Posted on 03/25/2006 11:02:02 AM PST by lunarbicep
Singer Buck Owens, the flashy rhinestone cowboy who shaped the sound of country music with hits like "Act Naturally" and brought the genre to TV on the long-running "Hee Haw," died Saturday. He was 76.
Owens died at his home, said family spokesman Jim Shaw. The cause of death was not immediately known. Owens had undergone throat cancer surgery in 1993 and was hospitalized with pneumonia in 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.
"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 was modest when describing his aspirations.
"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 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."
(Excerpt) Read more at thestate.com ...
RIP Buck.
Wonder what will happen to his Crystal Palace in Bakersfield now. It won't be the same without him.
A giant of a musician. "Act Natuarally" is one of my all-time favorite songs.
The Crystal Palace will never be the same.
Rest in Peace, Buck.
RD
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Only know of Buck Owens from Hee Haw...
You now have the chance to learn about a very cool segment of country music called the "Bakersfield Sound." Buck was The Man when it came to this.
Buck was one of the good guys.
RIP & in the Lord.
Link to Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakum video.
http://www.bakersfield.com/static/FP/baksound/streetmo.htm
Now only Merele is left.
Rest in peace, Bakersfield cowboy!
Buck could play pretty good. Any kind of guitar.
Sorry to hear he is gone.
A great player and a big influence on other players and writers.
>>>You now have the chance to learn about a very cool segment of country music called the "Bakersfield Sound." Buck was The Man when it came to this.<<<
You said it. Between Buck and Merle Haggard, the Bakersfield Sound is a gritty, gutsy, simple cord changing heartfelt music that has influenced many contemporary musicians. Dwight Yoakum comes to mind.
Too bad Buck never got the recognition he so truly deserved...Some say it was the Hee-Haw curse....I dunno.
I know the poster didn't write the headline, but Buck Owens was much, much more than the host of "Hee Haw."
His brand of music was as raw, inventive and real as those on the rock 'n roll side of the fence in the 1950s. He had a perfect foil and a sideman nonpareil in Don Rich (who passed away more than 30 years ago). If the Bakersfield sound had not been crowded out by Countrypolitan and the Nashville sludge in the 60/70s we might have a very different (read: better)music scene today.
Fortunately there are musicians who carry on his tradition and sound such as Dwight Yoakam and the Derailers.
I just shake my head at poseurs like Toby Keith and many of the other 'hat acts' (George Strait being a notable exception) then put on 'Buckaroo' or 'Tiger By The Tail' to make me feel better.
Spot on.
(I'm gettin' goosebumps reading this thread)
I am sure Junior Samples, Grandpa, and the rest of Hee Haw gang are welcoming him with open arms.
I guess depending on one's background this is sad and humbling or it may be like: "who's Buck Owens?". I've known of him all my life and to me he was a household name. An icon.
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