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2010

SOURCE AWARD RECIPIENT

Ruth White

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Strobels Music Shop, Zibarts' Record Store, Lyon-Healy Music, WSM Radio, October Records, Taylor and Wilson Music, Sounds of Nashville, Sound Factory Records, Porter Wagoner Productions, Reed Music, Inc. Howard White Music, Author

In a career spanning a half century, Ruth White has worked in virtually every phase of Nashville's music industry. As a teen, she played piano in local dance bands. While a student at Ward Belmont College majoring in music and piano, she worked at Strobel's Music Shop. She was an early song plugger, playing on piano any song the customer wanted to hear. After three years, she left to manage the record division at Zibart's Book Store, then moved to Chicago to oversee a sheet music and record department branch store for Lyon-Healy Music, the city's largest publishing house. In 1960, Ruth returned to Nashville to become music librarian for WSM Radio. She later worked for Henry Strzelecki's October Records, managing the recording division and publishing for four companies. When Carmol Taylor and Norro Wilson started a new publishing venture, Ruth was
put in charge of all publishing endeavors. When the company closed, she joined Sounds of Nashville, a newly formed record and publishing company.

Over the next few years, she worked for the Bob Bean Talent Agency and Phil Baugh's Sound Factory Records and Hot Licks Studio, until Porter Wagoner asked her to join his staff. She served as Porter's administrative manager for five years. She worked briefly for Reed Music, Inc. before retiring from Music Row to join her husband, Howard, full-time in their publishing company, Howard White Music.

Ruth has authored the books Every Highway Out of Nashville, with her steel-player husband, The Original Goober, You Can Make It If You Try, several children's books and an historical book.

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