Our Tribute To Buck Owens

Born Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. in Sherman, Texas, August 12th, 1929, just a couple of months before the onset of The Great Depression. The Depression, along with the Dust Bowl, caused the Owens family to head west, winding up in Mesa, Arizona, where he would spend the rest of his childhood.
Buck's musical interests were cultivated from his own family's musical talents (his father played harmonica and his mother, piano), as well as the music he heard on area radio stations.
Like many artists of his era and before, Buck got his start on radio, working at a station in Mesa in the mid 1940's. It was the early 1950's, when Buck moved to Bakersfield, and once there, things started happening that would ultimately put him on track for his incredible career. One of those happenings, was getting session work at Capitol Records studios, which put Buck in contact with producer Ken Nelson, who would eventually sign Buck to the label and produce many of his hits.
Those hits started with a minor one, "Second Fiddle", in 1959, followed up by his 1st top ten, "Under Your Spell Again", that fall. Interesting to note that his version made it's chart debut a little over a month before a version by Ray Price, then one of country's hottest acts. Both were top 5 hits.
1960 further cemented Buck as an up and coming superstar, as he landed 2 more top ten hits with "Above And Beyond" and "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got A Heartache)". 1960 was also the year that he was joined by a young man whom he had met previously while living in Tacoma, Washington in the late 1950's, Don Rich. Once they got together, Fender Telecasters in hand, the rest, as they say, is history.
By 1963, the hits were still coming, but to this point, that one big, breakthrough hit, had eluded Buck. That changed, in April, with the release of "Act Naturally". It became Buck's first Billboard number one record and started a string of number one hits that would total nineteen by 1970.
What was Buck's biggest hit? I think there are three singles that could be given a convincing argument for. The first, "Love's Gonna Live Here". Released in 1963, it would spend 16 weeks at number one on Billboard's chart and thirty weeks, overall.
The second candidate would be the follow-up release from the spring of 1964, a double-sided hit "My Heart Skips A Beat" and "Together Again". Both sides were chart toppers, nine weeks total between the two. The third candidate, and the one that many will point to, is a 1965 song that was a number one hit for only five weeks, but it also crossed over and became Buck's only top 40 pop hit; "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail". In my opinion, I'll go with "Tiger", because back in that time, country music artists didn't receive much exposure outside of the country audience, unless they did have a crossover hit. Having a song played on top 40 AM powerhouses like WLS, for example, would introduce an artist's music to a much wider audience.
And what about Buck's famous "freight train" sound? That started with the song that immediately preceded "Act Naturally", "You're For Me". The freight train sound was a churning, driving, uptempo style that would ultimately define Buck's sound throughout the mid 1960's.
Like many artists, though, Buck would try different things on his records, meaning that by the late 1960's, that freight train sound was disappearing. 1969's "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass" had a definite rock edge to it, while the follow-up was a rock and roll classic, Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode". "Sweet Rosie Jones" (1968), "Tall Dark Stranger" (1969), and "Big In Vegas" (1969) all had a more pop-country sound to them. Another interesting release of Buck's, came in 1971, when he recorded Simon & Garfunkel's hit "Bridge Over Troubled Water". It was a top ten hit, but not without some controversy. Some fans couldn't understand why Buck would record a song that some claimed had drug references. While it may have been controversial at the time, Buck, in the booklet that accompanied his boxed set from Rhino, stated that he had many people tell him it was their favorite Buck Owens recording.
Buck's hit-making began tailing off in the early 1970's, though he would regularly appear on the country charts until 1980. 1972's "Made In Japan" was his last solo number one. 1974 was Buck's last big year, hit-wise, as he had 4 top ten hits, including "Monster's Holiday", "Big Game Hunter", "On The Cover Of The Music City News", and "Great Expectations". 1974 was also the year that Buck's longtime bandleader and friend, Don Rich, was killed in a motorcycle accident, something from which Buck would later admit he never fully recovered.
Buck's last solo chart single came in 1980, with "Let Jesse Rob The Train". After spending most of the decade out of the studio, he was coaxed back in by Dwight Yoakam, to join him on a duet of "Streets Of Bakersfield", a song that Buck had originally recorded in 1972 for his "Ain't It Amazing, Gracie" album. The duet version flew to number one, becoming one of the top hits of 1988.
Buck's last overall top 40 country appearance would come one year later, again bringing back an old Owens song from the past, this time "Act Naturally", in a duet with Ringo Starr (The Beatles had covered the song on the flip side of the "Yesterday" single in 1965).
Buck passed away of an apparent heart attack on March 25th, 2006.
As mentioned above, Buck is one of my favorite singers. In my opinion, to this day, some of country music's best "rocking" songs are those made by Buck & The Buckaroos with that classic freight train sound. Buck was a good singer, as well, very much in the style that we later heard from Dwight Yoakam. Listen to his recordings and you will hear a voice that's almost always dead-on the note, flawless performing from the band, as well.
Chances are, if you are reading this, you have heard Buck's music, likely a fan, as well.
However, if by chance, you haven't heard his music, buy a cd or download some songs
(legally, of course) and give them a listen. It's some of the best country music you will ever, ever hear.

Insteresting Buck Owens Tidbits:

According to several sources, Buck got his nickname from a family owned mule, when he was about 4 years old. He apparently decided he wanted to be Buck, too.

Buck is playing the guitar heard at the beginning of Tommy Collins' 1954 hit "You Better Not Do That".

Everytime Buck released an album, a copy was sent to his label-mates, The Beatles. Apparently, it was in their contract that they get a copy.

Buck co-hosted "Hee Haw" with Roy Clark, from 1969 to 1986.

Buck was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1996.

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