The Whites

The Whites’ family harmony is the result of lots of practice—more than 30 years of singing together around the house and performing professionally on the road. Daddy Buck and daughters Cheryl, Sharon, and Rosie are all top-level singers and musicians individually. And when they hit the Opry stage together, it’s plain why their talents have made them one of country music’s all-time favorite family acts.

Father Buck, a fine mandolinist and piano player, was raised in Texas, where he was exposed early on to the Lone Star State’s rich heritage of swing and honky-tonk, and learned the then-new bluegrass style as well.

Buck’s skills on the piano landed him early gigs with the Opry’s Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb and others. He married Pat Goza in 1951 and in 1962, they moved from Texas to Arkansas, where they began performing with another couple as the Down Home Folks. Their children performed as the Down Home Kids.

By the mid-’60s, the family was well known in bluegrass circles, and when the younger Whites decided they wanted to sing professionally, the family moved to Nashville in 1971. During their first years in Nashville, they performed as the Down Home folks and recorded several bluegrass albums.

In 1973, mother Pat retired from the group, and in 1975, the Whites played a Washington, D.C. show with Emmylou Harris. That association led to Sharon and Cheryl’s providing background vocals on Harris’ 1978 Blue Kentucky Girl album.

The Harris connection also led to a renewed friendship with Ricky Skaggs, who was playing in Emmylou’s Hot Band at the time. The family had met Ricky when he played bluegrass with Ralph Stanley, and he ended up playing fiddle and singing with the Whites on a Far Eastern tour in 1979. Two years later Ricky and Sharon married.

By 1982, the Whites hit mainstream country radio with a sound built on ear-catching harmonies, gliding dobro by Jerry Douglas and strong song selection. Their first Top 10 hit, “You Put the Blue in Me,” was followed by “Pins and Needles,” “Wonder Who’s Holding My Baby Tonight,” and “Hanging Around.”

The family act joined the Opry cast in 1984. Buck remembers: “I got mighty excited.”

The group enjoyed another career highlight with on-screen roles in the 2000 hit movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? and its Grammy-winning soundtrack, contributing “Keep on the Sunny Side” to the project. They also appeared in Down From the Mountain, a documentary and CD featuring live performances of O Brother-themed tunes.

Today, the Whites continue to be a regular act on the Grand Ole Opry.