Buck Owens

[radhead]

One of the truly great country singers. Pioneered the "Bakersfied" country music sound.

Also hugely influential on lesser talents like Merle Haggard (who probably just would have been a bookkeeper or something else, if not for this man's influence).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Ygm9bvjUE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkNsqdGm0wo&feature=related

 

[Christian Soldier]

Poor Buck's measly 20 number one country chart hits pales in comparison to Merle's 38. That's about a two to one dominance. Pretty sad really, considering Buck was in the country music business before Merle.

Not to mention that Merle wrote most of his own big hits, whereas Buck had to rely primarily on other songwriters to write a lot of his songs.

And Buck never had any superhits like "Okie from Muskogee", which defined an entire generation.

Buck was also never known as a particularly bright one. It was Merle who named Buck's band "the Buckaroos" back in the 60's. Poor Buck couldn't even come up with a name for his own band!

 

[LonesomeTexan]

Poor Buck's measly 20 number one country chart hits pales in comparison to Merle's 38. That's about a two to one dominance. Pretty sad really, considering Buck was in the country music business before Merle.

Not to mention that Merle wrote most of his own big hits, whereas Buck had to rely primarily on other songwriters to write a lot of his songs.

And Buck never had any superhits like "Okie from Muskogee", which defined an entire generation.

Buck was also never known as a particularly bright one. It was Merle who named Buck's band "the Buckaroos" back in the 60's. Poor Buck couldn't even come up with a name for his own band!

come on now guys. Buck and Merle are both legends with their own distinct sounds. I love hearing Santa Looked Alot Like Daddy this time of year. Great holiday tune.

 

[radhead]

I can only listen to "Okie From Muskogee" about once every 20 years.

 

[Buckeye]

Don't forget Dwight Yoakam. He studied at Buck's altar. I'd never refer to him as a "lesser talent" though.

 

[LonesomeTexan]

Don't forget Dwight Yoakam. He studied at Buck's altar. I'd never refer to him as a "lesser talent" though.

Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis, and George Strait were responsible for the only good country music being produced in a terrible decade for country music. Dwight is too cool for school.

 

[Christian Soldier]

Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis, and George Strait were responsible for the only good country music being produced in a terrible decade for country music. Dwight is too cool for school.

Add Alan Jackson and Ricky Skaggs to your list.

All five have recorded a good bit of material in a more traditional vein than the pop that's been coming out of Nashville for about the last 30 years. They're pretty decent, but they're still not up there with the Country artists of the 40s-70s.

The mid-40s to the mid-70s was Country's "Golden Era", IMHO.

 

[MikeMcK]

One of the truly great country singers. Pioneered the "Bakersfied" country music sound.

Also hugely influential on lesser talents like Merle Haggard (who probably just would have been a bookkeeper or something else, if not for this man's influence).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Ygm9bvjUE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkNsqdGm0wo&feature=related

I don't see how you can say that Merle Haggard is a "lesser talent". He was a better songwriter and a better instrumentalist. Owens was a good guitar player but he never played fiddle on stage.

Haggard, on the other hand, played both and was very good at both.

They were both great. If Owens had an upper hand anywhere, it was that he was able to slip between genres more easily.

If you ever had the pleasure of seeing him live, then you know that they played as much rock and roll as they did country, covering the Beatles, the Byrds, Dylan, etc.

I wonder how many people know that he recorded "Take it Easy" before the Eagles did.

 

[MikeMcK]

By the way, if you like Buck Owens, don't forget about the Derailers, who served as his backing band on several occasions, but are an awesome band in their own right.

 

[MikeMcK]

Poor Buck's measly 20 number one country chart hits pales in comparison to Merle's 38. That's about a two to one dominance. Pretty sad really, considering Buck was in the country music business before Merle.

Yeah, but don't forget that Merle had a much longer run than Buck did.

Other than Hee Haw and just a couple of dates a year, Buck more or less dropped out after Don Rich died.

Buck was also never known as a particularly bright one.

I don't think you become that big a success in business unless you've got something on the ball.

 

[radhead]

Actually, I was kidding about him being more talented. I don't know one way or the other, but I do think he has probably been underrated as a result of Hee Haw.

I wonder how many people know that he recorded "Take it Easy" before the Eagles did.

That's interesting. I still consider that a country song, though.

 

[Christian Soldier]

Yeah, but don't forget that Merle had a much longer run than Buck did.

Other than Hee Haw and just a couple of dates a year, Buck more or less dropped out after Don Rich died.

I don't think you become that big a success in business unless you've got something on the ball.

Buck's big hits had dried up before Don Rich died. All but one or two of his number one hits were recorded in the 1960's. Rich didn't die until 1974.

Britney Spears is a multi-millionaire many times over, and dumb as a brick. Likewise with Buck Owens. So being a "success" in the music business doesn't necessarily mean somebody has "something on the ball".

Buck and his apologists like to blame Hee Haw for Buck's lack of career success after the 60's. However, if Buck really had "something on the ball", why wasn't he able to comprehend that Hee Haw was allegedly hurting his career much earlier than he did?

However, that's just another excuse on Buck's part. Hee Haw actually did him a huge favor by paying him a pretty penny, and keeping him in the public eye long after he was essentially washed up.

Merle Haggard has proven he has the talent, business smarts and mental toughness to have one of the longest and most successful careers in Country music history.

Buck never lived up to expectations.

Not to mention that just about everybody who knows Merle will tell you he's a genuinely nice guy, whereas Buck had a well-deserved reputation for being an arrogant jerk.

 

[Christian Soldier]

That's interesting. I still consider that a country song, though.

"Take It Easy" is classified as country rock.

 

[radhead]

I don't think much of your opinions. Who knows whether Merle Haggard might not have joined Hee Haw also? You never know. I'm sorry that you worship these people.

Did you know that Stephen Stills wanted to be a Monkee. Do you think he would have been taken seriously as a musician if that had happened? Get real.

 

[MikeMcK]

Buck's big hits had dried up before Don Rich died. All but one or two of his number one hits were recorded in the 1960's. Rich didn't die until 1974.

Britney Spears is a multi-millionaire many times over, and dumb as a brick. Likewise with Buck Owens. So being a "success" in the music business doesn't necessarily mean somebody has "something on the ball".

The difference is that Brittany is from an era when artists are entitled to a much greater share of profits from their albums and ticket sales.

They also make a lot more in endorsements.

Brittany didn't go out and create businesses. Brittany wasn't known as a brilliant businessperson because of her investments in real estate, shopping malls, radio stations, night clubs, record clubs, etc.

Buck Owens was.

Buck and his apologists like to blame Hee Haw for Buck's lack of career success after the 60's.

I've never heard that. I thought the general opinion (including Buck's) that it was because of the funk, both artistically and personally, that he fell into after Don Rich died.

However, if Buck really had "something on the ball", why wasn't he able to comprehend that Hee Haw was allegedly hurting his career much earlier than he did?

Because being on the #1 syndicated show in history isn't exactly a symptom of careere damage.

Not to mention that just about everybody who knows Merle will tell you he's a genuinely nice guy, whereas Buck had a well-deserved reputation for being an arrogant jerk.

I don't know where you heard that, but that isn't true at all.

He was very well known for being friendly and outgoing, doting on his fans, helping struggling artists such as the Derailers, Terri Clark, Pat Green and, of course, Dwight Yoakam.

You seem to have some sort of personal thing against Buck Owens. Would you mind explaining that for us?

 

[MikeMcK]

Did you know that Stephen Stills wanted to be a Monkee.

We saw Peter Tork and James Lee Stanley about two years ago and Peter explained how he became a Monkee.

He and Stephen Stills were close friends and both responded to the audition. The producers chose Stills and sent Tork home because they said he couldn't sing.

A couple of weeks into rehearsals, somebody pointed out that Stills was already starting to lose his hair and was too fat and that just didn't make for a good teen idol.

So they fired Stills and he lobbied for Tork, so they took Peter Tork back.

Do you think he would have been taken seriously as a musician if that had happened? Get real.

Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith were both great musicians and it took Tork another twenty years to be recognized as a serious musician.

 

[MikeMcK]

Actually, I was kidding about him being more talented. I don't know one way or the other, but I do think he has probably been underrated as a result of Hee Haw.

Well, let's see:

guitar and saxophone: Owens

Fiddle and songwriting: Haggard

Influence on other artists: Owens

I think the edge goes to Owens, but I don't think one is any more talented than the other. They're just differently talented.

 

[Christian Soldier]

The difference is that Brittany is from an era when artists are entitled to a much greater share of profits from their albums and ticket sales.

They also make a lot more in endorsements.

Brittany didn't go out and create businesses. Brittany wasn't known as a brilliant businessperson because of her investments in real estate, shopping malls, radio stations, night clubs, record clubs, etc.

Buck Owens was.

Au contraire, Pierre!

Buck Owens shelled out big bucks to professional investors who made his investments for him. Buck himself didn't do squat.

 

[Christian Soldier]

I've never heard that. I thought the general opinion (including Buck's) that it was because of the funk, both artistically and personally, that he fell into after Don Rich died.

Just because you've never heard it doesn't mean it's not true:

"Hee Haw, originally envisioned as country music's answer to Laugh-In, outlived that show and ran for twenty-four seasons. Owens was co-host from 1969 until he left the cast in 1986, convinced that the show's exposure had obscured his immense musical legacy."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Owens

 

[Christian Soldier]

Because being on the #1 syndicated show in history isn't exactly a symptom of careere damage.

Your statement is false.

Soul Train, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune are all syndicated programs that have run longer than Hee Haw.