Act Naturally, But Beware of the Consequences

Buck Owens: The Biography (Chicago Review Press, 400 pages, June 24, 2010)

For years during his long career, Buck Owens received mostly favorable publicity. He even had his own public relations staff. He had it his own way, by his own account, until now, when someone came along and decided to balance the ledger.

Eileen Sisk wrote -- finally -- what every citizen in Bakersfield had already known for years, or should have known, the truth about Buck Owens, the truth local journalists apparently feared to tread -- even after Owens' passing. By now, after the inevitable feedback, I am sure she realizes she just scratched the surface on ol' Bucko, the person. She has mined the past in a city where others in her trade feared to even shake the timbers.

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Buckaroos Failed to Get Their Due on Big Hit

Instrumental singles were normally two-side affairs. In other words, both sides were instrumentals. That was because they were done by bands or individual instrumentalists, not by singers. It is somewhat odd then that one of the biggest instrumental hits in the history of country music, "Buckaroo," is credited to Buck Owens, and not the Buckaroos, the actual instrumental group behind the song. The Capitol single reads "Buck Owens and The Buckaroos," not just "The Buckaroos," as they are rightly billed on their many albums and some other singles efforts. Not only that, the flip side is a regular Owens vocal, "If You Want a Love." In fact, Owens' vocal singles after a certain point all read "Buck Owens and The Buckaroos." "Buckaroo" the single should have been billed as by The Buckaroos and backed with another of their instrumentals. It remains an oddity for these reasons.
-- Bryce Martin