On August 4, country and bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White (of country music’s The Whites) celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary. Over the course of more than three decades of marriage, Skaggs and White have savored every moment of their lifelong commitment to one another. With both of their respected careers cemented into the country music history books, one might find it hard to believe that the couple has never recorded an album together. That all changes on September 30, 2014 when Skaggs and White release their first-ever studio album, Hearts Like Ours.
In 1987, the pair won a CMA Vocal Duo of the Year award for “Love Can’t Ever Get Better Than This,” but White was touring with her family band and Skaggs was on fire with his solo career, so releasing a full project wasn’t possible at the time. Skaggs and White are beyond thrilled to finally release their first full project.
“Hearts Like Ours is a dream come true for Sharon and I,” says Skaggs. “Being married for 33 years, you really get to know someone’s heart. I know hers and she knows mine, and you can hear that on this CD. I loved getting to work with her. She knows what she wants.”
White notes, “I am so happy that Ricky and I have finally done a duet CD, which we have wanted to do for years and I think our hearts are in the right place to do this now. It was great to pick songs together and share ideas about how we wanted to do them. I have always enjoyed making music with Ricky so this album is the fulfillment of a dream of my heart.”
The 13-track album, releasing on Skaggs Family Records, is produced by Skaggs and White and features the couple dueting on handpicked country love songs. The album includes songs written by some of the industry’s top songwriters including Connie Smith and Marty Stuart-penned tunes, “Hearts Like Ours” and “I Run To You,” Bob DiPiero and Keith Sewell’s “Forever’s Not Long Enough,” Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz’s “Hold On Tight (Let It Go),” Leslie Satcher and Buddy Jewell’s “When I’m Good And Gone” and the late Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You,” among others.
Hearts Like Ours will be available in-stores and digitally on release day. Album pre-sales are available now at www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com.
About Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White
With 12 #1 hit singles, 14 GRAMMY® Awards, eleven IBMA Awards, eight ACM Awards and eight CMA Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), Ricky Skaggs is truly a pioneer of Bluegrass and Country music. Since he began playing music more than 50 years ago, Skaggs has released more than 30 albums and has performed thousands of live shows. Skaggs and his band, Kentucky Thunder, continue to keep the tour trail red hot, performing more than 80 live dates each year. He started his own record label, Skaggs Family Records, in 1997 and has since released 12 consecutive GRAMMY®-nominated albums. Last year, the Grand Ole Opry member released his first-ever autobiography, “Kentucky Traveler.” The book details the life and times of Skaggs and provides a descriptive history of Country and Bluegrass music, as told by the master himself.
Sharon White is a member of beloved country-gospel family band, The Whites, and has been making music alongside her father Buck and sister Cheryl for more than four decades. They originally began as a Bluegrass group, but the family trio became well known for their string of Country hits in the 1980s, including “Hangin’ Around,” “Give Me Back That Old Familiar Feeling,” and “Pins and Needles.” The Whites are Grand Ole Opry members and combine a respect for – and mastery of – traditional country and bluegrass with a refreshing style in each of their performances. They were involved in the 2001 hit movie and soundtrack, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and have gone on to win multiple awards, including GRAMMY®, CMA and Dove Awards, among others.
For more information on Ricky Skaggs and Sharon White, visit www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com.
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