HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALVIS!

Normally, I try to use this space each week as a spot to try to grow as a writer, and offer thoughts about other things besides music. But, this Wednesday, August 12, is quickly approaching, and I wanted to offer a tribute to someone who will always be one of my favorite singers.....Buck Owens. The "Baron Of Bakersfield," as he was known by some, would have turned 80 if he were still living, and I think that's something well worth writing about.

People have asked me over the years about the first music I remember hearing. I have to admit that I don't really have a ready answer to that question. It could have been John Denver, Dionne Warwick, Barbara Mandrell----all three I remember playing on the radio while going places with my parents. It could have been Kenny Rogers, who I drove them crazy with by always wanting to rewind "The Gambler" or "Lucille" for the 25th consecutive time. However, there is no doubt about the first musician I remember seeing---it was Buck Owens.

As host of "Hee Haw," Owens was a popular figure in the living rooms of many each week growing up. The trademark red, white, and blue guitar he played was a symbol---something that to a three or four year old---it made him stand out. It wasn't till later that I realized what a great singer, writer, and musician the man was. As great as the show was in making him a household name---to many, he was known as the guy who wore his overalls backward while in Kornfield Kounty....and that's not a knock, I still watch "Hee Haw" twice a week on RFD-TV today.

There was something about that sound....The Bakersfield sound. It had more of a wide-open and care-free feel than a lot of the polished sounds coming from Nashville, at the time. The guitars were a little louder, a little more heavy on the twang, if you will. It was by no means rock and roll, but there was a vitality to the music that still stands some forty years later.

"Tiger By The Tail," "Together Again," "Act Naturally,"---those were just a few of the songs that Owens and his band, The Buckaroos made into classics. Speaking of that band, Doyle Holly on bass, Willie Cantu on drums, Tom Brumley on steel, and "Dangerous" Don Rich on lead, fiddle, harmony....and if Buck ever needed a spoon player...I'm sure that Rich could have done it better than anyone. I don't know if a band has ever been better than that 1964-1967 core of the group.

Since Owens was based in California, he was never a prominent figure in Nashville circles, except when taping "Hee Haw" twice a year. With that said, I never got to meet him...that is until just a few months before his death in 2006. For a few years, I took a yearly vacation (although it was work-related) to Southern California, and made three pilgrimages to his Crystal Palace nightclub--where he performed in concert each weekend. One could just walk up to the stage, and hand him a request. Pretty Cool, indeed! A friend of mine, Larry Daniels, who is one of the giants in the Country Radio industry, arranged for me to meet Buck before his show in July 2005. Larry had worked for Buck at KNIX / Phoenix for many years. While I consider myself a fan who gets to work in an industry he loves....there are sometimes where meeing the stars is very special......George Jones, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers....These people aren't just stars.....They almost border on royalty!

I never did feel quite that same feeling of awe as I did that night in Bakersfield. Less than a year later, Buck had gone on to join Don Rich in that place called "Hillbilly Heaven." Since then, Doyle Holly and Tom Brumley have both joined in the band up there, and I bet you can imagine the musical reunion!

As I said earlier, I'll be back to other topics beside music next week, but I just had to share a few thoughts about the first star I ever had a memory of as a child, Happy Birthday, Alvis...(who I am sure you have figured out by now, is Buck)....Country Music misses you!