Ricky Skaggs Reveals the Whites Founder Buck White Has Died

Ricky Skaggs shared sad news with his followers on social media on Monday (Jan. 13). Buck White, founder of the Grammy Award-winning bluegrass trio the Whites, has died.

Buck White joined daughters Sharon and Cheryl White to form the Whites when the girls were young. Sharon would later marry Skaggs, who would frequently collaborate with the family patriarch for live shows or recordings.

As a group, they notched several Top 10 and Top 20 singles on the country airplay charts in the 1980s. “You Put the Blue in Me,” “Hangin’ Around” and “I Wonder Who’s Holding My Baby Tonight” from the Old Familiar Feeling album were first, but they maintained a presence on country radio until the turn of the decade.

The group would become celebrated bluegrass artists through the turn of the century and were part of the Grammy-winning O Brother, Where Art Thou? album in 2001.

Skaggs forwarded a message from the four White daughters on his own Facebook page.

“The Lord answered our prayers and took our daddy, Buck White, home peacefully this morning at 8:00 a.m.,” the note reads. “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. –his daughters, Sharon, Cheryl, Rosie and Melissa

Buck White was a talented pianist who often performed with Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb and more. In the early 1960s, he and wife Pat moved the family from Texas to Arkansas, and that’s when the family band became real. At first, the couple performed with another couple, calling themselves the Down Home Folks (with the Down Home Kids).

The name stuck into the 1970s, when they moved to Nashville and began recording. Pat retired in 1973, and within a decade, Skaggs had his hands on the music, helping to produce their breakout project.

In 1984, the Whites became Grand Ole Opry members. In 2008, the group was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. Lifetime, they have two Grammys of five nominations, in addition to awards and nominations at the CMAs, ACMs and more.