The Whites are a country music trio made up of Buck White and his daughters Sharon White and Cheryl White. In business since 1972, they are one of the longest-lived family bands in the country music world, dating back to 1947 when Buck White (b. 1930) first formed the group. After the birth of his two daughters, Sharon in 1953 and Cheryl in 1955, he moved to Arkansas with his wife Pat and formed Buck White & the Down Home Folks with another couple, Arnold and Peggy Johnston. In 1972, the family moved to Nashville and, while the Johnstons went their separate ways, the Whites changed the band's name to The Whites. Following Sharon White's marriage to Ricky Skaggs in 1981, seven albums were recorded up to 2001, including Old Familiar Feeling (1983) and its five country chart hits, Forever You (1984), Whole New World (1985) and Ain't No Binds (1987). In 2000, their version of the classic "Keep on the Sunny Side" was featured on the soundtrack to the Grammy Award-winning film O Brother, Where Are Thou? In 2007, Ricky Skaggs and The Whites joined forces for the album Salt of the Earh, honored with a Grammy Award in the country, bluegrass and gospel category, the three styles played by the band. The Whites were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1984, and into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Buck White died on January 13, 2025 at the age of 94.
