Buck Owens, R.I.P.

Jon Graboff · Post by **Jon Graboff** » 25 Mar 2006 9:57 am

I didn't see the posting of this news on the "Extended Family Page". Sorry for the duplicated effort. Jon

It's Bad, bad day…

Buck Owens, flamboyant country music star, dies at 76

By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, March 25, 2006

(03-25) 09:10 PST Los Angeles (AP) -- Buck Owens, the flashy "rhinestone cowboy" who shaped the sound of country music with hits like "Act Naturally," and helped introduce the genre to mainstream America on the long-running TV show "Hee Haw," has died. He was 76.

Owens died early Saturday at his home in Bakersfield, said family spokesman Jim Shaw. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Owens underwent throat cancer surgery in 1993 and was hospitalized with pneumonia in January 1997.

His career was one of the most phenomenal in country music, with a string of more than 20 No. 1 records, most released from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s.

They were recorded with a honky-tonk twang that came to be known throughout California as the "Bakersfield Sound," named for the town 100 miles north of Los Angeles that Owens called home. Outside the state, his music was known as country's "California Sound."

"I think the reason he was so well known and respected by a younger generation of country musicians was because he was an innovator and rebel," said Shaw, who played keyboards in Owens' band, the Buckaroos. "He did it out of the Nashville establishment. He had a raw edge."

Owens' aspirations, however, were less than that afforded by such lofty titles.

"I'd like to be remembered as a guy that came along and did his music, did his best and showed up on time, clean and ready to do the job, wrote a few songs and had a hell of a time," he said in 1992.

An indefatigable performer, Owens played a red, white and blue guitar with fireball fervor. He and the members of the Buckaroos wore flashy rhinestone suits in an era when flash was as important to country music as fiddles.

Among his biggest hits were "Together Again" (also recorded by Emmylous Harris), "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail,""Love's Gonna Live Here,""My Heart Skips a Beat" and "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line."

And he was the answer to this music trivia question: What country star had a hit record that was later done by the Beatles?

"Those guys were phenomenal," Owens once said of rock music's most famous band.

Ringo Starr recorded "Act Naturally" twice, singing lead on the Beatles' 1965 version and recording it as a duet with Owens in 1989.

In addition to music, Owens had a highly visible TV career as co-host of "Hee Haw" from 1969 to 1986. With guitarist Roy Clark, he led viewers through a potpourri of country music and hayseed humor.

"It's an honest show," Owens told The Associated Press in 1995. "There's no social message — no crusade. It's fun and simple."

Owens himself could be rebellious, choosing among other things to label what he did "American music" rather than country.

"I took a little heat," he once said. "People asked me, `Isn't country music good enough for you?'"

He also criticized the syrupy arrangements of some country singers, saying "assembly-line, robot music turns me off."

After his string of hits, Owens stayed away from the recording scene for a decade, returning in 1988 to record another No. 1 record, "Streets of Bakersfield," with Dwight Yoakam.

He spent much of his time away concentrating on his business interests, which included a Bakersfield TV station and radio stations in Bakersfield and Phoenix.

"I never wanted to hang around like the punch-drunk fighter," he told The Associated Press in 1992.

He had moved to Bakersfield in 1951, hoping to find work in the thriving juke joints of what in the years before suburban sprawl was a truck-stop town on Highway 99, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area.

"We played rhumbas and tangos and sambas, and we played Bob Wills music, lots of Bob Wills music," he said, referring to the bandleader who was the king of Western swing.

"And lots of rock 'n' roll," he added.

Owens started recording in the mid-1950s, but gained little success until 1963 with "Act Naturally," his first No. 1 single.

Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. was born in 1929 outside Sherman, Texas, the son of a sharecropper. With opportunities scarce during the Depression, the family moved to Arizona when he was 8.

He dropped out of school at age 13 to haul produce and harvest crops, and by 16 he was playing music in taverns.

He once told an audience, "When I was a little bitty kid, I used to dream about playing the guitar and singing like some of those great people that we had the old, thick records of."

Owens' first wife, Bonnie Owens, sometimes performed with him and went on to become a leading backup singer after their divorce in 1955. She had occasional solo hits in the '60s, as well as successful duets with her second husband, Merle Haggard.

One of her two sons with Owens also became a singer, using the name Buddy Alan. He had a Top 10 hit in 1968, "Let the World Keep on a-Turnin'," and recorded a number of duets with his father.

In addition to Buddy, he is survived by two other sons, Michael and John.
[This message was edited by Jon Graboff on 25 March 2006 at 10:00 AM.]

Donna Dodd · Post by **Donna Dodd** » 25 Mar 2006 10:20 am

Jon, thanks for the post about Buck's life and career. He plowed a huge field in the music he called "American", and he will be sorely missed.

After his string of hits, Owens stayed away from the recording scene for a decade, returning in 1988 to record another No. 1 record, "Streets of Bakersfield," with Dwight Yoakam.

I saw Buck and Dwight in concert back then - truly a musical highlight in my life!
Rest in peace.
[This message was edited by Donna Dodd on 25 March 2006 at 10:21 AM.]

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 25 Mar 2006 11:03 am

We have band practice tonight. It will feel a little different, beings we practice in Sherman, TX, thinkin' about Buck. I sure love his music--------------------------

Henry · Post by **Henry** » 25 Mar 2006 11:15 am

I yust got a mail from a Dutch C&W artist Robert Wiersma (and Buck Owens fan) with this SAD news,,,many years ago (70's)Buck Owens was the absolute number 1 C&W star overhere in The Netherlands,and INSPIRED many overhere!!

Inspired by Buck Owens his [LIVE] Carnegie Hall Concert ,, we had overhere The WoodyBrothers with a very young Koos Biel on a 6 strings selfmade hawaiianguitar (Koos his début
live/radioshow 1973)
[This message was edited by Henry on 25 March 2006 at 11:30 AM.]

Don Ricketson · Post by **Don Ricketson** » 25 Mar 2006 11:33 am

What a shame. I had a chance to play with Buck and Don Rich in about 1960 in San Angelo Tx. at the Boots and Saddle Club. Buck and Don were on a tour in a 1959 Chevy pickup with a camper shell on it. That was his bus

and we were the house band and we had to learn all his latest hits. We did everything just like the record. They had a ball and we sure did too. RIP my friend.

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Mullen D10-8/5
Sho-Bud S10-3/4
Evans Amps
"Making The Stars Shine"

[This message was edited by Don Ricketson on 25 March 2006 at 02:31 PM.]

Bobby Rountree · Post by **Bobby Rountree** » 25 Mar 2006 1:31 pm

While I was a DJ at KZIP in Amarillo in the mid 60's...had the pleasure of MC'ing a couple of shows that Buck headlined. About 1968, my band opened for Buck at the San Angelo coliseum. From the very first time I met him....as soon as he would see me, he would call me by name. Received Christmas cards every Christmas for several years. A great loss to country music. RIP my friend.

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Carter SU12...NV112& NV1000,Goodrich CD-2A Fender Jazz Bass & Peavey Session amp.

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 25 Mar 2006 1:41 pm

Sad day for all of us. I delivered Bucks amps and Roy Clarks amp to the show Hee Haw
when taped for TV back here in NYC.

Nicer guy you could never meet.

Rest Buck. You will be missed.

Jennings Ward · Post by **Jennings Ward** » 25 Mar 2006 2:41 pm

REST IN PEACE OLD FRIEND....

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EMMONS D10 10-10 profex 2 deltafex ne1000 pv1000, pv 31 bd eq, +

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 25 Mar 2006 2:51 pm

Buck Owens.. a legend..the music will miss him.. me too [This message was edited by Bo Borland on 25 March 2006 at 02:51 PM.]

Allan Thompson · Post by **Allan Thompson** » 25 Mar 2006 3:34 pm

Listening to Buck Owens is one of the main reasons I ever took up steel guitar. A great loss.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 25 Mar 2006 4:17 pm

I got to spend some time with Buck when he played a private show for Bechtel Corp. execs and their wives in the mid-1990's. As this was a rather conservative audience, he had been instructed "on no uncertain terms" not to tell any risque jokes, in fact, "better not to tell any jokes at all" was heard as he took the stage to start the concert.

Buck almost made it to the end of the show without a word but his true character finally got the better of him - "Ladies and gentlemen" he began, "please put your hands together for a VERY distinguished guest here with us tonight...oh, I'm so very sorry, my mistake...you see I thought I saw Dolly Pardon sitting in the audience but it's just two old bald guys sitting with their heads close together"

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 25 Mar 2006 4:18 pm

I've had many a good time at his Crystal Palace here in Bakersfield. Been listening to Buck's music all day, his memory will live forever.

Post by **Joey Ace** » 25 Mar 2006 6:52 pm

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 25 Mar 2006 8:37 pm

So very sorry to hear about this. Buck was one of a kind.

As they say, "No hay dos."

Kelly Hydorn · Post by **Kelly Hydorn** » 25 Mar 2006 9:35 pm

What's to say about Buck that hasn't been already been said? A music style that to some was too corny, but to those who loved the Bakersfield sound was a sound that prompted many of us to get into it. He will be sorely missed I'm sure.

Chris Schlotzhauer · Post by **Chris Schlotzhauer** » 25 Mar 2006 11:47 pm

Man, it's been a rough day. Having coffee with the wife this morning, the cable news announced his death, and I just dropped. I immediately called the boys in the band, who were driving back to Austin after playing Dallas last night. They too, were crushed.
If you don't know much about the Derailers, our sound is totally influenced by Buck and the Beatles. I've had the honor to hang out with Buck, jam with Buck, play at his club in Bakersfield. He's recorded on our records.
Buck was one of the hugest stars of any genre. In the 60's, Capitol Records were anchored by The Beatles, Buck and The Beach Boys. Buck is one of the few artists who walked out of a huge record deal with ALL of his masters. His estate is worth a fortune. The Crystal Palace, his club/restaurant is like a museum, or shrine of his career. Like his first guitar, Nudie suits that weiged 50 lbs from all of the sequins, a Harley that Dwight Yokum gave him, etc. I hope it stays in tact.
So tonight, I drive to Austin to play a gig, and we do 2 hours of Buck Owens exclusively. When we were done, we were discussing all of the songs we missed. That's a lot of Buck songs that I forgot we knew.

I feel better now.
God bless Buck

Malcolm McMaster · Post by **Malcolm McMaster** » 26 Mar 2006 1:10 am

A sad loss to the Country Music world.His Carnegie Hall album started me on steel, thanks Buck, still got the album.

Bruce W Heffner · Post by **Bruce W Heffner** » 26 Mar 2006 4:12 am

Most of the great country artists have left the planet in the flesh; however, thanks to technolgy we can see and hear them as long as we live. Their influence passes on to other artists who we also enjoy. Now I don't know what else to say. God bless Buck.

Bruce W

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www.pedalsteel.net

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 26 Mar 2006 4:32 am

RIP Buck, thanks for the great Music you have given us all.

T Prior

J W Alexander · Post by **J W Alexander** » 26 Mar 2006 5:52 am

Chris mentions The Derailers and nothing could be such a great tribute to Buck AND Don for the music they created! There's no doubt all the guys have heard or played Buck's songs a few thousand times and from either band it never gets old. Not for the guy, anyway!

To this day I still think the Carnagie Hall concert was one of the best ever live recordings for the time. I never saw Buck and Don live but I'm sure that was exactly what they were like in person. With Tom Brumley on steel, Willy Cantu on drums, Doyle Holley on bass and Don there just wasn't a better "country" band around! I play that album--now CD--for my younger friends who think Dwight Yokam invented Bakersfield country and they're equally as impressed the whole show!

Not dissing Dwight one bit, though!! He merely took some of Buck's music and added just a touch more engergy to it and made a lot of it very credible versions in his own way. I always said you could draw a straight like from Buck and Don to Dwight and Pete Anderson if only because of the synergy they had when paired together. My respect for Dwight soared when I'd heard how he had pestered Buck to come out of self-imposed performing retirement. That was a great service to us all who remembered Buck at the time--and introduced a few new fans to him as well.

We still have the spirit of Buck in The Derailers and a host of others, almost too many to mention. It's impossible NOT to grin when I hear a song that is reminiscent of Buck or Don even today!

Here's hoping Buck is once again making music with Don. There was once a song about heaven having one helluva band---now they have a hillbilly section that will show 'em how to do it Buck's way---by The Man himself!

RIP Buck---we don't know how much we'll miss you yet!!

J W Alexander

Craig Stock · Post by **Craig Stock** » 26 Mar 2006 9:18 am

As a kid growing up in New Jersey, the only way we knew of Buck was from 'Hee Haw', which we all liked especially the pretty women. I never realized the body of work he did before and during the show. Most people up here don't know much of his recording career. I have become a big fan.

I have been playing the box-set this weekend and am very sorry to hear of his passing. The box set booklet has a great history of Buck and is very enlightning to the uninformed.

Rest in peace, Buck we will miss you.

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Regards, Craig

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 26 Mar 2006 6:49 pm

sad,my wife told me the news this morning,who is left? Merle,George,Willie and few more but the question is
"Who`s gonna fill their shoes"

so far...nobody can ,if you ask me

Db

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"Promat"
~when tone matters~ www.promatsteelguitars.com

Darryl Hattenhauer · Post by **Darryl Hattenhauer** » 26 Mar 2006 10:36 pm

Is it just my looney opinion that Buck brought Tex-Mex to California? And is it just my weird ear that believes Buck is a direct influence on the Derailers?

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"Drinking up the future, and living down the past"--unknown singer in Phoenix

Tom Harris · Post by **Tom Harris** » 27 Mar 2006 6:23 am

Jon,,fantistic job on the top post,,I been a Buck Owens fan sinse the late 50ies,,my all time fav was "Excuse me,I think i'ev got a heartace",It was a sad day when we lost ole Don Rich,,now even sadder that ole Buck is gone,he difently had a unique sound,always loved ole Don's sound on the guitar....
R I P Buck,,you earned it....
Tom Harris

Ken Thompson · Post by **Ken Thompson** » 27 Mar 2006 7:30 am

I got the news the same time as Kelly at the local music store on Saturday morning. I don't believe there is a country music lover, let alone, country musician alive that wasn't impacted in some way by Buck Owens.

Just Friday night Larry Parks was telling me about talking to Buck the prior weekend while playing at the Crystal Ballroom. We talked Saturday night before the gig what a blessing it was for him to have had that opportunity.

I'm sure Buckaroo and many other Buck hits were played around the country this past weekend.

I saw Buck and Don live when I was about 14 years old in Great Falls Montana. I can still tell you about that concert. He later did pretty much the same show at Carnegie Hall. He was my idol and I will never forget the impact he had on me musically.

Thanks Buck.