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.]

quote:

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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.

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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.]

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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.]

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

Nicer guy you could never meet.

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

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"

Bruce W

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!!

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

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

Db

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

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.

"Together Again"

The great country music legend Buck Owens passed away on Saturday, March 25, 2006 and the sad news caused me to reflect and reminisce on my childhood, to which his music was a main ingredient of my upbringing. Every Saturday and Sunday Dad would stack a few records on the turntable and the house was filled with the sounds of Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Connie Smith, Eddie Arnold, Merle Haggard, Hank Thompson, Ernest Tubb and many other greats.

But it was the crisp instrumentals and tight vocals of Buck Owens and his Buckaroos that took top billing. As I listen now to the recorded CDs, transferred by Dad from his albums of over 35 years ago, the joyous memories of the timeless melodies of my youth (including the crackle and pop of scratches undoubtedly caused by yours truly) come streaming back, taking me to a time where the true meaning of country music was a reflection of reality.

As I listen to these tunes a smile comes to my face as I somehow manage to remember all of the words to most of these songs: “Saw Mill, Under Your Spell Again, King of Fools, Together Again, My Heart Skips a Beat, Tiger by the Tail, Under the Influence of Love, Waitin’ in your Welfare Line, Second Fiddle, Only You, You’ve Been Foolin’ Round, Love’s Gonna Live Here” and many, many more. As a kid I spent hours and hours playing air guitar and singing these songs, which is probably why I’ll never forget the lyrics.

Buck’s music had a very unique sound that was delivered by the greatest, most talented group of band members ever assembled - Don Rich, Doyle Holly, Tom Brumley and Willie Cantu - the Buckaroos. If there ever was a more talented, diversified musician than Don Rich, then he’s still a distant second; Don’s great vocals, guitar pickin’ and fiddle playing - combined with Buck and the other band member’s musical talents - created a knee slappin’, toe tappin’ sound that has yet to be duplicated. Doyle Holly’s fantastic baritone vocals; Tom Brumley’s wonderful steel guitar talent and Willie Cantu’s wizardry on the drums blended together to give us country music the way is was meant to be.

The Buckaroos recorded several great albums without Buck, featuring the individual talents of each band member. Doyle Holly’s “Night Time is Cry Time” and “Just a Foolish Notion” are great tunes. And who can forget “Understand Your Man, Streets of Laredo” and “Abilene?” And Tom Brumley’s pedal steel licks? I’m pretty sure I listened to their instrumental album more than any other. And there’s no question in my mind that my Dad’s favorite Don Rich vocal was “You bring out the Best in Me.” Great stuff.

Buck’s music always brought a smile to your face, and that’s because you could just tell that he and his band were having a great time singing and playing together. Albums such as “Live at Carnegie Hall, Live from Japan and Big in Vegas” were proof of that. And, of course, his tenure on the Hee Haw TV show also shows just how much Buck enjoyed his music and enjoyed performing. The man was the consummate professional.

Many people argue that Don Rich made Buck Owens what he was, and Buck admits to that claim. But they complimented each other and Don was content being Buck’s right-hand man. Don’s unfortunate death in 1973 was a tragic loss to country music and to Buck Owens especially. Buck is on record as stating that he never really recovered from the loss of his dear friend, and that is easily understood. It was hard to decipher who was singing melody and who was singing harmony - and their collaboration on their Fender Telecasters was also a match made in heaven.

Speaking of heaven, although I’m sad to hear of the passing of one of my childhood idols - Buck Owens - part of me is happy to know that he’s making music with his good friend, Don Rich.

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David.C. Wright
GFI SD10 Dynacomp RV-3 Evans SE200 Strats POD Fender Deluxe Reverb

Buck thanks for the music and the memories!!

spelling

[This message was edited by Larry Strawn on 29 March 2006 at 01:01 PM.]

Yours truly,
Tay Joslin