Buck Owens & His Buckaroos

Buck Owens shared leadership of the Bakersfield sound with Merle Haggard, shaping a twangy, electrified, rock-infused take on hardcore honky tonk that surfaced during the 1960s. He became Bakersfield’s first genuine country star by racking up fifteen consecutive number one hits across the middle of that decade. Through this run he offered a sharp-edged contrast to the string-heavy country-pop then prevalent. In later years his musical legacy faded for some once he gained visibility as a television personality on the country comedy program Hee Haw. Still, multiple waves of musicians—from Gram Parsons in the late 1960s to Dwight Yoakam in the 1980s—absorbed his approach, which ultimately supplied one of the templates for modern country music.

Born in Texas, Owens relocated with his family to Mesa, Arizona, during childhood while they sought employment amid the Great Depression. Music captivated him from an early age, and he took up guitar in his early teens. After leaving high school in ninth grade to labor on the family farm, he continued devoting substantial hours to mastering the instrument. By his late teens he secured an occasional slot on local station KTYL Mesa and performed in honky tonks and Phoenix-area clubs alongside friend Theryl Ray Britten. At nineteen he married country singer Bonnie Campbell, and by 1950 the couple had two sons.

In 1951 Buck and Bonnie Owens left Arizona for Bakersfield, California. There he became a regular at several venues, most notably the Blackboard, where he served as lead singer and rhythm guitarist for Bill Woods & the Orange Blossom Playboys. He soon launched his own group, the Schoolhouse Playboys, which also appeared at the Blackboard. This exposure led to session work for Capitol Records, beginning with Tommy Collins’ 1954 hit “You Better Not Do That.” During this period Buck and Bonnie separated and divorced in 1953, though they stayed on friendly terms and maintained joint custody of their children.

From 1954 through 1958 Owens contributed guitar to numerous Capitol country sessions overseen by Ken Nelson, among them recordings by Faron Young, Tommy Sands, and Wanda Jackson. He also worked occasionally at the local Bakersfield studio Lu-Tal operated by Lewis Talley. In 1956 he cut his first solo sides at Talley’s facility, ten tracks for the independent Pep label. The resulting singles—“Down on the Corner of Love,” “Sweethearts in Heaven,” and two rockabilly numbers issued under the name Corky Jones—failed to chart yet drew notice from industry insiders. Around the same time he met struggling songwriter Harlan Howard; the two formed a songwriting partnership with Owens supplying music and Howard supplying lyrics, then established Blue Book Music to publish their material.

Owens kept performing regularly in Bakersfield clubs. Johnny Bond and Joe Maphis, both Town Hall Party regulars signed to Columbia, heard him and forwarded a demo to their label, which expressed immediate interest. Several Capitol staff members urged country A&R chief Ken Nelson to sign Owens, yet Nelson remained unconvinced that Buck could handle lead vocals or songwriting. Only after the Farmer Boys chose Owens’ compositions over Nelson’s own did the executive offer a contract in February 1957.

Owens’ earliest Capitol singles, country-pop tracks backed by choral vocals, went unnoticed upon release in 1957. Financial pressure prompted a move in January 1958 to a Tacoma, Washington, suburb where he worked at radio station KAYE, spinning records, selling ads, and playing local clubs. Although he believed his recording career had ended, Nelson refused to release him from his contract. A fall 1958 session that included steel guitar and fiddle yielded “Second Fiddle,” which reached number 24 on the country chart. Still doubtful, Owens stayed in Tacoma and hosted a live program on KTNT that featured newcomer Loretta Lynn and introduced him to Don Rich (born Donald Eugene Ulrich), who would become his key musical partner.

The fall 1959 follow-up “Under Your Spell Again” climbed to number four and launched an extended run of Top Ten singles that stretched well into the 1970s. After its success Owens returned to Bakersfield, and Rich soon joined him as fiddler and guitarist. In early 1960 Owens acquired Howard’s share of Blue Book Music, gaining full control of his publishing. “Above and Beyond” rose to number three that spring.

“Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got a Heartache)” followed in fall 1960, then his debut album Buck Owens appeared in January 1961 alongside the eight-week number-two single “Foolin’ Around.” That spring he scored a hit with the Rose Maddox duet “Mental Cruelty”/“Loose Talk.” Owens and Rich began touring with pickup bands, switching from acoustic guitars to Fender Telecasters whose bright twang reflected a growing rock & roll influence; Rich eventually took the lead-guitar role. This shift appeared on the 1962 Top Ten singles “Kickin’ Our Hearts Around” and “You’re for Me.” By early 1963 Owens had assembled a full band that included a drummer, bassist, and pedal steel guitarist. One early bassist was Merle Haggard, who named the group the Buckaroos.

“Act Naturally” gave Owens his first number-one single in spring 1963 and initiated a streak of fifteen consecutive chart-toppers. Its follow-up, “Love’s Gonna Live Here,” spent sixteen weeks at number one. “My Heart Skips a Beat,” released in spring 1964, held the summit for seven weeks before being displaced by its B-side “Together Again.” Later that year “I Don’t Care (Just as Long as You Love Me)” topped the chart for six weeks.

In 1965 the number-one hits continued with “I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail,” “Before You Go,” “Only You (Can Break My Heart),” and the instrumental “Buckaroo.” That spring Owens placed an advertisement in Music City News declaring, “I shall make no record that is not a country record,” then issued the album I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail, which contained a version of Chuck Berry’s “Memphis,” a track he classified as rockabilly and therefore country. Also in 1965 he founded Buck Owens Enterprises, managed by his sister Dorothy, and the booking agency OMAC Artists Corporation. Blue Book Music prospered through songs by both Owens and Haggard. The next year he began acquiring radio stations; by decade’s end he owned four.

Owens’ achievements helped secure national recognition for the Bakersfield sound, a category that encompassed Haggard, Wynn Stewart, and Tommy Collins. These artists refreshed honky tonk in direct opposition to Nashville’s polished country-pop. Consequently Owens ranked among the era’s biggest stars, playing hundreds of shows annually and selling out venues nationwide. His 1966 number-one singles included “Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line,” “Think of Me,” and “Open Up Your Heart.” That year he launched the half-hour syndicated music program Buck Owens’ Ranch, which reached one hundred markets at its height. The 1967 chart-toppers “Where Do the Good Times Go,” “Sam’s Place,” and “Your Tender Loving Care” extended his streak, which ended when “It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me)” peaked at number two.

In 1968 Owens broadened his sound with additional textures and tempos. Although only “How Long Will My Baby Be Gone” reached number one, all four of that year’s singles—“How Long Will My Baby Be Gone,” “Sweet Rosie Jones,” “Let the World Keep on a Turnin’,” and “I’ve Got You on My Mind Again”—entered the Top Ten. In 1969 he opened Buck Owens Studios, a sixteen-track facility in downtown Bakersfield. Capitol permitted him and artists such as Susan Raye, Tony Booth, and Buddy Alan to record there, with the label handling pressing and packaging.

While maintaining a strong country following, Owens also attracted pop and rock listeners. The Beatles covered “Act Naturally” on their 1965 album Help!, and in fall 1968 he headlined sold-out shows at Fillmore West. Further experimentation produced the 1969 number-one singles “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass” and “Tall Dark Stranger.” In summer 1969 the variety program Hee Haw, conceived by two Canadian producers as a rural counterpart to Laugh-In, debuted with Owens and Roy Clark as co-hosts. Owens taped his segments only twice yearly, and the show moved from summer replacement to regular CBS fall series after strong initial ratings. Between December 1969 and February 1971 Capitol issued nine Owens albums, including three new studio sets. During this span he continued charting with “The Kansas City Song,” a number-two hit in summer 1970, and the Top Ten single “I Wouldn’t Live in New York City (If They Gave Me the Whole Dang Town)” at year’s end.

At the start of 1971 Owens signed his final Capitol contract, under which he would record for four more years before regaining ownership of all masters from 1957 to 1975; Capitol retained manufacturing rights until 1980. Throughout 1971 he scored Top Ten entries with a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Ruby (Are You Mad),” and “Rollin’ in My Sweet Baby’s Arms.” CBS canceled Hee Haw in 1971, yet the show thrived in syndication and eventually displaced Buck Owens’ Ranch. In spring 1972 he achieved his last solo number-one with the ballad “Made in Japan.” After that his chart momentum slowed; more than a year passed before “Big Game Hunter” returned him to the Top Ten at the close of 1973. Two additional Top Ten singles arrived in 1974, the novelty numbers “On the Cover of the Music City News,” a rewrite of Dr. Hook’s “On the Cover of the Rolling Stone,” and “(It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday.”

Rich’s death in a July 1974 motorcycle accident plunged Owens into depression. Although “Great Expectations” reached the Top Ten that fall, subsequent singles struggled to crack the Top 40. His Capitol contract ended in 1975, after which he moved to Warner Bros. and recorded in Nashville under producers who steered his sound toward country-pop. Record sales declined, yet Hee Haw remained popular, leading many viewers to associate Owens primarily with his on-screen comedic persona rather than his earlier hardcore honky tonk identity. A 1979 duet with Emmylou Harris, “Play Together Again Again,” failed to alter this perception. In 1980 Owens exited his Warner contract and sharply reduced live appearances, though he continued taping Hee Haw until 1986.

During his relative seclusion in the early and mid-1980s a new generation of traditionalist country artists emerged, drawing on the Bakersfield approach of Owens and Haggard. Dwight Yoakam, one of the leading figures, convinced Owens to re-record “Streets of Bakersfield.” After they performed the song on a CBS special, the duet was released in summer 1988 and returned Owens to number one for the first time since 1972. The success prompted the album Hot Dog!, which revived his career. He reassembled the Buckaroos and resumed touring and recording, including a duet of “Act Naturally” with Ringo Starr.

Owens recorded and performed sparingly in the 1990s, yet his classic Capitol catalog finally appeared on compact disc after being unavailable since 1980. His influence persisted across country and segments of rock. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1993 and hospitalized for pneumonia in 1997, he died at age 76 in his Bakersfield home in 2006. A 1968 White House performance for President Lyndon Johnson, originally issued as an LP in 1972, was released on CD as Live at the White House in 2012, augmented by nine tracks recorded for the Apollo 16 astronauts, forming both a memorial and a historical snapshot of the entertainer.