Country Pop Bites: Buck Owens – March 24

Did you know that on this Day in Country Music History in 2006 after a chicken-fried steak dinner, Buck Owens performed for the last time at his Crystal Palace theater in Bakersfield?

Sadly, it’s true. He died in his sleep the following morning. His last song: "Big In Vegas". Here is the video.

Here are 5 things about Buck Owens that you might not have known.

• His real name was Alvis Edgar Owens and he was born on August 12, 1929, in Sherman, Texas.
• He dropped out of school in the eighth grade and taught himself to play guitar.
• He worked as a disc jockey and hosted his own live television show on KTNT in Tacoma, Washington.
• During his 15-year-run on Hee Haw, Owens continued to record music, though his album sales significantly declined.
• Owens remained out of the public eye throughout the mid-1980s, but staged an unlikely comeback with his 1988 collaboration with up-and-coming country singer Dwight Yoakam. The duo re-recorded Owen’s 1972 song "Streets of Bakersfield," which reached the top of the charts and marked Owen’s first No. 1 hit since 1972.