Gwen McCrae born 21 December 1943

Gwen McCrae (December 21, 1943 – February 21, 2025) was an American singer, best known for her 1975 hit "Rockin' Chair". Known in the music industry as the "Queen of Rare Groove", McCrae's gospel, soul, disco and funk vocals have been heavily sampled by industry leaders in dance music. 

Gwendolyn Patricia Mosley was born in Pensacola, Florida, the youngest of five children. She and her siblings were raised by their mother after the early death of their father. Mosley began performing in local clubs as a teenager, and singing with local groups like the Lafayettes and the Independents. In 1963, she met a young sailor named George McCrae, whom she married within a week. The couple had two children together, and she had two children from other relationships. 

Gwen and George McCrae began recording as a duo; the couple got a recording contract with Henry Stone's TK Records. In 1967, singer Betty Wright helped get them signed to Stone's Alston record label. Signed to TK subsidiary Cat, as a solo artist, she found success on the U.S. R&B charts with a cover of Bobby Bland's "Lead Me On" in 1970, followed by "For Your Love". 

                                   

Following husband George's solo success with "Rock Your Baby", Gwen went on to have a major hit of her own in March 1975 with "Rockin' Chair" which reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one on the R&B chart. The follow-up "Love Insurance" also made the R&B chart (#16).Music critic Robert Christgau said "Rockin' Chair" is "almost as irresistibly Memphis-cum-disco-with-a-hook as hubby's 'Rock Your Baby.'" 

Gwen & George McCrae

In 1972, she recorded the song "Always on My Mind". The song was later popularized by Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and the Pet Shop Boys and also covered by several other artists. After TK Records collapsed, McCrae moved to New Jersey and signed with Atlantic Records, recording two albums and saw one of her singles, "Funky Sensation", reach #22 on the R&B chart in 1981. In 1982, she had a moderate R&B hit with "Keep the Fire Burning". She continued to record and some of her earlier recordings on the UK's Northern Soul scene maintained her popularity as a live act in Europe. McCrae moved back to the United States, to Florida, recorded a one-off single for the small Black Jack label in 1984 called "Do You Know What I Mean", and then temporarily retired from the music industry. 

McCrae traveled to the UK to record a couple of singles for Rhythm King Records in 1987. She also recorded an album for a British label called Homegrown Records in 1996, titled Girlfriend's Boyfriend. She gained a strong following within the soul and rare groove scenes among record collectors and DJ’s in the UK and Europe and was crowned the Queen of Rare Groove. 

Upon returning to the U.S., she signed with the revived Goldwax label, distributed by Ichiban Records, and recorded another album, Psychic Hot Line. In 1999, the French house music duo Cassius released the single "Feeling for You", which sampled the vocals of McCrae's "All This Love That I'm Giving". It was a Top 20 hit on the UK Singles Chart. The track also appeared on Cassius' album, 1999. In 1999, her single "Funky Sensation" was sampled in the German single "Get Up," by DJ Thomilla featuring Afrob. 

In 2004, McCrae released her first gospel album. In 2008, rap DJ and producer Madlib released his album, WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip which includes the song "Gamble on Ya Boy", based on a "I Found Love" sample, from McCrae's album, Melody of Life. In 2005, McCrae teamed up with the Soulpower organization, which is also responsible for the comebacks of Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins, Martha High, Bobby Byrd and RAMP. Her collaboration with Soulpower resulted in various live performances with the Soulpower All-Stars. 

In 2007, she appeared on several songs on Sounding Rick’s “Living in the Acoustic Projects” and again on his 2009 album “Blabbermouth”. Gwen McCrae released her latest single "Now I Found Love" in December 2010, released through Plain Truth Entertainment. "Now I Found Love" was mixed and produced by Steve Sola and composed by David Seagal. In June 2012, after performing on stage in England, she had a stroke which resulted in paralysis on the left side of her body and the inability to walk. 

McCrae died at a care home in Miami on February 21, 2025, at the age of 81 after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Gwen McCrae Facebook page)

 

Bobby Timmons born 19 December 1935

Robert Henry Timmons (December 19, 1935 – March 1, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer.

Timmons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a minister. He had a sister, Eleanor. Both of his parents, and several aunts and uncles, played the piano. From an early age Timmons studied music with an uncle, Robert Habershaw, who also taught McCoy Tyner. Timmons first played at the church where his grandfather was minister; this influenced his later jazz playing. He grew up in the same area as other future musicians, including the Heath brothers (Jimmy, Percy, and Tootie) and Lee Morgan. Timmons' first professional performances were in his local area, often as a trio that included Tootie Heath on drums. After graduating from high school Timmons was awarded a scholarship to study at the Philadelphia Musical Academy. 

Timmons moved to New York in 1954. He played with Kenny Dorham in 1956, making his recording debut with the trumpeter in a live set in May of that year. He went on to play and record with Chet Baker in 1956–57 (bassist Scott LaFaro was part of this band for a time), Sonny Stitt in 1957, and Maynard Ferguson in 1957–58. He also recorded as a sideman with hornmen Curtis Fuller, Hank Mobley, and Morgan. all for Blue Note Records in 1957. 

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers

Timmons became best known as a member of Art Blakey's band the Jazz Messengers, which he was first part of from July 1958 to September 1959, including for a tour of Europe. He was recruited for the Messengers by saxophonist Benny Golson, who said that "He was inventive, he could play bebop and he could play funky, he could play a lot of things, and I thought it was the element that Art needed. He hadn't had anybody quite like Bobby, who could go here or go there, rather than walking in a single corridor." By late 1958 Timmons was sharing bandmate Morgan's East Sixth Street apartment and the pair had bought a piano, allowing Timmons to practice and Morgan to work on composing.  From around the time he joined Blakey, Timmons, along with some of his fellow band members, was a heroin user.  After leaving Blakey, Timmons joined Cannonball Adderley's band, in October 1959. 

                                   

Timmons was also known as a composer during this period: The Encyclopedia of Jazz states that his compositions "Moanin', "This Here", and "Dat Dere" "helped generate the gospel-tinged 'soul jazz' style of the late '50s and early '60s."   Timmons was reported to be dissatisfied with the money he had received from "This Here", and was enticed in February 1960 into leaving Adderley and returning to Blakey's band by the offer of more pay. Timmons then appeared on further well-known albums with the drummer, including A Night in Tunisia, The Freedom Rider and The Witch Doctor. His own recording debut as sole leader was This Here Is Bobby Timmons in 1960, which contained his first versions of his best-known compositions. 

Timmons left Blakey for the second time in June 1961, encouraged by the success of his compositions, including jukebox plays of "Dat Dere", which Oscar Brown had recorded after adding lyrics Timmons then formed his own bands, initially with Ron Carter on bass and Tootie Heath on drums. In the initial stages of this trio, Timmons liked the group sounds of the trios led by Red Garland and Ahmad Jamal. According to Tootie Heath, Timmons was at the peak of his fame at that point, but was addicted to heroin, and used a lot of the money that the band was paid maintaining his habit. 

Timmons started playing vibes in the mid 960s. He occasionally played organ, but recorded only one track on that instrument – a 1964 version of "Moanin'" on From the Bottom. Recordings as a leader continued, usually as part of a trio or quartet, but, after joining Milestone Records around 1967, Timmons' album Got to Get It! featured him as part of a nonet, playing arrangements by Tom McIntosh. Timmons' career declined quickly in the 1960s, in part because of drug abuse and alcoholism. In 1968 he made his second - and final - recording for Milestone, Do You Know the Way? In the following year, he played in a quartet led by Sonny Red, with Dexter Gordon on one of the saxophonist's temporary returns to the US from Europe, and in a trio backing vocalist Etta Jones. 

Timmons continued to play in the early 1970s, mostly in small groups or in combination with other pianists, and mainly in the New York area. According to saxophonist Jimmy Heath, Timmons joined Clark Terry's big band for a tour of Europe in 1974. He was unwell and drank on the plane to Sweden, and fell while drinking at the bar before the band's first concert, in Malmö. Susceptible to blood clotting, he was flown back to the US. On March 1, 1974, he died from cirrhosis, at the age of 38, at St Vincent's Hospital in New York. 

Though many would be led to believe that he was just another tragic figure in the annals of jazz, others admire the man for his sheer volume of work, his participation and contribution with two of the best ensembles, and his influence, to whatever degree in jazz piano. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & All About Jazz) 

Here’s “Moanin' played by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Drums: Art Blakey, Trumpet: Lee Morgan, Tenor Sax: Benny Golson, Piano: Bobby Timmons, Bass: Jymie Merritt 

Sonny Red born 17 December 1932

Sylvester Kyner Jr. (December 17, 1932 – March 20, 1981), known as Sonny Red, was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist and composer associated with the hard bop idiom among other styles. 

Sylvester Kyner was born in Belzoni, Mississippit o Lottie and Jeff Kiner. Although he had four siblings he was the only family member whose last name was spelled with a “y,” as verified on his birth certificate. The first four years of his life were spent with his family in Humphreys County, Mississippi. In the spring of 1936, lack of educational opportunities and poor living conditions compelled Lottie and her five children to board a Greyhound bus and flee north to Detroit, Michigan, where they moved in with Lottie’s sister. At some point in the late 1930s, the family moved to Detroit where life was still difficult but with hard work and extreme determination, she was able to successfully raise her family. 

In the early- to mid-1940s, Sonny Red took his first saxophone lessons from William Gardner on the C melody saxophone, an instrument originally given to his sister Marie. Eventually he would trade in the C melody for a Conn New Wonder alto saxophone. From the fall of 1947 to 1952, Red attended Detroit’s Northern High School, dropping out temporarily for the 1950-1951 school year. At Northern he formed close musical relationships with Curtis Fuller, Kiane Zawadi, Donald Byrd, Barry Harris, Paul Chambers and Tommy Flanagan. Some of these relationships were formed in the concert band led by Orville Lawrence. Lawrence exposed his students to many different types of music, and encouraged them to try other instruments. Red also met and played with other teenagers in Detroit during informal jam/practice sessions at the homes of Barry Harris and Joe Brazil. 

It’s difficult to determine the source of Sylvester Kyner’s nickname, “Sonny Red,” but opinions point to “Sonny” being a common nickname for a boy growing up in the 1930s and 1940s, and “Red” referring to Sylvester’s natural red hair. For an industrial arts shop project in high school, he used a router to etch the name “Sonny Red” into a finished board. Professionally his name would be in flux. It has been noted that over the years he has also been named as Sonny Redd, Sonny Red Kyner and Sylvester "Sonny Red” Kyner. 

                                   

After graduating from high school in 1952, Sonny Red performed in many of the best jazz clubs in Detroit. He frequently gigged and sat in at Klein’s Show Bar, The Crystal Show Bar, The Twenty Grand, The World Stage, The Rouge Lounge, The Blue Bird Inn and The Mirror Ballroom. Sonny also participated in frequent jam sessions at The West End Hotel, a popular after-hours spot for musicians.

Sonny & Elena

Besides working steadily with Barry Harris, Red had a few opportunities to sit in with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Yusef Lateef and Sonny Stitt. Other early gigs included trombonist Frank Rosolino’s combo in April-May 1954 at Klein’s Show Bar, three days with Billie Holiday sometime during 1954, and Art Blakey’s group during the fall of 1954 in Philadelphia. 

Sonny Red and Elena Knox were married in February 1960. Tommy Flanagan signed the marriage license. Two years later, on June 4, 1962, their daughter Nicole Kyner was born. Red’s publishing company, established in the 1960s, was named “Nadianicole” after his two daughters.

During the late 1950s through the 1970s, Sonny Red was at his finest as a recording artist and sideman. His work with Art Blakey, Jimmy Heath, Donald Byrd, Kenny Dorham, Blue Mitchell, Barry Harris, Bobby Timmons, Howard McGhee, Yusef Lateef, Bill Hardman, Pony Poindexter, Philly Joe Jones, Curtis Fuller, Red Garland, Clifford Jordan, Tommy Flanagan, Roy Brooks, Grant Green, Elvin Jones and many others helped establish him as one of the best saxophonists in New York. 

During the early 1970s Sonny Red was very involved with the Jazzmobile program and Henry Street Settlement in New York. His teaching methods at Jazzmobile were very similar to the way he approached composition and playing: emphasis on sound, playing with feeling, the blues, and the importance of scales and theory. In 1976 Red received a $4000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to complete the composition and orchestration of a three-part jazz suite, entitled Cien Fuegos. One completed part exists from the suite: Song Samba, written for 17 instruments. 

Sonny’s declining health in the mid- to late 1970s brought him back to live with his mother at 233 Leicester in Detroit, though he frequently managed to return to New York for concerts. On December 9, 1979, a benefit concert was given for Red in Detroit, and the musicians and friends in attendance revealed how many people he had touched as a son, father, brother, musician and friend. Sonny died from complications of lymph node cancer in March 1981, at the age of 48. 

(Edited from Sonny Red Music)

Bob Dawdy born 16 December 1942

Bob Dawdy (December 16, 1942 - January 21, 2013) was best known as lead guitarist of the Velaires. 

Robert Edward Dawdy was born at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, the son of Richard and Mary (Green) Dawdy. The family moved to Sioux City in the late 1940’s. Bob was a self taught musician, who started playing at age 4. In 1958, at the age of 15, Bob became lead guitarist for The Screamers at Central High School, but they soon changed their name to The Flairs (not to be confused with the doo-wop group The Flairs based in Los Angeles). 

Their first record was a do-it-yourself effort recorded at Kay Bank studio in Minneapolis by The Screamers in 1959. The titles were I Dig and What Did I Do Wrong? This got some local and regional air play and helped promote bookings for the band. But then in early 1961, their lean years got better shortly after they drove to Oklahoma City and cut a tape with a version of Roll Over Beethoven as the Flairs. The band were headed for Norman Petty’s Clovis, New Mexico studio, but they never made it that far South, stopping in Oklahoma City for a session at Gene Sullivan’s studio there. They recorded five songs, but still had twenty minutes remaining on the clock, so the Flairs cut Roll Over Beethoven. It was a song they played so often on stage, that they dismissed its hit possibilities. 

Founding member Don Bourett said that the name change from The Flairs to The Velairs resulted from a problem with a recording company contract. When they needed to make a change, he explained: "We had just played the Vel Air Ballroom in Des Moines, so became the Velaires!', a slight difference in spelling of the ballroom, which has stuck ever since." Later in 1961, as The Velaires, they signed with Jamie Records and again released "Roll Over Beethoven" which leapt onto the Billboard charts rising to No. 51 nationally and reaching No. 1 in Los Angeles. 

                                    

The Velaires consisted of Bob Dawdy (lead guitar) , Danny Matusak (rhythm guitar), Jerry DeMers (bass) and Don Bourett (drums). All four were vocalist although Jerry and Dan did most of the singing on their recordings. These four original members remained together as the Screamers, the Flairs and finally the Velaires. The fifth Velaire was their full-time manager and booking agent, Dan's older brother, Richard "Dick" LaMiere Matousek. 

While "Roll Over Beethoven" was on the charts, The Velaires had the opportunity to appear on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in Philadelphia being the only-Iowa based group to have ever done so. They also joined the Caravan of Stars for a time. They would follow “Roll Over Beethoven” with eight more releases on such labels as Jamie Records, Mercury Records, Palm Records, Ramco Records and Brent Records. Other releases on Jamie Records included their cover of "Dream" (Johnny Mercer) and "Ubangi Stomp" (Earl Bostic). 

The original members would stay together until 1963 when Dan Matousek would reform the group and continue on until 1971 under the name of Danny and The Velaires. This band recorded in 1966 in Omaha several originals that received ample airplay, but never charted after "Roll Over Beethoven." 

After leaving Danny & the Velaires, Bob Dawdy performed concerts for many benefits, especially those for missing and exploited children. He shared his gift of music to anyone wishing to listen or learn. Bob taught thousands of people to play the guitar and other instruments. He taught at Flood Music, Midbell Music and from home. Some of his students went on to study music at Berklee in Boston. 

During 1996, the Velaires fans were treated to a reunion gig where the original band members played their old songs. The following year they band were inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. In April of 2013 the Velaires were inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, Bob was celebrated for his lifetime of music at The Chesterfield, which was also his last public performance. Following this performance, he fulfilled his lifetime dream of attending the 55th annual Monteray Jazz Fest along with his son, Bobby Jr. 

Bob Dawdy died on January 21, 2013, at home, in Sioux City, Iowa, at age 70. Founder member and drummer Don Bourett did his final gig as The Velaires with keyboardist Gene Ambroson, bassist Mike King, guitarist Bill “Chopper” Pelchat and saxophonist Dave Napier, during June 2019. Bourett died in Soux City on March 4, 2024. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, Waterbury Funeral Services obit & Sioux City Journal)

Randy Parton born 15 December 1953

Randy Parton (December 15, 1953 – January 21, 2021) was an American country music singer-songwriter, actor, and businessman. 

Randle Huston Parton was born in Sevierville, Tennessee, the eighth of twelve children born to Avie Lee Caroline (née Owens; 1923–2003) and Robert Lee Parton Sr. (1921–2000). He was a younger brother of singer-songwriters Dolly and Stella Parton and an older brother of former actress Rachel Parton George. 

Randy had a modest country music chart presence with two Top 30 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1981, "Hold Me Like You Never Had Me" (#30) and "Shot Full of Love" (#30), plus several other charting singles like "Don't Cry Baby" (#80) and "A Stranger in Her Bed" (#92) in the early '80s, but may be best known for "Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You," a chart-topping duet with his sister. He often shared stages with Dolly Parton, playing bass and guitar in her band. 

                                   

He released several singles that didn't chart as high or were non-album tracks, including "Tennessee Born" (1975) and "Roll On Eighteen Wheeler" (1982) which in 1984 was recorded by the band Alabama, and became the group's 12th straight No. 1 single. Also in 1984, Parton sang a song for the Rhinestone soundtrack; his sister Dolly starred in the film. He also played bass for his sister. He was a Dollywood fixture, connecting visitors to the musical East Tennessee family with popular live performances, including seasonal favorite "My People, My Music" at the park. He began hosting shows at Dollywood in 1986, according to Parton's post. 

Parton is also known for the theater that once bore his name in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. In 2007, he signed a deal worth over $1.5 million yearly to manage and perform in a new theater bearing his name in the Carolina Crossroads entertainment and shopping complex. 

The relationship between Parton and the city soured as the theater struggled to attract customers and questions arose concerning Parton's use of a nearly $3 million fund for personal travel and entertainment. Parton was also questioned by city leaders for unauthorized events held at the theater including a wedding reception for his daughter along with details about who would be marketing the theater. Throughout the controversy, Parton maintained that his actions were within the contract and that the theater would be successful given time. 

Parton's contract with the city was terminated on January 8, 2008, and the theater was renamed the Roanoke Rapids Theater. The city took over the theater and in July 2012 voted to allow electronic gambling to help pay expenses and possibly attract a buyer. 

Randy Parton last appeared on a album in 2020, singing with his sister on "You Are My Christmas." Dolly Parton dedicated the song to her brother, releasing it on her "A Holly Dolly Christmas" record. Randy Parton's daughter, Heidi, who also entertains at Dollywood, joined on the song. It was Randy’s last musical recording. 

Randy Parton died in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina of cancer on January 21, 2021, at age 67. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, The Tennessean, Billboard & Music Row) 

 

Phineas Newborn Jr. born 14 December 1931

Phineas Newborn Jr. (December 14, 1931 – May 26, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, whose principal influences were Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Bud Powell. 

Newborn was born in Whiteville, Tennessee, and came from a musical family: his father, Phineas Newborn Sr., was a drummer in blues bands, and his younger brother, Calvin, a jazz guitarist. He studied piano as well as trumpet, and tenor and baritone saxophone. 

Before moving on to work with Lionel Hampton, Charles Mingus, and others, Newborn first played in an R&B band led by his father on drums, with his brother Calvin on guitar, Tuff Green on bass, Ben Branch and future Hi Records star Willie Mitchell. The group was the house band at the now famous Plantation Inn Club in West Memphis, Arkansas, from 1947 to 1951, and recorded as B. B. King's band on his first recordings in 1949, as well as the Sun Records sessions in 1950. They left West Memphis in 1951 to tour with Jackie Brenston as the "Delta Cats" in support of the record "Rocket 88", recorded by Sam Phillips and considered by many to be the first ever rock & roll record (it was the first Billboard No. 1 record for Chess Records). 

Among his earliest recordings, from the early 1950s, are those for Sun Records with blues harmonica player Big Walter Horton. From 1956, Newborn began to perform in New York City, recording his first album as a leader in that year, Here Is Phineas for Atlantic Records. His trios and quartets at that time included his brother Calvin on guitar, bassists Oscar Pettiford, George Joyner and drummers Kenny Clarke and Philly Joe Jones. 

                                   

Newborn created enough interest internationally to work as a solo pianist in Stockholm in 1958 and in Rome the following year. He drew much critical acclaim, for both his leonine technique and meticulously artful playing at any tempo. The most often-noted feature of Newborn's playing is fast-tempo parallel improvisation, two octaves apart in the manner of Oscar Peterson, which requires great ambidexterity. 

On March 16, 1960, 29-year-old Newborn replaced Thelonious Monk and performed "It's All Right with Me" on the ABC-TV series Music for a Spring Night. Newborn moved to Los Angeles that year, and recorded a sequence of piano trio albums for the Contemporary label. Critics often noted his playing style as being too technical, and Newborn developed emotional problems as a result. He was admitted to the Camarillo State Mental Hospital for some periods, and suffered a nervous breakdown related to conflicts with a record label during his career. Newborn later sustained a hand injury which hindered his playing. 

Newborn's later work was intermittent due to ongoing health problems. This is most true of the period from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s when he faded from view, underappreciated and under recorded. He made a partial comeback in the late 1970s and early 1980s, although this return ultimately failed to benefit his financial situation. 

He died on May 26, 1989 · Memphis, Tennessee from lung cancer and is buried in Memphis National Cemetery. His work, however, continues to inspire new generations of jazz pianists and he is still renowned among many critics who have rediscovered his genius.According to jazz historian Nat Hentoff, Newborn's deatht spurred the 1989 founding of the Jazz Foundation of America, a group dedicated to helping with the medical bills and other financial needs of retired jazz greats. In the early 1990s the four-player Contemporary Piano Ensemble was formed by pianists Harold Mabern, James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, and Geoff Keezer to pay tribute to Newborn; it recorded two albums and toured internationally. 

Despite his setbacks, many of Newborn's records, such as Phineas' Rainbow, The Great Jazz Piano of Phineas Newborn Jr., and Harlem Blues remain highly regarded. Jazz commentator Scott Yanow referred to Newborn as "one of the most technically skilled and brilliant pianists in jazz." Evidence of his technical prowess can be heard on tracks such as "Sometimes I'm Happy", from the album Look Out – Phineas Is Back!, on which Newborn performs extended, complex, and brisk solos with both hands in unison. Leonard Feather said of him, "In his prime, he was one of the three greatest jazz pianists of all time." Oscar Peterson said, "If I had to choose the best all-around pianist of anyone who's followed me chronologically, unequivocally ... I would say Phineas Newborn, Jr." 

(Edited from Wikipedia & Memphis Music Hall of Fame)

 

Buck White born 13 December 1930

Buck White (December 13, 1930 - January 13, 2025) was a legendary American country and bluegrass musician, patriarch of the Grammy-winning family group The Whites. 

Born in Oklahoma City to Edward Shelton and Lucille White he was raised in Texas, Buck grew up within a rich musical environment. As a young child, he changed his name to Buck to be like the cowboy actor, Buck Jones. He grew up listening to the radio and he loved all genres of music. He enjoyed going to the movies watching Gene Autry and especially Roy Rogers with the Sons of the Pioneers. He began playing piano and mandolin as a teenager, and following high school he performed in various honky tonk country bands in Texas and Oklahoma, and even went on to play back up for some of the greats of that era, such as Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb. 

Sharon, Cheryl, Buck and Pat White

While in Abilene, he met his future brother-in-law, Bob Goza, who introduced him to the love of his life, Patty Goza whom he married in 1952 and moved to Wichita Falls, Texas where he began working as a plumber and playing music on the side. In 1962, Buck and Patty moved the family to the country in Arkansas. For over twenty-five years, his full-time trade was plumbing. In September of 1971, he and his family moved to Nashville and settled in Hendersonville. He continued to work as a plumber several years before finally becoming a full-time musician. 

It’s when Buck White’s daughters Sharon White (born December 17, 1953) and Cheryl White (born January 27, 1955) showed early promise in music that Buck White started to take it more seriously as a career. Buck White and The Down Home Folks formed in 1972 and did well, although Pat retired from the group the following year. Buck recorded a solo album for Sugar Hill in 1979 called More Pretty Girls Than One. But it’s when The Whites formed officially in the early 1980’s as a family band signed to Curb Records that things started to click. 

                                   

The Whites earned multiple Top 10 hits through memorable songs like “Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling,” “Pins And Needles,” You Put The Blue In Me,” "If It Ain’t Love (Let’s Leave It Alone),” and “When The New Wears Off of Our Love” among others. Buck White’s mature age didn’t hold the group back at all. It gave The Whites a venerated and wholesome appeal. 

Just as much as Buck White and The Whites are revered for their songs, they’re perhaps best known for their collaborations, as well as their long-standing membership to the Grand Ole Opry, and their countless appearances on the program. The Whites were signed on as Grand Ole Opry members in 1984, and have been Opry mainstays ever since, including Buck White making appearances into his 90s. 

Daughter Sharon White married Ricky Skaggs in 1981, and this commenced a relationship where The Whites would regularly perform in Ricky’s band, and Skaggs would regularly perform with The Whites, including collaborations on songs, albums, and on the Grand Ole Opry regularly. Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs minted the hit song “Love Can’t Ever Get Better Than This” in 1987, and in 2008, The Whites won a Grammy for the album Salt of the Earth in collaboration with Skaggs. 

Buck White and The Whites were nominated numerous times by both the CMA and ACM for Vocal Group of the Year during the ’80s decade. But perhaps their biggest recognition came through their contribution to the Grammy Album of the Year-winning soundtrack to the acclaimed movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou in 2001. Their rendition of “Keep on the Sunny Side” introduced The Whites to an entirely new generation and audience. . They were also part of the accompanying musical event at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, which was released as the documentary film and album Down From the Mountain. 

The Whites are members of the Texas Music Hall of Fame, and celebrated 40 years at the Grand Ole Opry on March 2, 2024. That was Buck’s last official performance. Father and grandfather of The Whites, the oldest member of the Grand Ole Opry, and a grand patriarch of country music passed away peacefully on January 13, 2025, at the age of 94. The group entered a short hiatus after his death, but returned to performing on the Opry in August 2025. 

(Edited from Saving Country Music, Wikipedia & RFD-TV)