Buck White of The Whites passes away
His family (daughters Sharon, Cheryl, Rosie and Melissa) today said, "The Lord answered our prayers and took our daddy home peacefully this morning at 8:00 a.m. We are so thankful for his 94 years on this earth. He was a great Dad who taught us by example to put Jesus first always. His great loves were the Lord, our mother, his family and music. Most people will remember him not only for being a great musician and entertainer, but also for being fun-loving and full of mischief. He lived a full life and finished well."
Buck White was born Dec. 13, 1930. He grew up playing music and started playing in dances wrestling arenas and auditoriums. He held down a day job as a plumber, while playing piano and mandolin at night.
Tired of the honky tonk lifestyle, the Whites White moved to Arkansas in 1961. Within months, Buck and his wife Pat were once again making music, forming a band with another couple that eventually called themselves the Down Home Folks. As Sharon and Cheryl grew, they, too, were drawn to music at first forming the Down Home Kids with the children of other Down Home Folks members in the mid-1960s, then moving up to join their parents in a growing number of bluegrass festival appearances.
Sharon was on bass when she was 12 and moved to guitar when Cheryl starting playing bass.
The Whites, (collectively Buck White and daughters Sharon White-Skaggs and Cheryl White) performed together as a family act and came to Nashville to pursue a career in music in 1971.
The first big turning point for The Whites came that same year when a successful trip to Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom festival convinced the family that they should move to Nashville and pursue a music career. Though Pat retired from the band in 1973, Buck White and the Down Home Folks began their recording career, featuring the striking family harmonies and top-notch instrumental work
Their first release was "Buck White & the Down Home Folks" in 1972 on County Records
In the 1980s, The Whites scored their first Top 10, "You Put The Blue In Me," as well as "Hangin' Around," "Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling," and "Pins And Needles," – the latter all produced by Sharon's husband, country and bluegrass star Ricky Skaggs (the two married in 1981), culminating in the induction as members of the Grand Ole Opry in 1984.
The Whites' collaboration with Skaggs, "Salt of the Earth," won the 2008 Grammy for Best Southern/Country/Bluegrass Album.
The Whites, hand-picked for their involvement in the movie and soundtrack, O Brother, Where Art Thou? led to considerable industry recognition – including a GRAMMY win in the Album of the Year category. They also received Album of the Year trophies from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards. .
They would later record for Sugar Hill and Curb, recording their two most recent albums with Skaggs Family Music in 2007 and 2014.
The Whites celebrated 40 years as Grand Ole Opry members last March.
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