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LTC Stephen F.
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Edited 6 y ago
Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that August 12 is the anniversary of the birth of American musician, singer, songwriter and band leader Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. known professionally known as Buck Owens.
Rest in eternal peace Alvis Edgar Owens Jr.

Background from imdb.com/name/nm0654325/bio
"Biography
Overview | Mini Bio | Spouse (4) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (16)
Overview
Born August 12, 1929 in Sherman, Texas, USA
Died March 25, 2006 in Bakersfield, California, USA
Birth Name Alvis Edgar Owens Jr.
Nickname The Baron of Bakersfield
Height 6' (1.83 m)

Mini Bio
Buck Owens is a true legend in country music. Along with fellow performers Merle Haggard and Wynn Stewart, Buck helped popularize the Bakersfield Sound, or honky-tonk infused with electric instrumentation and rock influences. Growing up in Arizona, Buck picked cotton and learned to play the mandolin, the guitar and horns. He had his first radio program at age 16 and a year later, worked with the Mac's Skillet Lickers, whose lead singer was Bonnie Campbell. Bonnie soon became the first Mrs. Buck Owens; together, they had a son, Buddy. Buck and his young family moved to Bakersfield, California, in the early 1950s, where he worked as a session guitarist and played for a band called the Orange Blossom Playboys. After a few years of recording rockabilly songs (as "Corky Jones"), Buck signed a contract with Capitol Records in 1957. His first recordings floundered, and it wasn't until the spring of 1959 when he hit with "Second Fiddle." That song only reached No. 24 on Billboard magazine's country singles chart, but it was the follow-up, "Under Your Spell Again" (which reached No. 4 in the fall of 1959) that Buck's future in country music was assured--and was it ever. After several top-five songs that flirted with the No. 1 spot (among them, "Above and Beyond," "Under the Influence of Love" and "Foolin' Around"), he finally hit the top of the charts in June 1963 with "Act Naturally." That song's four-week stay at No. 1 paled in comparison, though, to his incredible 16-week stay that fall with "Love's Gonna Live Here." Eighteen more No. 1 hits, all in the Bakersfield tradition, followed during the next nine years. Many of them featured Buck's chief guitarist, right-hand man and close confidant, Don Rich. Together, Owens and Rich (the leader of Buck's backing band, the Buckaroos) polished their sound, which graced AM radio throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Buck parlayed his popularity on two country music TV shows: the syndicated "Buck Owens Ranch Show" and CBS' (and later syndicated) Hee Haw (1969). Through it all, he was an astute businessman, keeping control of his publishing rights and master tapes, purchasing several radio stations and forming a booking agency among them. He also recorded a live album in 1969 in London. Then, in 1974, Rich was killed in a motorcycle accident and Buck's life faltered. He recorded for Warner Bros. for a time in the mid- to late-1970s, but only one song, 1979's "Play Together Again, Again" (a duet with Emmylou Harris) was a substantial hit. Then, in 1988, he found renewed popularity when new country star Dwight Yoakam (whose own Bakersfield Sound was strongly influenced by Owens) asked him to duet on "Streets of Bakersfield," which soared to No. 1. He still performs occasional shows at his Crystal Palace, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Buck Owens remains one of country music's most respected (if not underrated) legends.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Brian Rathjen < [login to see] >

Spouse (4)
Jennifer Smith (21 June 1979 - 2001) ( divorced)
Jana Grief (2 May 1977 - 1979) ( divorced)
Phyllis Buford (9 May 1956 - 1971) ( divorced) ( 1 child)
Bonnie Owens (13 January 1948 - 1953) ( divorced) ( 2 children)

Trade Mark (2)
The Bakersfield Sound
Always played a guitar that was painted in a striped pattern of red, white and blue.

Trivia (16)
1. His band was called "The Buckaroos".
2. He had throat cancer in 1993, and lost part of his tongue.
3. Born at 5:00am-CDT
4. Buck has three sons named Buddy, Michael and Johnny.
5. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996.
6. Opened the Crystal Palace restuarant and perfomance hall in his adopted hometown of Bakersfield, California.
7. Buck had recorded his own version of "Streets of Bakersfield" in 1972. That album cut became a major No. 1 hit as a duet with Dwight Yoakam in the summer of 1988.
8. Got his nickname "Buck" at age three from a favorite horse.
9. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Dwight Yoakam gave his induction speech.
10. Members of the Buckaroos: Don Rich (guitar), Doyle Holly (bass), Tom Brumley (steel guitar) and Willie Cantu (drums). The Buckaroos also had several of their own albums.
11. Over a 25-year span, had 21 No. 1 hits on Billboard magazine's country singles chart. The biggest of those, 1963's "Love's Gonna Live Here," spent 16 weeks at No. 1 and was the last to stay atop the charts as long. That song's reign was interrupted once -- in October when Ernest Ashworth's "Talk Back Tremblin' Lips" took over for one week.
12. Father of Buddy Alan.
13. Mentioned in the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit "Lookin' Out My Back Door."
14. Ex-wife 'Bonnie Owens' died shortly after Buck of complications from Alzheimer's disease. They remained friends after their divorce.
15. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6667 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
16. Left Hee Haw (1969) in 1986 because he felt the show ruined his credibility as a musician and he was no longer taken seriously in the music industry. Spent the next few years re-building his credibility"

The Buck Owens Show - Episode #1
The first episode of The Buck Owens Show with guest Tommy Collins
Buck Owens and The Buckaroos perform:
"Act Naturally" 00:48
"Loves Going To Live Here" 03:30
"Cajun Fiddle" 10:00
"I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" 11:55
"I Don't Care (As Long As You Love Me)" 19:11
"Crying Time" 22:17
Show Guest Tommy Collins performs "Smooth Sailing" 16:40
Show regular Kay Adams Performs "Coloring Book" 06:21 and "Wait A Little Longer" 24:04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg6x8fG2aIc

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT Mark Halmrast PO1 William "Chip" Nagel CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
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I actually got to see Buck Owens and the Buckaroos perform live at the NCO Club, Hickham, AFB, HI in the early 1972 or 73 when I was stationed there. Susan Rae and Tony Booth also were with him and when He wasn't on the stage one of them was. It was a great show, We did have to pay a small cover change per person but also two drinks were included with it. This was only for NCO Club members and their quests and I was a club member there.
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Maj Marty Hogan
Maj Marty Hogan
6 y
Very cool SMSgt Lawrence McCarter do we have NCO clubs anymore?
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SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter
6 y
Maj Marty Hogan - I know at Hanscom AFB, MA there is a consolidated Open Mess but there is a Officer's Lounge and also a separate Enlisted Lounge. The Base used to have separate clubs in separate buildings but now they are under one roof. I don't find the club as good as it used to be however, not even close. I don't even think its worth the trip, I let My membership lapse and I'm not even going to bother with going back. I find that's the case just about everywhere and for Airmen instead of drinking on base where they can even walk to the club they go off base and put themselves at greater risk by driving back. Also off base is a lot more expensive. Its just more of not caring about the troops and those others that know what is best for the rest of us pushing their great ideas on us ! Sorry about the venting but I see more and more of that and that's just the start of the list.
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Maj Marty Hogan
Maj Marty Hogan
6 y
SMSgt Lawrence McCarter - Nope. I agree with you. We had a great club, another lounge that we played darts and grabbed a beer in away from the club, and the pizza pub on base at Luke in the 80s. For us going downtown was about female contact. There was none on base. I do miss leaving work and grabbing some wings and a beer before going home. Not the same downtown.
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SPC Douglas Bolton
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Maj Marty Hogan He put the twang in country twang!!
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