ROOTS of Country Music

  The Professional Work of Buck Owens

(8/12/1929 – 3/25/2006)

Career Highlights

No. 10 Country Music Artist (1944 - 1993)

Band Name: The Buckaroos

Recorded Using the Pseudonym Corky Jones

Barn Dance Affiliate

• Town Hall Party
• Ozark Jubilee

Film, Night Clubs, Radio & TV

• Austin City Limits, 4
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw (1969-1986), 4
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Johnny cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4  

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV

Billboard Chart Data

• No. 1 Singles: 21
• Consecutive No. 1 Singles: 15, #
• Top-10 Singles: 47
• Consecutive Top-10 Singles: 35
• Crossover Singles: 19
• Charted Singles: 90
• Chart Years Active: 1959 - 1989

#4th Most in Country Music

Awards

Country Music Association

• Country Music Hall of Fame (1996)

Career Labels:

• Capitol Records (1959-1975, )
• Warner Bros. Records (1975-1981)

Billboard Top-10 Singles

Buck Owens

1. Under Your Spell Again -1959
2. Above And Beyond -1960
3. Excuse Me (I Think I Got a Heartache)
4. Foolin' Around -1961
5. Lose Talk
6. Mental Cruelty, 1
7. Under the Influence of Love
8. Kickin'Our Hearts Around -1962
9. You're For Me
10. Act Naturally* -1963
11. Love's Gonna Live Here, 2
12. My Heart Skips A Beat* -1964
13. My Heart Skips A Beat
14. Together Again*
15. I Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)
16.  I've Got A Tiger By The Tail* -1965
17. Before You go
18. Only You (Can Break My Heart)
19. Gonna Have Love

*No. 1 Single

1Buck Owens & Rose Maddox

2Biggest Single

Buck Owens & the Buckaroos

1. Buckaroo* -1965
2. Waitin' In Your Welfare Line* -1966
3. Think of Me*
4. Open Up Your Heart*
5. Where Does The Good Times Go* -1967
6. Sam's Place*
7. Your Tender Loving Care*
8. It Takes People Like You
9. How Long Will My Baby Be Gone* -1968
10. Sweet Rosie Jones
11. Let the World Keep a Turnin' 1
12. I've Got You on My Mi9nd Again
13. Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass* -1969
14. Johnnie B Good*
15. Tall Dark Stranger*
16. Big In Vegas
17. The Kansas City Song -1970
18. The Great White Horse, 2
19. I Wouldn't Live in New York City
20. Bridge Over Troubled Water -1971
21. Ruby (are You Mad)
22. Rollin'in My Sweet Baby's Arms
23. I'll Still Be Waiting For You -1972
24. Made in Japan*

*No. 1 Single

1With Buddy Alan

2Buck Owens & Susan Raye

Buck Owens

1. Big Game Hunter -1973
2. On the Cover of the Music City News -1974
3. (It's a Monsters' Holiday
4. Great Expectations
5. Streets of Bakersfield, 1

*No. 1 Single

1with Dwight Yoakam 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Love's Gonna Live Here: The Buck Owens Story

Buck Owens was born in Sherman, Texas, on Aug. 12, 1929. In 1937, his sharecropper family of ten moved to Mesa, Arizona in an attempt to escape the Dust Bowl, a weather phenomena which plagued the Midwest portion of the US during the ‘30’s and ‘40’s. At age sixteen, he was performing in clubs and on radio. In 1951, Buck and his wife Bonnie (Campbell) moved to Bakersfield, California, a hot bed for country music. Bob Wills worked there extensively during his years in California, and both The Maddox Brothers & Rose and singer Ferlin Husky called it home.

Buck worked nights at the Blackboard Club, which was his home base from 1951 to 1958. During the day, he commuted to the Capitol Record studios in Los Angeles where he worked as a backup musician for Tennessee Ernie Ford, Sonny James, Wanda Jackson, Del Reeves, Tommy Sands, Tommy Collins and Faron Young. In the clubs ofBakersfield, Owens developed a trademark style on his solid body Fender Telecaster. Initially Buck played lead guitar for Tommy Collins and then sang as Corky Jones for the small Pep andChesterfield labels (1955).

Owens signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1957. His first solo session with Capitol and their AR executive Ken Nelson took place that fall. Though the songs were his, the results were another matter. When his first single for Capitol fizzled, Owens moved to Puyallup, Washingtonto pursue a radio career. In 1958, Buck returned to Capitol and asked Ken Nelson if he could record his next session with fiddle and steel. In October 1958, he cut four original songs, including the ballad "Second Fiddle." By the spring of 1959, it had reached No. 24 on the Billboard Country Chart.

Despite this positive sign, Buck remained inWashington and in 1959 he began hosting his own live TV show over KTNT inTacoma. Among the talent featured was a local house-wife-turned singer named Loretta Lynn. Dusty Rhodes introduced Buck to a teenaged fiddler fromTumwater,Washington by the name of Donald Eugene Ulrich. Better known as Don Rich, he would become Buck’s musical alter-ego and a staple in the Buckaroos band and on his best recordings. After joining Capitol Record, Owens formed his own band. The group had no name until one of Buck’s early bass players, a talentedBakersfield musician named Merle Haggard, dubbed them "The Buckaroos."

The success of "Second Fiddle" led to another session, this one yielding "Under Your Spell Again" his first Top 10 record (No. 4, 1959). In 1960, after a taste of chart success, Buck divested himself of his holdings inWashingtonand returned toBakersfield. It would remain his permanent base of operations.

“Act Naturally" rose to No.1 in 1963 and garnered Buck significant recognition. However, "Love's Gonna Live Here," which spent 16 weeks at No. 1, was the biggest song in country music that year, catapulted him into the national spotlight. Between 3/1964 and 7/1967, Buck garnered thirteen No. 1 singles, including "My Heart Skips A Beat," "Together Again" and "I Don’t Care" (1964), "I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail," "Before You Go," "Only You" and the instrumental "Buckaroo" (1965), "Waitin’ In Your Welfare Line," "Think Of Me" and "Open Up Your Heart" (1966) and “Where Does the Good Times Go,” "Sam’s Place" and "Your Tender Loving Care" (1967).

In 1956, Owens recorded a rockabilly record called Hot Dog for the Pep label, using the pseudonym Corky Jones because he did not want the fact he recorded a rock n' roll tune to hurt his country music career.

Owens had one No. single in 1968, three in 1969 his final solo No. single “Made in Japan” in 1972. In the early 1970s, Owens and the Buckaroos enjoyed a string of hit duets with his protégé Susan Raye, who subsequently became a popular solo artist with recordings produced by Owens.

Buck’s first national TV appearances came in 1963 and 1964, with several guest spots on both ABC’s Jimmy Dean Show and NBC’sKraftMusic Hall. He first ventured into his own nationwide TV series in 1966 with The Buck Owens Ranch. Among the regulars were eldest son Buddy, who performed as "Buddy Alan" and Susan Raye, who began working with Buck’s shows in 1964.

By 1966, Buck, Merle, Tommy Collins, and Wynn Stewart, each on Capitol but each with his own style, collectively defined what was then referred to as the "Bakersfield Sound": a sharp, Telecaster-driven honky-tonk sound. In 1967, Buck and the Buckaroos touredJapan, a then-rare occurrence for a country musician.

With Owens now a national TV star, Capitol flooded the market with nine LPs between 1969 and 1971. Buck teamed with singer/multi-instrumentalist Roy Clark in 1969 to host Hee Haw, originally a show for CBS-TV. CBS dropped it in 1971, but the show continued as a syndicated effort.

Pictured right Buck Owens, Lisa Todd & Roy Clark

Owens withdrew from his Hee Haw hosting duties in 1986 and was never replaced although the show continued into 1994. For fifteen years, Hee Haw, rode a crest of popularity and showcased dozens of aspiring and veteran entertainers and comedians from the country music ranks.

On July 17, 1974, Owens' best friend and Buckaroos guitarist Don Rich was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a guard rail on Highway 99 north of Bakersfield. Owens was devastated for years and abruptly halted his career. Buck continued with Hee Haw after Don’s death, but parted ways with Capitol in 1975 as his records sales had significantly declined.

Buck was essentially out of the spotlight until Dwight Yoakam came along in the mid-1980s. Like Owens, Yoakam was passionate about West Coast country music and was largely influenced by Owens' style of music. Dwight eventually teamed up with Buck for a duet titled "Streets of Bakersfield" (1988). Their recording was Owens' first No. 1 single in 16 years. Also in 1988, Owens re-signed with Capitol Records. That union resulted in two albums and five charted singles, none of which reached the Top 20.

From Oct. 1959 to Jul. 1988, Buck placed 61 top 20 hits on the Billboard Country Chart, including 21 that went to No. 1. In 1996, he was elected to both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Buck Owens died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on March 25, 2006, only hours after performing at his Crystal Palace restaurant, club and museum in Bakersfield,California. His death brought to close another indelible chapter in the original country music arena.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Studio Singles & Albums (1956 – 1991)

45 Singles

Pep

105 - Down On The Corner Of Love/It Don't Show On Me (1956)

106 - The House Down The Block/Right After The Dance (1956)

107 - Hot Dog/Rhythm And Booze (as Corky Jones) (1956)

108 - I'd Rather Have You/My Old Fashioned Heart (with Pauline Parker) (1956)

109 - Sweethearts In Heaven/There Goes My Love (1956) 

Chesterfield

44223 Country Girl (Leavin' Dirty Tracks) 1950s 

Capitol

F3824 Come Back/I Know What It Means Oct. 21, 1957)

F3957 Sweet Thing/I Only Know That I Love You Apr. 7, 1958)

F4090 I'll Take A Chance On Loving You/Walk The Floor Nov. 10, 1958)

F4172 Second Fiddle/My Everlasting Love Mar. 23, 1959)

F4245 Under Your Spell Again/Tired Of Livin' July 13, 1959)

4337 Above And Beyond/Till These Dreams Come True Feb. 1, 1960)

4412 Excuse Me (I Think I've Got A Heartache) /I've Got A Right To Know Aug. 1, 1960)

4496 Foolin' Around/High As The Mountains Jan. 2, 1961)

4550 Loose Talk/Mental Cruelty (w/ Rose Maddox) Apr. 10, 1961)

4602 Under The Influence Of Love/Bad Bad Dream July 24, 1961)

4679 Nobody's Fool But Yours/Mirror Mirror On The Wall Jan. 2, 1962)

4765 Save The Last Dance For Me/King Of Fools May 21, 1962)

4826 Kickin' Our Hearts Around/I Can't Stop (My Lovin' You) Aug. 20, 1962)

4872 You're For Me/House Down The Block Nov. 5, 1962)

4937 Act Naturally/Over And Over Again Mar. 11, 1963)

4992 We're The Talk Of The Town/Sweethearts In Heaven (w/ Rose Maddox) June 24, 1963)

5025 Love's Gonna Live Here/Getting Used To Losing You Aug. 19, 1963)

5136 My Heart Skips A Beat/Together Again Feb. 24, 1964)

5240 I Don't Care/Don't Let Her Know Aug. 3, 1964)

5336 I've Got A Tiger By The Tail/Cryin' Time Dec. 28, 1964)

5410 Before You Go/(I Want) No One But You April 19, 1965)

5465 Only You (Can Break My Heart)/Gonna Have Love July 5, 1965)

5517 Buckaroo/If You Want Love Oct. 11, 1965)

5537 Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy/All I Want For Christmas Dear Is You Nov. 8, 1965)

5566 Waitin' In Your Welfare Line/In The Palm Of Your Hand Jan. 3, 1966)

5647 Think Of Me/Heart Of Glass May 2, 1966)

5705 Open Up Your Heart/No More Me And You Aug. 15, 1966)

5811 Where Does The Good Times Go/The Way That I Love You Dec. 26, 1966)

5865 Sam's Place/Don't Ever Tell Me Goodbye Mar. 13, 1967)

5942 Your Tender Loving Care/What A Liar I Am June 26, 1967)

2001 It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me)/You Left Her Lonely Too Long Sept. 25,1967)

2080 How Long Will My Baby Be Gone/Everybody Needs Somebody Jan. 8, 1968)

2142 Sweet Rosie Jones/Happy Times Are Here Again Apr. 1, 1968)

2237 Let The World Keep On A Turnin'/I'll Love You Forever And Ever (w/ Buddy Alan) July 8, 1968)

2300 I've Got You On My Mind Again/That's All Right With Me (If It's All Right With You) Sept. 30, 1968)

2328 Christmas Shopping/One Of Everything You Got Nov. 4, 1968)

2330 Things I Saw Happening At The Fountain When I Was Visiting Rome Or Amore/Turkish Holiday Nov. 4, 1968)

2377 Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass/There's Gotta Be Some Changes Made Jan. 13, 1969)

2485 Johnny B. Goode/Maybe If I Close My Eyes (It'll Go Away) May 5, 1969)

2570 Tall Dark Stranger/Sing That Kind Of Song July 21, 1969)

2646 Big In Vegas/White Satin Bed Oct. 20, 1969)

2731 We're Gonna Get Together/Everybody Needs Somebody (w/ Susan Raye) Feb 2, 1970)

2791 Togetherness/Fallin' For You (w/ Susan Raye) Apr. 6, 1970)

2783 The Kansas City Song/I'd Love To Be Your Man May 18, 1970)

2871 The Great White Horse/Your Tender Loving Care (w/ Susan Raye) July 27, 1970)

2947 I Wouldn't Live In New York City (If They Gave Me The Whole Dang Town)/No Milk And Honey In Baltimore Oct. 5, 1970)

3023 Bridge Over Troubled Water/(I'm Goin') Home Jan. 11, 1971)

3096 Ruby (Are You Mad)/Heartbreak Mountain Apr. 12, 1971)

3164 Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms/Corn Likker Aug. 16, 1971)

3215 Too Old To Cut The Mustard/Wham Bam (w/ Buddy Alan) Nov. 8, 1971)

3225 Santa's Gonna Come In A Stage Coach/One Of Everything You Got (w/ Susan Raye) Nov. 22, 1971)

3262 I'll Still Be Waiting For You/Full Time Daddy Jan. 17, 1972)

3314 Made In Japan/Black Texas Dirt Apr. 3, 1972)

3368 Looking Back To See/Cryin' Time (w/ Susan Raye) June 19, 1972)

3429 You Ain't Gonna Have Ol' Buck To Kick Around No More/I Love You So Much It Hurts Aug. 28, 1972)

3504 In The Palm Of Your Hand/Get Out Of Town Before Sundown Dec. 4, 1972)

3563 Ain't It Amazing Gracie/The Good Ol' Days (Are Here Again) Mar. 5, 1973)

3601 The Gold Ol' Days (Are Here Again)/When You Get To Heaven (I'll Be There) (w/ Susan Raye) May 21, 1973)

3688 Arms Full Of Empty/Songwriter's Lament July 30, 1973)

3769 Big Game Hunter/That Loving Feeling Nov. 5, 1973)

3841 On The Cover Of The Music City News/Stony Mountain West Virginia Feb. 25, 1974)

3907 (It's A) Monsters' Holiday/Great Expectations June 24, 1974)

3976 Great Expectations/Let The Fun Begin Nov. 4, 1974)

4043 Weekend Daddy/41st Street Lonely Hearts Club Mar. 10, 1975)

4100 Sweethearts In Heaven/Love Is Strange (w/ Susan Raye) June 16, 1975)

4138 Battle Of New Orleans/Run Him To The Roundhouse Nellie Sept. 8, 1975)

4181 Country Singer's Prayer/Meanwhile Back At The Ranch Nov. 10, 1975 

Warner Brothers

8223 Hollywood Waltz/Rain On Your Parade May 26, 1976)

8255 California Okie/Child Support Aug. 18, 1976)

8316 World Famous Holiday Inn/He Don't Deserve You Anymore Jan. 19, 1977)

8395 It's Been A Long, Long Time/Rain On Your Parade May 1977)

8433 Our Old Mansion/How Come My Dog Don't Bark Aug. 3, 1977)

8486 Texas Tornado/Let The Good Times Roll Oct. 19, 1977)

8614 Nights Are Forever Without You/When I Need You July 5, 1978)

8701 Do You Wanna Make Love/Season Of My Heart Nov. 8, 1978)

8830 Play Together Again Again (w/ Emmylou Harris)/He Don't Deserve You Anymore Apr. 18, 1979)

49046 Hangin' In And Hangin' On/Sweet Molly Brown's Aug. 15, 1979)

49118 Let Jesse Rob The Train/Victim Of Life's Circumstances Nov. 4, 1979)

49200 Love Is A Warm Cowboy/I Don't Want To Live In San Francisco Mar. 5, 1980)

49278 Moonlight And Magnolia/Nickels And Dimes June 18, 1980)

49651 Without You/Love Don't Make The Bars Mar. 15, 1981) 

Reprise

27964 Streets Of Bakersfield (w/ Dwight Yoakam) June 17, 1988

Capitol - Curb/Capitol

44248 Hot Dog/Second Fiddle Sept. 28, 1988)

44295 A-11/Sweethearts In Heaven Jan. 4, 1989)

44356 Put Another Quarter In The Jukebox/Don't Let Her Know Mar. 22, 1989)

44409 Act Naturally (w/ Ringo Star)/The Key's In The Mailbox June 21, 1989)

44465 Gonna Have Love/Out There Chasing Rainbows Sept. 13, 1989)

4454 Tijuana Lady/Brooklyn Bridge (1989)

79396 Kickin' In (promo-only CD single) Oct. 22, 1990)

79896 Forever Yours (promo-only CD single) July 22, 1991

EPs  

Capitol

EAP-1-1550 Foolin' Around May 8, 1961)

R-5446 Four By Buck Owens (June 14, 1965)

Albums 

LaBrea

8017 Buck Owens (1961)

Capitol

DT1489 Buck Owens (later released as "Under Your Spell Again) Jan. 30, 1961

ST1482 Buck Owens Sings Harlan Howard Aug. 28, (1961)

ST1777 You're For Me Oct. 1, 1962)

ST1879 On The Bandstand Apr. 29, 1963)

ST1989 Buck Owens Sings Tommy Collins Nov. 11, 1963)

ST2009 Country Music Hootenanny Nov. 18, 1963)

ST2105 The Best Of Buck Owens June 1, 1964)

ST2135 Together Again/My Heart Skips A Beat July 20, 1964)

ST2186 I Don't Care Nov. 2, 1964)

ST2283 I've Got A Tiger By The Tail Mar. 1, 1965)

ST2353 Before You Go/No One But You July 26, 1965)

ST2367 The Instrumental Hits Of Buck Owens And His Buckaroos July 26, 1965)

ST2396 Christmas With Buck Owens Oct. 4, 1965)

ST2443 Roll Out The Red Carpet Feb. 7, 1966)

ST2497 Dust On Mother's Bible May2, 1966)

ST2556 Carnegie Hall Concert July 25, 1966)

ST2640 Open Up Your Heart Dec. 27, 1966)

ST2715 Buck Owens And His Buckaroos In Japan May 1, 1967)

ST2760 Your Tender Loving Care Aug. 7, 1967)

ST2841 It Takes People Like You To Make People Like Me Jan. 2, 1968)

ST2897 The Best Of Buck Owens Vol. 2 Apr. 1, 1968)

ST2962 Sweet Rosie Jones July 1, 1968)

ST2977 Christmas Shopping Oct. 7, 1968)

ST2994 Buck Owens The Guitar Player Oct. 7, 1968)

ST131 I've Got You On My Mind Again Dec. 30, 1968)

SKA0145 Best Of Buck Owens Vol. 3 Jan. 13, 1969)

ST232 Buck Owens In London June 2, 1969)

ST212 Tall Dark Stranger Sept. 29, 1969)

ST413 The Buck Owens Show: Big In Vegas Dec. 29, 1969)

ST439 Your Mother's Prayer Mar. 2, 1970)

ST448 We're Gonna Get Together (w/ Susan Raye) Apr. 6, 1970

ST476 The Kansas City Song July 6, 1970)

ST558 Great White Horse (w/ Susan Raye) Sept. 8, 1970

ST628 I Wouldn't Live In New York City Nov. 2, 1970)

ST685 Bridge Over Troubled Water Feb. 15, 1971)

ST785 Buck Owens Ruby June 21, 1971)

ST830 The Best Of Buck Owens Vol. 4 Oct. 4, 1971)

ST837 Merry Christmas From Buck Owens (W/Susan Raye) Sept. 20, 1971

ST874 Too Old To Cut The Mustard (w/ Buddy Alan) Jan. 1972

SMAS11039 Buck Owens Live At The Nugget Apr. 24, 1972)

ST11084 The Best Of Buck Owens & Susan Raye (July 1972)

ST11105 Live At The White House Sept. 5, 1972)

ST11136 In The Palm Of Your Hand Jan. 8, 1973)

ST11180 Ain't It Amazing, Gracie May 14, 1973)

ST11204 Good Old Days (Are Here Again) (w/ Susan Raye) July 1973

ST11222 Arms Full Of Empty Sept. 10, 1973)

ST11273 Best Of Buck Owens Vol. 5 Feb. 1974)

ST11332 (It's A) Monsters' Holiday Sept. 1974)

ST11390 41st Street Lonely Hearts' Club/Weekend Daddy (May 5, 1975)

ST11471 Best Of Buck Owens Vol. 6 (Jan. 12, 1976)

CI-9132 Hot Dog! (Nov. 16, 1988)

CI-92893 Act Naturally (Oct. 4, 1989) 

Capitol Curb/Capitol

CDP 7 91132 2 Hot Dog! Nov. 16, 1988)

CDP 7 92893 2 Act Naturally Oct. 4, 1989)

D2-77342 All-Time Greatest Hits Volume 1 Aug. 13m, 1990)

D2-77349 Christmas With Buck Owens (reissue of Capitol ST2396) Aug. 27, 1990

C4-95340 Kickin' In (Jan. 7, 1991)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Researched, written and compiled by Richard Bell, Roots of Country Music. Oct 19, 2011.