1965 Songs: Buckaroo

Tweet

And now we get to one of my major schoolgirl crushes. As I’ve said before, all of these things about these songs pretty much explains why I’m the nut that I am. Again, apologizing to Linda for two country songs (Dean Martin awaits you still ), here’s today’s song from 60 years ago. Buckaroo - Buck Owens and His Buckaroos Let me get something clarified QUICKLY: the schoolgirl crush was NOT Buck Owens. Those were the days when talent mattered, not looks. Today, he wouldn’t get a notice, let alone have enough popularity to outsell the Beatles on Capitol Records at one point in the US. No, the “crush” in question was Donald Eugene Ulrich, better known as Don Rich. Rich was Owens’ right-hand man, cohort, harmony singer, lead guitarist, and fiddler. He also sang lead on some songs. When he died at 32 (motorcycle accident) in 1974, it crushed Owens. Everyone who knew him said he was never the same after Rich’s death. He was my primary interest in Hee Haw (since I knew most of the jokes they used on that show, that’s how old they were). Maybe that’s why I ventured into rock and roll after Rich died. But while he lived, he made some incredible music. Here he leads the Buckaroos on an instrumental that topped the Billboard charts. Buckaroo Written by Bob Morris Recorded by Buck Owens and His Buckaroos From The Instrumental Hits of Buck Owens and His Buckaroos, 1965 A Hee Haw clip, featuring the dancing pigs: