Grateful Dead Family Discography: White Dove

White Dove

Composer: Carter Stanley

White Dove was performed by Old & In The Way in 1973. It has been included in two related songbooks Old & In The Way Banjo Songbook and Jerry Garcia Songbook.

Carter Stanley spoke about the writing of the song shortly before his death in an interview with Mike Seeger;

I remember very well when I wrote The White Dove. We was coming home from Ashville, North Carolina, to Bristol, Tennessee, and I had the light on because I wanted to write it down and Ralph was fussing at me for having the light on. He was driving and he said the light bothered him, but he hasn't fussed any more about that."

White Dove was first released on a single in 1949 with the title The White Dove. Most subseqent releases use the title White Dove. The original Stanley Brothers recording featured Carter Stanley (guitar, vocals), Ralph Stanley (banjo, vocals), Pee Wee Lambert (mandolin, vocals), Bobby Sumner (fiddle) and Jay Hughes (bass).

Old & In The Way

Old & In The Way, Old & In The Way, 1975
10/8/73 The Boarding House, San Francisco, Old & In The Way, 2008
Live At The Boarding House: The Complete Shows, Old & In The Way, 2013
Live At Sonoma State 11/4/73, Old & In The Way, 2023

Other recordings

no info Single (White Dove / Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet), Stanley Brothers, 1949
no info Single (White Dove / Mansions For Me), Red Allen, 1953
no info EP (Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet / White Dove / Fields Have Turned Brown / Old Home), Stanley Brothers, 1958
Hymns and Sacred Songs, Stanley Brothers, 1959
no info Single (White Dove / Mother's Footsteps Guide Me On), Stanley Brothers, 1959
Folk Songs From The Blue Grass, Earl Taylor & the Stoney Mountain Boys, 1959
The Stanley Brothers, The Stanley Brothers, 1961
Bluegrass and Old Timey Music, The Charles River Valley Boys, 1962
no info Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys featuring Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs, 1971
no info Grass The Way You Like It, Jim Orange & the Orange Blossoms, 1972
Sing Gospel Echoes Of The Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1973
no info Single, McCraw Family, 1973
Live At McClure, Ralph Stanley & Guests, 1976
no info Hymn Time, Lillimae & the Dixie Gospelaires, 1976
no info On The way Home, Goins Brother, 1977
Bluegrass Collection, Osborne Brothers, 1978
Greatest Bluegrass Hits, Jimmy Martin, 1978
no info 16 Greatest Gospel Hits, Stanley Brothers, 1978
no info Johnnie and Jack With Kitty Wells, Johnnie & Jack, 1980
no info Columbia Sessions, 1949-50, Stanley Brothers, 1980
no info An American Heritage: A Tribute To The Pioneers Of Bluegrass Music, 1980
Rode the Mule Around the World, Tracy's Family Band, 1981
no info Sings Traditional Bluegrass & Gospel, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1983
Let Me Fall: Old Time Bluegrass from the Virginia-North Carolina, Cullen Galyean and Bobby Harrison, 1984
no info 20 Bluegrass Originals- Hymns, Various Artists (Jimmy Martin), 1987
no info I'll Meet You In The Morning, Appalachian Express, 1988
Stanley Series, Vol. 3 #2, Stanley Brothers, 1989
no info 24 Greatest Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 1989
no info Gospel Train Is Coming, Sullivan Family, 198?
The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys 1949-1952, TheStanley Brothers, 1991
Music Among Friends, Jim and Jesse, 1991
no info 50 Years of Bluegrass Hits, Vol. 3, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 1992
Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961, The Stanley Brothers, 1994
Clinch Mountain Bluegrass, Stanley Brothers, 1994
no info At KWKH, Johnnie and Jack, 1994
no info Achy Breaky Ha Ha Ha, Hasil Adkins, 1994
no info 16 Greatest Gospel Hits, Stanley Brothers, 1994
no info 20 Bluegrass Originals: Hymns, Various Artists (Jimmy Martin), 1994
no info Bluegrass from Heaven, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 1995
Complete Columbia Recordings, Stanley Brothers, 1996
Stanley Series, Vol. 3 #4, Stanley Brothers, 1996
Stanley Series, Vol. 4 #1, Stanley Brothers , 1996
Live in Japan, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1997
Songs of the Stanley Brothers, Various Artists (Jim and Jesse w./ Ricky Skaggs), 1997
no info Clinch Mountain Boys Reunion, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 1997
no info Best of the Best of Gospel, Stanley Brothers, 1998
Clinch Mountain Country, Ralph Stanley & Friends, 1998
Prestige/Folklore Years, Vol. 6: Comin' from the Ball, Various Artists (Charles River Valley Boys), 1999
Generations of Bluegrass, Vol. 2: Shoulder to Shoulder, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 1999
no info Live at Antioch College, 1960, The Stanley Brothers, 19??
no info Single, Bluegrass Gents , 19??
no info Single, Ernie Cook, 19??
no info 25 Greatest Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2000
Too Late to Cry, The Stanley Brothers, 2001
Echoes of the Stanley Brothers, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 2001
Live At The Smithsonian, Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys, 2001
no info The Absolute Best of Bluegrass Gospel, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2001
no info Bluegrass Beginnings, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2001
Long Journey Home: Bluegrass Songs of the Stanley Brothers, Various Artists (Jim & Jesse), 2002
no info Echoes of Clinch Mountain, The Stanley Brothers, 2002
no info All-Time Greatest Hits, The Stanley Brothers, 2002
no info Live at the Smithsonian, Ralph Stanley, 2002
no info I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2002
no info Golden Treasure: Bluegrass Legends, Various Artists (Ralph Stanley), 2002
no info Bluegrass Gospel Jewels Past And Present, Morris Brothers, 2002
no info The Footstompin Trio, The Footstompin' Trio, 2002
Heaven Bound: The Best of Bluegrass Gospel (2 CD), Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2003
Heaven Bound: The Best of Bluegrass Gospel (1 CD), Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2003
no info Going Back to Old Kentucky: A Bluegrass Anthology, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2003
Bluegrass and Old Timey Music, The Charles River Valley Boys, 2003
White Dove: The Bluegrass Gospel Collection, Various Artists (Jim & Jesse), 2003
no info American Gothic: Bluegrass Songs of Death and Sorrow, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2003
no info 100 Greatest Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2003
no info Bluegrass Legends, Various Artists (Ralph Stanley), 2003
no info Acoustic Americana, Art Crummer, 2003
no info Live! @ Mother Fools, Nob Hill Boys, 2003
Can't You Hear Me Callin': Bluegrass: 80 Years of American Music, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2004
no info 26 Greatest Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2004
no info Selected Sides 1947-1953: The Very Best of Bluegrass, Flatt & Scruggs/Stanley Brothers, 2004
no info Bluegrass The Way You Like It, Lost Highway, 2004
no info These Are The Cana Ramblers, Cana Ramblers, 2004
Baby Girl: A Tribute to My Father, Carter Stanley, Jeanie Stanley with Ralph Stanley and Ralph Stanley II, 2005
no info A Tribute to Brother Duets, Jesse McReynolds/Charles Whitstein, 2005
no info The Essential Gospel Masters, The Stanley Brothers/The Clinch Mountain Boys, 2005
no info Bluegrass From Heaven : Essential Bluegrass Gospel, Vol. 2, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2005
no info A Bluegrass Gospel Collection, Lost Highway, 2005
36 Bluegrass Hits, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2006
no info Hallelujah: A Bluegrass Gospel Celebration, Various Artists (Osborne Brothers), 2006
no info Great Gospel Performances, Ralph Stanley, 2006
no info Grass Tracks, The Suggins Brothers, 2006
The Definitive Collection 1947-1966, The Stanley Brothers, 2007
Classic Bluegrass Collection, Vols. 1-4, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2007
no info Bluegrass The Essential Collection, Various Artists (Stanley Brothers), 2007
November 30, 2013, Stroudsburg, PA, Railroad Earth, 2013
Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, Robert Earl Keen, 2015