Biography
Jana Margaret Meyer entered the world on 30 August 1942 in Great Falls, Montana. Both of her parents trained as classical violinists, and she took up the instrument herself at three, yet it was her maternal grandfather’s country fiddling that ultimately steered her path. Following her parents’ divorce, she spent her formative years alongside her mother across Colorado and Idaho, where school orchestras and talent contests provided early performing opportunities. She earned a classical qualification from a Denver college before receiving a scholarship for a year’s study at the Vienna Academy in Austria. Between 1967 and 1970 she married, raised two children, divorced, and returned to music, capturing national fiddle titles in both 1973 and 1974. While performing with a bluegrass ensemble in 1974, she came to the attention of Buck Owens. After Don Rich’s fatal motorcycle accident the following year, she stepped into his role with the Buckeroos, appearing regularly on tour and on Hee Haw. In 1977 an unauthorized solo album of Owens’ material led to her dismissal, though she and Owens later wed. Their union proved turbulent: Owens initiated the first divorce, they remarried, and she subsequently ended the marriage herself. She remained with the band until 1979, when she launched a solo career and began recording for Lark Records. Beyond her signature country fiddling on a blue instrument, she harbors a deep affinity for jazz that took her to Switzerland’s Montreux International Jazz Festival. Throughout the 1980s her band Hotwire kept her on the road while she also supplied music for commercials and promotional campaigns tied to a major retail chain. Known as the Fiddling Femme Fatale, she holds the distinction of being the first woman to join Owens’ group.
Albums
