The Whites

Down Home Folks

The Whites are a country, bluegrass and gospel vocal group centered on Buck White on mandolin and piano and his daughters Sharon on guitar and Cheryl on bass, with a fourth sister, Rosanna, singing high harmony at times. Buck, born December 13, 1930 in Fort Worth, worked as a plumber by day and a pianist and mandolin player by night; Bluegrass Today gives a different birth year and place, 1934 in Oklahoma City. He formed the Down Home Folks in Fort Smith, Arkansas after 1952, and a well-received show at Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom festival in 1971 led them to Nashville. Their debut LP, Buck White and the Down Home Folks (County), came out in 1972, which Wikipedia treats as the founding date. Emmylou Harris first heard them in 1975, and the sisters sang backing vocals on her Blue Kentucky Girl (1978 or 1979, depending on the source) and toured with her.

Their first country chart single, "Send Me the Pillow You Dream On" (1981), reached 66, and "You Put the Blue in Me" (1982) reached 10; "Hangin' Around" reached 9, "I Wonder Who's Holding My Baby Tonight" 9, and "Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling" and "Pins and Needles" 10. Ricky Skaggs produced several of the hits. Old Familiar Feeling (June 1983, Curb and Warner Bros.) reached 22 on the country album chart, and they were nominated for the CMA Horizon Award in 1983. They joined the Grand Ole Opry on March 2, 1984.

O Brother and after

A Lifetime in the Making (August 15, 2000, produced with the dobro player Jerry Douglas) preceded their appearance on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack with "Keep on the Sunny Side" and in the Down from the Mountain concert film. Follow Me Back to the Fold was the IBMA recorded event of the year in 2001, and they received the IBMA's distinguished achievement award in 2006. Salt of the Earth (September 25, 2007), with Ricky Skaggs, reached number one on the bluegrass chart and won the Grammy for best Southern, country or bluegrass gospel album. They entered the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame on August 16, 2008. Buck White died on January 13, 2025, aged 94, and the group returned to the Opry in August 2025. Skaggs Family Records calls them the new first family of country music, in the manner of the Carters.