Buck Owens - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Overview

Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. better known as Buck Owens, was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

charts with his band, the Buckaroos

The Buckaroos

The Buckaroos were a Grammy-winning band led by Buck Owens in the 1960s and early '70s, who were heavily involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield Sound." Their peak of success was from 1965-1970. In 2005, CMT named the Buckaroos No...

. They pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound

Bakersfield sound

The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. The many hit singles were largely produced by Capitol Records country music head, Ken Nelson. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly produced, string...

—a reference to Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....

, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call American music.

While Owens originally used fiddle

Fiddle

The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...

and retained pedal steel guitar

Pedal steel guitar

The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...

into the 1970s, his sound on records and onstage was always more stripped-down and elemental, incorporating elements of rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

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Unanswered Questions

Was buck owens born in texas?

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Quotations

I Shall Sing No Song That Is Not A Country Song.I Shall Make No Record That Is Not A Country Record.I Refuse To be Known As Anything But A Country Singer.I Am Proud To be Associated With Country Music.Country Music And Country Music Fans Made Me What I Am Today.And I Shall Not Forget It.

"Pledge To Country Music" in Music City News (March 1965)

I've got a tiger by the tail it's plain to seeI won't be much when you've got through with meWell I'm losing weight and I'm turning mighty paleLooks like I've got a tiger by the tail.

"I've Got A Tiger By The Tail"

Where, where, are you tonight?Why did you leave me here all alone?I searched the world over, And thought I found true love.You met another and Pfft! you were gone.

" Pfft You Were Gone" - comedic country song often featured on Hee Haw|Hee Haw

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