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Too bad. I know that his "Bakersfield Sound" was a radical departure for Country Music. Perhaps Cat can fill us in on that. I regret that I only know that by the term, but I haven't heard the music. RIP, Buck. Much more than the host of Hee Haw, but that comical turn brought country music to a much wider audience. I know that when I lived with my adopted aunt and uncle in the 7th and 8th grades (1970-71), we didn't miss an episode. bp

yep.... we always watched it in the early days of the show....one of the first songs we did as a country group was Tiger by the Tail... later we did a few Dwight Yoakam songs when he first came out with his hits like Guitars Cadillacs.... Dwight was influenced by Buck Owens style of music.Honkytonk Man is another song of Dwight's that comes to mind......

I stole this from our pal Bill "Badco" Ott... it was posted on Standard 1320. bp

Well, I ain't gonna work on the railroad,
and I ain't gonna work on the farm
Hey, I'll lay around the shack
'til the mail train comes back...
and roll in my sweet baby's arms**

Damn... another American icon gone. I seem to remember him being at one or two of the California Hot Rod Reunions. The first thing the G-Man and I did on our first visit to Bakersfield was have our pictures taken on Buck Owens Boulevard. Did a lot of his stuff when I was playing in Austin. John Fogarty mentioned him on an Creedence number years ago...

"A dinosaur Victrola... listenin' to Buck Owens
do... do... do... lookin' out my back door"

But you know... playing to a full house, then going home and passing in your sleep... there's a hell of a lot worse ways for a musician to go. The following is a brief... and very incomplete... review of some of Buck's recording highlights...

1st record - "Down On The Corner Of Love" 1956

1st record to reach Top 40 - "Second Fiddle" 1959

1st #1 Record - "Act Naturally" 1963

Last Record in Top 40 "Streets Of Bakersfield" 1988 duet w/ Dwight Yoakum

Other #1 singles... in no particular order.....

Loves' Gonna' Live Here - #1 for 16 weeks!

I've Got A Tiger By The Tail

Waitin' In Your Welfare Line

Think Of Me

Together Again

My Heart Skips A Beat

Buck also did some guitar session work playing his familiar Fender Strat, most notably with Gene Vincent. I was always partial to Buck's version of "Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms"**, although Leon Russell and Willie have both done great covers of it too. More old B.S. later.
Badco

Excellent, BP and Doc. Simply excellent. Buck didn't have a website dedicated to him alone, but I got this from CMT.com...
http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/owens_buck/artist.jhtml
Here is the web page for the Buck Owens Crystal Palace in Bakersfield:
http://www.buckowens.com/index2.html

Didn't Buck do "The Race Is On"? He had that cool American Flag guitar on Hee Haw that was totally different. He could play and sing, he had a great sense of humor, and Roy Clark was a perfect foil for his antics. That was a classic TV series...non-stop laughs and music...the Crystal Palace site has a 27-chapter multimedia book on him...America lost a great man today. RIP, Buck. Pick and grin forever. WC1

..... Together Again...... yea great song !!! WC i think George Jones had a hit with The Race Is On ..... Buck may have also ?

No, you're right, Doc. It was George Jones who did that one. Very similar in style and substance to Buck...Beatles covered "Act Naturally"..."Cryin' Time" was covered by Ray Charles...The Buckaroo was awesome. Thanks, WC1

RIP Buck..
A true legend
a hell of a lot more than just hee haw

JUST TO ADD, I read that Buck's wife Bonnie passed earlier this week..was also married to Merle Haggard for a while...

RIP Mr. & Mrs. Owens

Buck....a true Legend of country music.