Whites
Bands / Ensembles
The Whites are a country, bluegrass and gospel family band made up of Buck White (mandolin, piano, vocals) and his daughters Sharon White (guitar, vocals) and Cheryl White (bass, vocals). Buck White, born in 1930 and raised in Abilene, Texas, played in Western swing bands before moving his family to Fort Smith, Arkansas, in the early 1960s. There he and his wife, Pat, formed the Down Home Folks with another couple, Arnold and Peggy Johnston. Sharon and Cheryl first performed as the Down Home Kids, then joined their parents at bluegrass festivals. After a 1971 performance at Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom festival, the family moved to Nashville and released its first album, Buck White & the Down Home Folks, on County Records in 1972. Pat retired from the band in 1973. As the Whites, the trio had country hits in the early 1980s, including "You Put the Blue in Me" and "Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling," produced by Ricky Skaggs, who married Sharon in 1981. The Whites joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1984 and were inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Their version of "Keep on the Sunny Side" appeared on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and they appeared in the film. Their 2007 album with Ricky Skaggs, Salt of the Earth, won a Grammy. Buck White died on January 13, 2025, at age 94.