Description: Buck Norris sings "Tiger By The Tail" by Buck Owens. Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. was born in Sherman, Texas, on Aug. 12, 1929, and at age 3 or 4 nicknamed himself "Buck" after a mule on the family farm. The family moved west in 1937, settling in Mesa, Ariz., after their trailer hitch broke in Phoenix. Dropping out of school at 13, he taught himself to play guitar. By 1951, he had moved to Bakersfield, Calif., and eventually found success in its thriving country music scene. In the clubs of Bakersfield, Owens developed a trademark twisted-note style on his solid body Fender Telecaster. Initially recording as lead guitarist for Tommy Collins in 1953 (on "You Better Not Do That") and then singing for the small Pep and Chesterfield labels, Owens landed on Capitol Records in 1957. When his first single for Capitol fizzled, Owens moved to Puyallup, Wash., (a Tacoma suburb) to pursue a radio career. There he met Don Rich (real name Donald Eugene Ulrich), whose high, nasalized harmony vocals would combine with Owens' singing and chugging 2/4 freight train rhythm to make Owens' recordings distinctive. (Rich remained Owens' charismatic right-hand man until he died in a motorcycle accident in 1974.) In 1959, Owens hit with a recording of "Second Fiddle" in the Ray Price "shuffle" style. Later that year, the success of "Under Your Spell Again" led Owens to return to Bakersfield and form a band, the Buckaroos. In 1963, his recording of Johnny Russell's "Act Naturally" stayed at No. 1 for <b>...</b> |
