker, Ellis began his career cleaning coaches on a freelance basis as he learned everything there was to know about how they worked. He was not aware the business was seasonal, and when things slowed down that first winter, he was offered a job by the legendary “Godfather” of the coach industry, Milo Legget, who owned Loch Raven Coach Company. Ellis worked for two years with Mr. Legget, earning the respect of his colleagues and paying his dues to the business. In early 1980, a man by the name of Bob Lyons recognized the dedication and hard work Ellis had achieved and offered him his first position as a driver. His initial task was to take a group of people to the World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. When he returned, everyone was so impressed by his work that he was sent out immediately on tour with a group called the Dazz Band, who had the number one hit on Billboard Magazine at the time. For two years he worked with Mr. Lyons until he met Gary Morris, and began a relationship with the country artist as a driver and friend. This continued until 1988, when Mr. Morris announced his early semi retirement and appealed to Mr. White to continue his career in the coach leasing business, offering to do what he could to transfer ownership of his coach and equipment to Mr. White. In 1988 Showtime Transportation was born, the first stop on the road to excellence. Ellis shared an office with his former mentor, Gary Morris, good friend Steve Small of Smalltime Management and their office assistant, Faith Hill. Ms. Hill took good care of the three fellows for a year until her star began to rise in the early 90’s. Ellis has worked with many clients, such as Dave Matthews Band, Wyclef Jean and Chaka Kahn to name a few. In 1992 Ellis was looking to turn his transportation company into a business with brand recognition, to branch out and encompass so many aspects of the industry. He thought long and hard and decided the name Tour Bus Leasing is what he does and the identity he wanted to achieve; so he renamed the company and excelled in many other areas, such as Corporate Promotion, with companies like the HOB, Tommy Hilfiger and The Discovery Channel as well as Music Tours and even the management and promotion of celebrities around the world. With 26 years of experience in so many aspects of the community and entertainment business, it is easy to see why Ellis White / Tour Bus Leasing leads the industry with excellence of service.