Buck Owens was a guitarist, first and foremost; with his passing recently on March 25, 2006 (born August 12, 1929), there have been many fine tributes to the man, but not enough light has been shone on his formidable guitar talents. In the 1960's, Buck - who took his monicker from the family's Mule while growing up in Texas - made an indelible mark on the music coming out of Nashville, Tennessee. His guitar talents, along with the great guitarist Don Rich, were the fuel and drive for his group; the Buckaroos, and featured a unique, ground breaking sound that melded country guitar and the new, fledgling sounds of rock and roll guitar. As Owens said; "If I'd wanted to sleep, I'd have taken a nap."
I came to know Buck Owens by unearthing an old vinyl Beatles record one day, and found myself instantly drawn to a Ringo sung "Act Naturally", which I discovered was a covered Owens hit (1963).
A tribute to Owen's popularity was the production of a Buck Owen's All American Guitar, which was sold through the Sear's catalogue in the 60's.
Fast forward to 1994; Nirvana's MTV Unplugged, and in the background of Cobain and co. is 2nd guitarist Pat Smear, playing a familiar looking guitar.
The musical lineage of great music is closer than we believe, if Pat Smear picked this guitar for other reasons, that's cool. To me, it shows that we are all closer than we realize.
good night, Buck.
linktag; guitar
