Kentucky Traveler (49 page)

M
y first solo publicity shot, 1980.

M
om and dad were always such pillars of strength for me. They looked so healthy and happy here at their home in 1981.

M
y first guest appearance at the Grand Ole Opry as a solo artist. My friends Sharon and Cheryl White joined me for vocals and moral support, 1980.

M
y old friend Ernest Tubb inducted me into the Grand Ole Opry on May 15, 1982.

H
ere I am receiving my award for CMA's Entertainer of the Year, 1985. It was an emotional night.

M
y brother Gary (left) and my brother Garold (right) and dad, always behind his three sons.

M
y friend Keith Whitley and me backstage in Knoxville, Tennessee, 1987. This was taken a few years before Keith tragically passed away on May 9, 1989. I still miss him!

M
e and my beautiful wife, Sharon White Skaggs, in 1989. What a blessing she has been to me.

S
haron and my hero, the father of bluegrass music Bill Monroe, 1987.

B
ill Monroe's music has inspired me all of my life. Here is a picture I took of him in 1970 at Frontier Ranch in Columbus, Ohio.

B
ill with country music legend Ray Price, 1983.

B
ill, dressed as Santa, singing “Christmas Time's A Comin'” with me, 1988.

I
had the pleasure of coproducing with Dolly Parton on her album
White Limozeen
, 1988.