The Buckaroos
Encyclopedia
The Buckaroos were a Grammy-winning band led by Buck Owens
in the 1960s and early '70s, who were heavily involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield Sound
." Their peak of success was from 1965-1970. In 2005, CMT
named the Buckaroos No. 2 on its list of the 20 Greatest Country Music Bands.
, Kenny Pierce, Tom Brumley
and Willie Cantu were the original members of the Buckaroos during the '60s. The '70s version included Don Rich
Jerry Wiggins, Jerry Brightman
, Doyle Kurtsinger, and Jim Shaw. Various sidemen
throughout the years included JD Maness, Wayne "Moose" Stone, Jay McDonald, Ken Presley, and very early on, Merle Haggard
. Haggard, who worked a short time with Owens in 1962, suggested the group's name. Jana Jae became the group's first female member after being invited onstage with Buck Owens to play "Orange Blossom Special
". Vocalist Victoria Hallman (aka Jesse Rose McQueen) toured with the Buckaroos, sang with them on Hee Haw and recorded one Buck Owens record "Let Jesse Rob the Train" with the group.
Known for their signature red, white and blue colored guitars and fiddles, the Buckaroos in 1966 became only the second country music band to appear at Carnegie Hall
in New York City
. The recording of this performance, released as Carnegie Hall Concert
, is considered one of the greatest live country music albums. They also recorded and released live albums from appearances in London
, Norway
, Australia
, New Zealand
, and Las Vegas
.
The Buckaroos recorded eight albums from 1967–1970, all of which were top sellers, including BUCKAROO, an instrumental album that crossed over onto the pop charts to reach No. 1. They also earned numerous awards, including Grammys and CMA
s (Country Music Awards). They were nominated as "Band Of The Year" by the Academy of Country Music
in eight consecutive years, winning the award four times, 1965-1968. The Buckaroos were also nominated as "Instrumental Group of the Year" in the Country Music Awards for five consecutive years, 1967–1971, winning the honor in 1967 and 1968.
In 1970, Doyle Holly
received "Bass Player of the Year" award from the Academy of Country Music
as a member of the Buckaroos. He left the group the next year to pursue a solo career, in which he released two Top 20 hit albums. He is honored in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
and received a block in the walkway of stars at the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980. Holly died in 2007.
Tom Brumley
left the Buckaroos in 1969 to join Ricky Nelson
's band, where he was a member for over a decade. His performance on "Together Again" has been considered "one of the finest steel guitar solos in the history of country music." His unique steel guitar sound was known as "The Brumley Touch", and he was recognized by the Academy of Country Music
as the top steel guitarist. He was inducted into both the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Brumley died in 2009.
Don Rich
died in a motorcycle accident in 1974. At the time Rich was the only original member still with the Buckaroos and the band was struggling to find their way back at the top of the Country Music Charts. His death marked the end of the Buckaroos reign as the top Country Music band.
Jerry Brightman
left in 1975 and migrated into the business side with his involvement with WWVA Jamboree
and Jamboree in the Hills
.
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
in the 1960s and early '70s, who were heavily involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield Sound
Bakersfield sound
The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. The many hit singles were largely produced by Capitol Records country music head, Ken Nelson. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly produced, string...
." Their peak of success was from 1965-1970. In 2005, CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
named the Buckaroos No. 2 on its list of the 20 Greatest Country Music Bands.
History
Don RichDon Rich
Donald Eugene Ulrich, best known by the stage name Don Rich was a country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a member of the Buckaroos, the backing band of country singer Buck Owens.-Biography:Donald Eugene Ulrich was...
, Kenny Pierce, Tom Brumley
Tom Brumley
Tom Brumley was an American steel guitarist who played with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in the 1960s, contributing to the group's "Bakersfield sound", and later spent a decade with Rick Nelson.-Biography:...
and Willie Cantu were the original members of the Buckaroos during the '60s. The '70s version included Don Rich
Don Rich
Donald Eugene Ulrich, best known by the stage name Don Rich was a country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a member of the Buckaroos, the backing band of country singer Buck Owens.-Biography:Donald Eugene Ulrich was...
Jerry Wiggins, Jerry Brightman
Jerry Brightman
Jerry Brightman is a pedal steel guitarist who played for Buck Owens and the The Buckaroos and featured on television's Hee Haw along with performing on many top 10 records with Buck, Susan Raye, Tony Booth, and others. Impressing audiences at an early age, he began playing professionally in 1966...
, Doyle Kurtsinger, and Jim Shaw. Various sidemen
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
throughout the years included JD Maness, Wayne "Moose" Stone, Jay McDonald, Ken Presley, and very early on, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
. Haggard, who worked a short time with Owens in 1962, suggested the group's name. Jana Jae became the group's first female member after being invited onstage with Buck Owens to play "Orange Blossom Special
Orange Blossom Special (song)
The fiddle tune "Orange Blossom Special", about the passenger train of the same name, was written by Ervin T. Rouse in 1938. The original recording was created by Ervin and Gordon Rouse in 1939. It is considered the best known fiddle tune of the twentieth century and is often called simply The...
". Vocalist Victoria Hallman (aka Jesse Rose McQueen) toured with the Buckaroos, sang with them on Hee Haw and recorded one Buck Owens record "Let Jesse Rob the Train" with the group.
Known for their signature red, white and blue colored guitars and fiddles, the Buckaroos in 1966 became only the second country music band to appear at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The recording of this performance, released as Carnegie Hall Concert
Carnegie Hall Concert
Carnegie Hall Concert is an album by the Country band Buck Owens and his Buckaroos. The album was recorded live at Carnegie Hall, as Buck Owens and his Buckaroos became the second country band ever to perform there....
, is considered one of the greatest live country music albums. They also recorded and released live albums from appearances in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
The Buckaroos recorded eight albums from 1967–1970, all of which were top sellers, including BUCKAROO, an instrumental album that crossed over onto the pop charts to reach No. 1. They also earned numerous awards, including Grammys and CMA
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
s (Country Music Awards). They were nominated as "Band Of The Year" by the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
in eight consecutive years, winning the award four times, 1965-1968. The Buckaroos were also nominated as "Instrumental Group of the Year" in the Country Music Awards for five consecutive years, 1967–1971, winning the honor in 1967 and 1968.
In 1970, Doyle Holly
Doyle Holly
Doyle Floyd Hendricks, known by the stage name Doyle Holly was an American musician best known as the bass guitar player of the country music band Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and for his solo hit songs "Queen Of The Silver Dollar" and "Lila". Holly's contributions on bass guitar and rhythm guitar...
received "Bass Player of the Year" award from the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
as a member of the Buckaroos. He left the group the next year to pursue a solo career, in which he released two Top 20 hit albums. He is honored in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on the internet on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre....
and received a block in the walkway of stars at the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980. Holly died in 2007.
Tom Brumley
Tom Brumley
Tom Brumley was an American steel guitarist who played with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in the 1960s, contributing to the group's "Bakersfield sound", and later spent a decade with Rick Nelson.-Biography:...
left the Buckaroos in 1969 to join Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
's band, where he was a member for over a decade. His performance on "Together Again" has been considered "one of the finest steel guitar solos in the history of country music." His unique steel guitar sound was known as "The Brumley Touch", and he was recognized by the Academy of Country Music
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
as the top steel guitarist. He was inducted into both the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Brumley died in 2009.
Don Rich
Don Rich
Donald Eugene Ulrich, best known by the stage name Don Rich was a country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a member of the Buckaroos, the backing band of country singer Buck Owens.-Biography:Donald Eugene Ulrich was...
died in a motorcycle accident in 1974. At the time Rich was the only original member still with the Buckaroos and the band was struggling to find their way back at the top of the Country Music Charts. His death marked the end of the Buckaroos reign as the top Country Music band.
Jerry Brightman
Jerry Brightman
Jerry Brightman is a pedal steel guitarist who played for Buck Owens and the The Buckaroos and featured on television's Hee Haw along with performing on many top 10 records with Buck, Susan Raye, Tony Booth, and others. Impressing audiences at an early age, he began playing professionally in 1966...
left in 1975 and migrated into the business side with his involvement with WWVA Jamboree
WWVA Jamboree
WWVA Jamboree, renamed Jamboree U.S.A. in the 1960s, and the Wheeling Jamboree in 2009, is a pioneering American radio show that featured country music from 1933–2008, and again since January 2009...
and Jamboree in the Hills
Jamboree in the Hills
Jamboree in the Hills, also known as the "Super Bowl of Country Music," is an annual four-day-festival of country music in the rolling hills of Morristown, Ohio in Belmont County...
.
Buckaroos members
- Jerry Brightman
- Tom Brumley
- Willie Cantu
- Merle Haggard
- Doyle Holly
- Jana Jae
- Jay McDonald
- Jay Dee Maness
- Kenny Pierce
- Ken Presley
- Don Rich
- Jim Shaw
- Doyle Kurtsinger
- Wayne "Moose" Stone
- Jerry Wiggins
- Wayne Wilson
- Terry Christopherson
- David Wulfkuehler
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Buck Owens Song Book | 10 | Capitol |
| 1967 | America's Most Wanted Band | 12 | |
| The Buck Owens' Buckaroos Strike Again! | 11 | ||
| 1968 | A Night on the Town with Buck Owens' Buckaroos | 32 | |
| Meanwhile Back at the Ranch | 34 | ||
| 1969 | Anywhere U.S.A. | 35 | |
| Roll Your Own with Buck Owens' Buckaroos | 45 | ||
| 1970 | Rompin' and Stompin | — | |
| Boot Hill | — | ||
| 1971 | That Fiddlin' Man | — | |
| The Buckaroos Play the Hits | — | ||
| Songs of Merle Haggard Played by the Buckaroos | — | ||
| 2000 | Country Pickin': The Don Rich Anthology Country Pickin': The Don Rich Anthology Country Pickin': The Don Rich Anthology is a compilation album featuring Don Rich, American guitarist, fiddler, and long-time sideman of Buck Owens, released in 2000.-History:... |
— | Sundazed Sundazed Records Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989... |
| 2007 | The Best of the Buckaroos | — | Sundazed Sundazed Records Sundazed Records is a record label based in Coxsackie, in the Catskills of New York. It specializes in obscure and rare recordings from the 1950s to the 1970s.Label founders Bob Irwin and his wife Mary started the label in 1989... |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
CAN Country | |||
| 1967 | "Chicken Pickin'" | 69 | — | The Buck Owens' Buckaroos Strike Again! |
| 1968 | "I'm Coming Back Home to Stay" | 38 | 11 | A Night on the Town with Buck Owens' Buckaroos |
| "I'm Goin' Back Home Where I Belong" | 50 | — | Meanwhile Back at the Ranch | |
| 1969 | "Anywhere U.S.A." | 63 | — | Anywhere U.S.A. |
| "Nobody but You" | 43 | — | Roll Your Own with Buck Owens' Buckaroos | |
| "Natural Born Loser" | — | — | ||
| 1970 | "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" | 71 | — | Rompin' and Stompin |
| "Cinderella" | — | — | ||
| "Country Pickin'" | — | — | ||
| "Up on Cripple Creek" | — | — | Boot Hill |