Disc One
The first disc contains twenty-four tracks, covering the years 1959 through 1966, and one song from 1967. It begins with “Under Your Spell Again,” which was written by Buck Owens and Dusty Rhodes, and was released in the summer of 1959. It reached #4 on the chart, and features some nice work by Ralph Mooney on steel guitar and by Jelly Sanders on fiddle. “I swore the last time that you let me down/That I wouldn’t see you if you came around/But I can’t tell my heart what’s right or wrong/And I’ve been so lonely since you’ve been gone.” That’s followed by “Above And Beyond,” which features Don Rich on fiddle (the liner notes include an anecdote about his name). This one was written by Harlan Howard, and reached #3. Buck Owens delivers an excellent vocal performance. That song was released in 1960, as was the next track, “Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got A Heartache),” written by Harlan Howard and Buck Owens. I love that work by Ralph Mooney on steel guitar. This one reached #2. Also written by Buck Owens and Harlan Howard is “Foolin’ Around,” another single that ended up at the #2 spot. It is a delightful song, in which Buck sings, “I know that you’ve been foolin’ around on me right from the start/So I’ll take back my ring and I’ll take back my heart/And when you’re tired of foolin’ around with two or three/Come on home and fool around with me.”
Buck Owens’ next single was a duet with Rose Maddox, “Loose Talk.” Both it and its flip side, “Mental Cruelty,” also a duet, reached the top ten. Their voices sound great together, and Don Rich delivers some wonderful work on fiddle on “Loose Talk.” “Mental Cruelty” is kind of playful, with Rose opening the song with the line, “Mental cruelty,” and Buck Owens then singing, “That’s what I heard her say.” The lines to the judge are delivered as spoken word by Rose Maddox, and a little later Buck Owens has a spoken word section too. Those songs are followed by “Under The Influence Of Love,” another track written by Buck Owens and Harlan Howard, this one reaching #2 on the chart. It features the great lines, “Although I know she never truly loved me/I wish she’d break my heart just one more time.” The disc then moves to 1962 with “Kickin’ Our Hearts Around,” a song written by Wanda Jackson, and “You’re For Me,” a track Buck Owens wrote with Tommy Collins, featuring some delightful work by George French Jr. on piano. They reached #8 and #10 respectively.
We then get the first #1 song, “Act Naturally,” which was written by John Russell and Voni Morrison, and released by Buck Owens in 1963. It was recorded by The Beatles a couple of years later, and it was that version that I heard first. But the Buck Owens recording is wonderful, and it is the start of a wild string of #1 tunes for him. It is followed by “Love’s Gonna Live Here Again,” which Buck Owens wrote. It is a sweet tune featuring some great stuff on guitar. That’s followed by a single that saw both sides reach #1, a feat in itself. “My Heart Skips A Beat” also contains some good work on guitar. The flip side, “Together Again,” is a song that is really working for me, as I’ve been alone the last couple of months while my girlfriend is dealing with stuff in Boston, and I am looking forward to her return. “The long, lonely nights are now at an end/The key to my heart you hold in your hand/And nothing else matters, we’re together again.” Of course, if I sing those lines to her when she returns, she’ll tell me not to be goofy. But I love this song. Mel Taylor plays drums on both of these tracks.
Continuing the streak of #1 songs is “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me),” a lively number from 1964, and another highlight of this collection. It contains some really nice work on guitar, and a catchy rhythm. That’s followed by another of his most well-known numbers, “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail,” which he wrote with Harlan Howard. It was another #1 hit. “I’ve got a tiger tail by the tail, it’s plain to see/I won’t be much when you get through with me.” The next #1 song is “Before You Go,” one of my personal favorites, in part because of that unexpected change in pace and tone for the chorus. It was written by Don Rich and Buck Owens. That’s followed by “Only You Can Break My Heart,” a slower-paced number containing a strong vocal performance. The song’s flip side, “Gonna Have Love,” also charted, reaching #10. However, since it was the flip side, it was not considered an end to Buck Owens’ incredible string of #1 songs. “Baby’s coming back, and everything is fine/And I’m going to have love, love, love one more time.”
“Buckaroo” is an unusual hit, as it is an instrumental country tune, composed by Bob Morris. But, like the seven singles before it (and one flip side), it went to the top of the chart. The disc then moves to 1966, and the #1 hits continue with “Waiting In Your Welfare Line,” written by Buck Owens, Don Rich and Nat Stuckey. It’s a playful number, and it’s catchy. “I walked out on my job about a week ago/And now I’m sleeping in a telephone booth/But I’m a-gonna be the richest guy around/The day you say you’re mine/I got the hongries for your love/And I’m waiting in your welfare line.” That’s followed by “Think Of Me,” written by Don Rich and Estrella Olson. It’s a kind of sweet number. “Think of me when you’re far away.” “Open Up Your Heart,” written by Buck Owens, features James Burton on lead guitar, and “Where Does The Good Times Go” is another catchy track. Both reached #1. The first disc concludes with another #1 song, “Sam’s Place,” written by Buck Owens and Red Simpson. This one was released in 1967. The liner notes contain an unusual anecdote about the venue for which the song is named.
Disc Two
The second disc opens with yet another #1 song, “Your Tender Loving Care,” written by Buck Owens and released in 1967. It’s a beautiful, slow, romantic number in which he professes, “I don’t need a ship to sail the ocean/I don’t need fancy clothes to wear/I just need your sweet, sweet lips to kiss me/I just need your tender loving care.” And then Buck Owens’ streak of #1 singles came to an end with “It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me),” which reached only to the #2 spot. It’s a sweet, cheerful tune in which he expresses gratitude to his fans. His next single, however, did get to the top of the chart. “How Long Will My Baby Be Gone” is a question I’ve been asking myself the last couple of months while my sweetheart has been dealing with things on the other side of the country. “How long do these sleepless nights go on?/And how long will my baby be gone?” This song was released at the beginning of 1968. The next single from that year, “Sweet Rosie Jones,” is one of my favorites, though it did not make it to #1, stalling at #2. It is a gentle, pretty song, featuring some good work on guitar.
Buddy Alan joins Buck Owens on “Let The World Keep On A Turnin’,” a fun number that somehow did not get past the #7 spot on the chart. That’s followed by “I’ve Got You On My Mind Again,” which did slightly better, and is another highlight, featuring some good work on piano and steel guitar, as well as some wonderful vocal work. “But that same old hurt is back once more/It’s hurt since you walked out the door/And as the long day ends and the lonely night begins/I’ve got you on my mind again.” How did this song not make it to #1? Well, no matter, as the next track on this disc did make it to the top. And in fact “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass” started another, though much shorter, streak of #1 singles. It’s a cute song, but not nearly as good as either “Let The World Keep On A Turnin’” or “I’ve Got You On My Mind Again.” The next #1 is a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” an interesting choice. Also, it’s a concert track. And yes, these guys rock on this one, with Don Rich in particular delivering some great stuff. “Tall Dark Stranger” is the final of the #1 songs in this short streak, and it too features some good work on guitar.
“Big In Vegas” was written by Buck Owens and Terry Stafford, and it peaked at #5. It came out in late 1969, and would also be included on the 1970 album I Wouldn’t Live In New York City, which was re-issued in 2021. That’s followed by “The Kansas City Song,” which reached #2, and was also the title track to a 1970 LP (as well as being included on I Wouldn’t Live In New York City). It features Billy Sampson on harmonica. Then “The Great White Horse” features Susan Raye joining Buck Owens on vocals. Red Simpson plays electric harpsichord on this track. That’s followed by “I Wouldn’t Live In New York City,” with Buck Owens’ vocals recorded on a sidewalk in the city, and then a beautiful cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” originally by the New York-based duo of Simon & Garfunkel. Both songs reached #9 on the charts.
I have not met many women named Ruby, but women of that name certainly show up in a lot of songs. In this collection, we get a cover of the bluegrass number “Ruby, Are You Mad At Your Man,” here titled “Ruby (Are You Mad).” Buck Owens delivers a delightful rendition, and it made it to #3 on the chart. That’s followed by another bluegrass number, “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” this one reaching #2. He then returns to original material with “I’ll Still Be Waiting For You,” which features Jim Shaw on piano and Jerry Brightman on steel guitar. It is from early 1972, and reached #8 on the chart. His cover of “Made In Japan,” also released in 1972, made it to the top of the chart, and is the final #1 song in this collection. Buck Owens then turns to funnier songs with “Big Game Hunter” and “On The Cover Of The Music City News,” the latter a country adaptation of Shel Silverstein’s “The Cover Of Rolling Stone.” He sticks with humorous material with his “(It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday,” which was released in the summer of 1974. This collection then concludes with “Great Expectations,” a sweet, slow number that was Buck Owens’ final top ten hit on Capitol Records.
CD Track List
Disc One
- Under Your Spell Again
- Above And Beyond
- Excuse Me (I Think I’ve Got A Heartache)
- Foolin’ Around
- Loose Talk
- Mental Cruelty
- Under The Influence Of Love
- Kickin’ Our Hearts Around
- You’re For Me
- Act Naturally
- Love’s Gonna Live Here
- My Heart Skips A Beat
- Together Again
- I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)
- I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail
- Before You Go
- Only You (Can Break My Heart)
- Gonna Have Love
- Buckaroo
- Waitin’ In Your Welfare Line
- Think Of Me
- Open Up Your Heart
- Where Does The Good Times Go
- Sam’s Place
Disc Two
- Your Tender Loving Care
- It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me)
- How Long Will My Baby Be Gone
- Sweet Rosie Jones
- Let The World Keep On A Turnin’
- I’ve Got You On My Mind Again
- Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass
- Johnny B. Goode
- Tall Dark Stranger
- Big In Vegas
- The Kansas City Song
- The Great White Horse
- I Wouldn’t Live In New York City (If They Gave Me The Whole Dang Town)
- Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Ruby (Are You Mad)
- Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms
- I’ll Still Be Waiting For You
- Made In Japan
- Big Game Hunter
- On The Cover Of The Music City News
- (It’s A) Monsters’ Holiday
- Great Expectations
Bakersfield Gold:
Top 10 Hits 1959 – 1974 was released on September 9, 2022 through Omnivore
Recordings.
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