Buck Owens

Buck Owens can take much of the credit for the electrifying twang that influenced generations of honky-tonking country artists. Although Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. was born in Texas in 1929, it was his adopted home of Bakersfield, California, that would become synonymous with his stage name. In the early ‘60s, Owens and His Buckaroos, alongside Merle Haggard, pioneered what became known as the Bakersfield Sound—a rollicking, rock ‘n’ roll-influenced style easily identifiable by its ripping, twangy guitar. It was a direct reaction to the string arrangements of Nashville country-pop, and the success of singles like 1963’s tragicomic “Act Naturally” and 1964’s raucous “I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail” made it clear listeners were hungry for it. Owens enjoyed a smattering of chart success well into the ‘70s, but lost momentum when his best friend and Buckaroos guitarist Don Rich died in a motorbike accident. The sound they concocted together, though, remains profoundly influential, and its legacy has been carried on by numerous artists, including neo-traditionalist Dwight Yoakam, who collaborated with Owens for the 1988 hit single “Streets of Bakersfield”.