Biography
Buck White spearheaded the new traditional movement that swept through country music during the 1980s and early 1990s. Alongside daughters Cheryl on bass and Sharon on guitar, his ensemble the Whites charted such numbers as "Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling" and "Wonder Who's Holding My Baby Tonight." Members of the Grand Ole Opry since 1984, the Whites earned the label "the first family of country music" from Country Music U.S.A.
Born in rural Oklahoma, White spent his formative years in Abilene, Texas. Soon after marrying his wife Pat, he performed with various local Western swing outfits. After a brief stay in Arkansas during the early 1960s that found him immersed in traditional bluegrass, he relocated to Nashville and embraced country music. Though he and Pat cut sides for several independent imprints, White augmented his earnings through construction work. In 1966 he formed the family outfit the Down Home Folks, which included his wife, daughters, and the husband-and-wife duo Arnold and Peggy Johnston. The ensemble captured its debut tracks via a makeshift remote rig inside a Nashville motel room. Momentum increased in 1981 when the act signed to Capitol and scored a minor country entry with "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On." The next year the group moved to Elektra and landed its initial Top Ten successes, "You Put the Blue in Me" and "Hangin' Around."
A pivotal shift occurred in 1983 when Dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas entered the lineup, remaining until 1987. Four years earlier, in 1979, the Whites had recorded alongside Douglas, Roland White of the Kentucky Colonels and the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and Sharon’s eventual husband Ricky Skaggs. They subsequently opened dates for Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band, which featured Skaggs on mandolin and guitar. While the bulk of White’s discography appeared with the Down Home Folks and the Whites, he also released solo sets such as 1978’s Poor Folks Pleasure and 1980’s More Pretty Girls Than One. Buck White died on January 13, 2025, at the age of 94. ~ Craig Harris
Born in rural Oklahoma, White spent his formative years in Abilene, Texas. Soon after marrying his wife Pat, he performed with various local Western swing outfits. After a brief stay in Arkansas during the early 1960s that found him immersed in traditional bluegrass, he relocated to Nashville and embraced country music. Though he and Pat cut sides for several independent imprints, White augmented his earnings through construction work. In 1966 he formed the family outfit the Down Home Folks, which included his wife, daughters, and the husband-and-wife duo Arnold and Peggy Johnston. The ensemble captured its debut tracks via a makeshift remote rig inside a Nashville motel room. Momentum increased in 1981 when the act signed to Capitol and scored a minor country entry with "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On." The next year the group moved to Elektra and landed its initial Top Ten successes, "You Put the Blue in Me" and "Hangin' Around."
A pivotal shift occurred in 1983 when Dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas entered the lineup, remaining until 1987. Four years earlier, in 1979, the Whites had recorded alongside Douglas, Roland White of the Kentucky Colonels and the Nashville Bluegrass Band, and Sharon’s eventual husband Ricky Skaggs. They subsequently opened dates for Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band, which featured Skaggs on mandolin and guitar. While the bulk of White’s discography appeared with the Down Home Folks and the Whites, he also released solo sets such as 1978’s Poor Folks Pleasure and 1980’s More Pretty Girls Than One. Buck White died on January 13, 2025, at the age of 94. ~ Craig Harris
Albums
