Buck Owens
The rhinestone-suited king of the Bakersfield sound, whose twanging Telecaster and plainspoken songs brought country music back to its roots.
1929–2006 (age 77)·American musician and band leader·Birthday: August 12·The Silent Generation
Biography
Buck Owens didn't just play country music; he built a new engine for it. Reacting against the slick, string-laden 'Nashville Sound' of the 1950s, he and his band, The Buckaroos, forged a harder, leaner style in the bars and studios of Bakersfield, California. With Don Rich's piercing Telecaster guitar and Owens's unmistakable, high-lonesome voice, they racked up an astonishing 21 number-one hits, including 'Act Naturally' and 'I've Got a Tiger By the Tail.' Owens, with his red, white, and blue guitar and down-home wit, became a national fixture as co-host of 'Hee Haw,' though the show sometimes overshadowed his musical innovation. His Bakersfield sound, all punch and twang, directly inspired later generations, from Dwight Yoakam to modern alt-country, cementing his legacy as a purist who wanted his music to sound like the people who listened to it.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Buck was born in 1929, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Buck Was Born
The biggest hits of 1929
#1 Movie
The Broadway Melody
Best Picture
The Broadway Melody
Buck's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1929Born
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1934Started school
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1942Became a teenager
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1945Could drive
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1947Could vote
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1950Turned 21
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1959Turned 30
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1969Turned 40
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1979Turned 50
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 60
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 70
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2006Died at 77
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
Key Achievements
- Had 21 singles reach number one on the Billboard country music charts with his band The Buckaroos.
- Co-created and co-hosted the long-running, syndicated television variety show 'Hee Haw' for over a decade.
- Pioneered the 'Bakersfield sound,' a raw, telecaster-driven counterpoint to the polished Nashville production style.
- Was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
Did You Know?
His signature song, 'Buckaroo,' was an instrumental written by and featuring his lead guitarist, Don Rich.
He owned several radio stations and was a successful businessman in Bakersfield.
He was famously skeptical of the country 'outlaw' movement, preferring his own clean-cut image.
The Beatles covered his song 'Act Naturally' on their 1965 album 'Help!'
“I'd rather be a has-been than a never-was.”
