Buck Owens
“Live” At The White House (…And In Space)
First time on CD and Digital.
Includes a bonus set recorded for the Apollo 16 astronauts!
September 9, 1968—a classic moment in the long and glorious history of country music.
On that date, country music arrived at The White House. What better a place is there for the people’s music? And the man who brought country music to the White House is the very same man who has done so much to embody and promote the country sound to a mass audience worldwide. His name, of course, is Buck Owens—the boy from northern Texas who has joined Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams as one of the real innovators of country music… the big man from Bakersfield, California, who has made country music grow up.
This album is a document of that classic Owens performance. And, as befits a one-of-a-lifetime experience, it is presented here exactly as that distinguished White House audience heard it—without frills, without electronic hocus-pocus, just the good-natured Owens sound, the music of Buddy Alan, Doyle Holly, Don Rich, The Buckaroos and especially Buck Owens himself. The music of the people.
In early 1972 (the year the actual “Live” At The White House album was released), Buck received another call from his country. This time his mission was to provide music to go to space aboard Apollo 16. A half-hour show was recorded by Buck and his band at his Bakersfield sudios. Astronaut Charlie Duke recollects that the crew enjoyed listening to the tapes in space: “It was really fun—we played those tapes a lot during our flight to and from the Moon.” Now, for the first time, the rest of us Earthbound folks have a chance to hear what those on Apollo 16 heard in space nearly 40 years ago!
From the White House to outer space and the moon! Buck Owens really got around!
Original Album:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. YOU AIN’T GONNA HAVE OL’
BUCK TO KICK AROUND NO MORE
3. ACT NATURALLY
4. TOGETHER AGAIN
5. LOVE’S GONNA LIVE HERE
6. CRYING TIME
7. HAPPY TIMES ARE HERE AGAIN
8. STREETS OF LAREDO — Doyle Holly
9. ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL — Don Rich
10. GENTLE ON MY MIND — Buddy Alan
11. WHEN I TURN TWENTY-ONE — Buddy Alan
12. I’VE GOT A TIGER BY THE TAIL
13. TRUCK DRIVIN’ MAN
The Apollo Program:
14. GOOD OLE MOUNTAIN DEW
15. SAM’S PLACE
16. ROLL IN MY SWEET BABY’S ARMS
17. WHITE LIGHTNING — Buddy Alan
18. GEORGIA PINEYWOODS
19. I’VE GOT A HAPPY HEART — Susan Raye
20. MILWAUKEE HERE I COME — Buck Owens & Susan Raye
21. SALLY WAS A GOOD OLD GIRL — The Bakersfield Brass
22. TALL DARK STRANGER[/one_third]
Coloring Book E.P.
Exclusively available for Record Store Day—April 21, 2012—limited to 2,500 copies.
Locate your favorite independent record store at the Record Store Day website.
Oringal 1970 Vintage Stock Buck Owens Coloring Book! (No Kidding!)
For Record Store Day, Fall 2012, Omnivore Recordings will release an original Buck Owens Coloring Book in a limited edition of 2500! Commissioned by Buck Owens in 1970, these original, uncirculated vintage coloring books have been stored by Buck Owens Enterprises . . . yes, since 1970! Original copies fetch high prices among collectors. The story told in the coloring book culminates in Buck & The Buckaroos playing a concert with four of Buck’s biggest hits “Act Naturally,” “Together Again” “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail,” and “Crying Time” specifically highlighted and named below the double-page spread (and you can color it in). The flexi-disc and digital download card included with this coloring book feature rare live versions of those exact songs and they’re true to the era as well!
Viewable from the outside of the package, this disc has all four of the above mentioned songs from Buck Owens & The Buckaroos historic performance at the White House for President Lyndon Johnson on September 9, 1968. The album “Live” At The White House, from which the tracks are drawn, was issued almost exactly four years later on September 5, 1972 and has never been reissued in any form. But keep yer eyes peeled for the Omnivore reissue coming in June!
Close Up The Honky Tonks (Early Version) / My Heart Skips A Beat (Early Version)
Now available as a digital single.
Record Store Day 2011 limited-edition 7″
(1,300 yellow vinyl copies worldwide): SOLD OUT.
Buck? Yeah!
Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr., was born in 1929 and by the age of four had declared his new name as “Buck”—after the family mule. This steadfast nature would follow Buck as he became a pioneer, a superstar and a legend.
1963’s “Act Naturally” was Buck’s first of 21 number one singles—many of which were recorded with his band, The Buckaroos. In a time when Country & Western had lost the “Country,” Buck brought it back in—stripped down and with honky-tonk rhythms that resonated with the world. Releasing over 30 albums with Capitol Records (including twelve #1s), his success allowed him to ultimately gain control of most of his recorded output. He also purchased a number of radio stations in and around his adopted home of Bakersfield, California.
After Buck acquired all of his masters from Capitol Records, most everything he recorded for the label found its way back into the marketplace in one form or another. Everything, that is, except this January 28, 1964, take of “Close Up The Honky Tonks.”
Recorded at the same sessions as his double-sided, #1 single “My Heart Skips A Beat” / “Together Again,” the Omnivore version of “Close Up The Honky Tonks” was recently discovered, buried on a multi-track reel—thought to be lost for years. It’s in a different key than the released version (recorded five months later), and whether this was an abandoned take (it does not feature Buck’s trademark, overdubbed harmonies) remains unclear. What is clear is that it is a fascinating peek into the evolution of The Buckaroos and a classic song. Although never issued as a single, “Close Up The Honky Tonks” became a fan favorite and has been covered by artists including Dwight Yoakam, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers.
with Jim Shaw—Manager at Buck Owens Productions (and a Buckaroo since 1970!).
The flip features “My Heart Skips A Beat,” recorded during the “Act Naturally” sessions in 1963. Very much in the “old” Buck Owens vein, this early performance carries elements—like fiddle and the honky-tonk shuffle—that Buck would eventually move away from. The track was finished and apparently readied for release, but the song was buried until the tune was re-cut almost a year later (it is possible that the success of the newer sound of “Act Naturally” was the reason for shelving the original version). While this version appeared on the Bear Family box in 2008, it has never been released in mono on a 45.
This beauty is probably the coolest Buckin’ A & B side you’ll ever find.
Got a minute? Go check out Buck’s site and get all the info for your next vacation to the Crystal Palace!