RIP - Buck Owens (1 Viewer)

[Steve...O]

For fans of classic country music, it never got any cooler than Buck and his red, white, and blue guitar.

He made great music all his life, including singing on a Derailers track from a couple of years ago that is every bit as Bakersfield country as anything he ever did. I don't hink I ever heard a song of his I didn't like.

RIP.

 

[Henry Gale]

[c]Buck Owens, famed for 'Act Naturally,' dies at 76[/c]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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.

It's turning into a rough week for hard country fans. Songwriter Cindy Walker died Thursday. Cindy wrote "You Don't Know Me" and "Bubbles In My Beer" and literally hundreds of other songs. I'm going to her funeral Monday.

 

[Henry Gale]

[c]The Buck Starts Here[/c]

"I never knew this place had so much empty space
Until tonight, when you walked right out the door
And so I walked to our bedside and pulled out that 45
That laid for years behind our chest of drawers.

At first, it looked too worn to play, the label all but washed away
Then I made out the name of my old friend
Thirty years, and a scratch or two, but when the needle hit the groove
I knew it was crying time again.


The Buck starts here
With Hank sure to follow
Turn him up loud and clear
He's singing my sorrow
Let the sad songs roll on
Through a house filled with tears
Where the good times is gone
The Buck starts here.


The people in the house next door think I'm tearing up the floor
It's half past four, my lights are burning bright
But this occasion's no big deal: it's just some boys from Bakersfield
Who came around to help me through the night.

The Buck starts here
With Hank sure to follow
Turn him up loud and clear
He's singing my sorrow
Let the sad songs roll on
Through a house filled with tears
Where the good times is gone
The Buck starts here."

-Robbie Fulks-

 

[Steve...O]

Henry, thanks for mentioning Cindy Walker. Although she was not a recording artist per se, it is no exaggeration to say she influenced classic country just as much as any of the Hanks, Ernest Tubb, or Bob Wills. After all, she's the one who put the words in their mouth.

I'll never forget watching "Music City Tonight" in the 1990s when Eddy Arnold was on. He broke into uncontrollable tears when talking about Cindy. Being a live show they couldn't stop taping, but it was very touching seeing one of the most successful recording artists of all time paying tribute one of the best songwriters of all time.

 

[Ken CG]

I also think Buck Owen's was great. My dad considered him as a hero. He will definently be missed. My dad used to play lead guitar for Buck's son, Buddy Alan in the mid-70's, which, I think, is pretty neat. Even had permission to call Buck Owens "Uncle Buck." We have so many Buck Owens LPs and tapes and a couple of CDs. My dad was definently a big fan. I like his music too considering the fact that I am 23 years old and listened to him since I was a teenager.

 

[Henry Gale]

You're right, but she did have a hit in the early 40s with When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold (a song she did NOT compose).
Anyway the combined Owens-Walker thread now has as many replies as the Steven Seagal music thread....which in turn has this beat on number of views so I need to go have a strong drink and perhaps find a slightly more sophisticated forum.
That idea would crack Buck and Cindy up.

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Willie Nelson was on Letterman last night promoting his new tribute cd to Cindy Walker.

Willie Nelson, "You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker" (Lost Highway)

 

[Steve...O]

A number of Buck's albums have been reissued on Sundazed and are available at decent prices. From what I understand Buck, being the savvy businessman he was, retained control of his master recordings and cut this deal with Sundazed.

Henry, quick question for you if you by chance know the answer: was Cindy Walker ever married? I've seen conflicting info on this (some say she was married briefly while others say she never was). I always found it fascinating that she could write such timeless and heartfelt music without having gone through a marriage.

Steve

 

[Henry Gale]

Steve,
Sorry I took so long to answer this, life has been happening....

In a New York Time article this year she said she had had a "short-lived marriage" but declined to discuss it.