Buck Owens
Buck: raw, real -- not Nashville
Buck Owens never got rid of the Fender Telecaster he bought secondhand in 1951. That old off-white guitar always rang as earnestly as ever, but the years were not altogether kind. One night at The Blackboard, the Bakersfield honky-tonk where he played for the better part of a decade, Owens propped his guitar unsteadily against an amp -- and then heard it crash to the floor with an electric thud. When he picked it up again he saw that a portion of the ivory "nut" fret at the top of the neck had been chipped away, springing loose a string.
Buck had the world by the tail
Mr. Bakersfield changed the course of American music with his raw, spirited sound
'He was a model of what's possible'
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People liked Buck because he was, like us, imperfect and one of a kind
Much more than a hit musical duo
Dwight Yoakam was learning from the master long before the two of them ever met. He remembers working his way through his own songs -- developing ideas about making records, discovering a distinct style of his own -- by listening to Buck Owens' old vinyl.
'Streets' was anthem
If Buck Owens was Bakersfield's favorite son, one of his songs surely became the city's anthem.
Buck's Bakersfield Sound still echoes
What is the Bakersfield Sound and what role did Buck Owens play in creating it? How did it change American music? If you're new to these parts or unfamiliar with Bakersfield music history, here's your primer.
His history will live on at these places
Buck Owens left a lot of footprints all over Bakersfield. Some you can still see, some are only memories. Here's a list of local sites that might help bring those memories to life. 1. The Bakersfield sign, 2800 Buck Owens Blvd. The original sign, a footbridge, spanned Union Avenue just south of California Avenue from the late '40s. It was torn down several years ago, but Owens preserved the blue porcelain letters and had them attached to his own re-creation outside his Crystal Palace dinner club in 1999.
Buck had a lot of ladies in his life
Buck Owens entertained us with his music, with his colorful stage persona, with the grinning country caricature he brought to television. Once in a while, and sometimes inadvertently, he entertained us with his love life, too.
He's moved on, but the statues remain
Buck Owens' Legends in Bronze, Crystal Palace, 'Bakersfield' gateway arch among his enduring gifts to city
Buck and Bakersfield: Two of a kind
Why are Buck Owens and Bakersfield so indelibly linked? So interchangeable? Sure, Buck was a big star, an influential pace-setter in American music and a prolific contributor to charity and the local economy.
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Loss of legend felt around the world
If you thought Buck Owens was Bakersfield's own homegrown, corn-pone, treble-tone music hero, think again.
Country bar dishes musical memories
It's been a long time since Trout's has seen a Monday night crowd like last night's packed house. But for a few glorious hours, the Oildale bar seemed to be the center of the world for lovers of traditional country music who came by the hundreds for two reasons:
Goodbye, Buck
Buck Owens, a Texas-born fruit picker who made the name of his adopted hometown synonymous with a distinctive brand of country music, died early Saturday morning at his ranch just north of Bakersfield. The cause of death was heart failure. He was 76.
Robert Price column: Doing it his way until the end
It was a few minutes till showtime Friday night and Buck Owens was starting to have second thoughts.
Hero revered in life and death
Many express sadness at passing, pride at local icon's longtime ties to city
Web Exclusive: On the road with Buck Owens, 1964
There's something about motel mattresses, diner food and that endless yellow line on the asphalt that can make a man crazy.