Born in Texas and raised in Arizona; Buck Owens eventually found his way to Bakersfield; California. Unlike the vast majority of country singers; songwriters; and musicians who made their fortunes working and living in Nashville; the often rebellious and always independent Owens chose to create his own brand of country music some 2;000 miles away from Music City – racking up a remarkable 21 number-one hits along the way. In the process he helped give birth to a new country sound and did more than any other individual to establish Bakersfield as a country music center.

In the latter half of the 1990s; Buck began working on his autobiography. Over the next few years; he talked into the microphone of a cassette tape machine for nearly one hundred hours; recording the story of his life. With his near-photographic memory; Buck recalled everything from his early days wearing hand-me-down clothes in Texas to his glory years as the biggest country star of the 1960s; from his legendary Carnegie Hall concert to his multiple failed marriages; from his hilarious exploits on the road to the tragic loss of his musical partner and best friend; Don Rich; from his days as the host of a local TV show in Tacoma; Washington; to his co-hosting the network television show Hee Haw; and from his comeback hit; “Streets of Bakersfield;” to his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In these pages; Buck also shows his astute business acumen; having been among the first country artists to create his own music publishing company. He also tells of negotiating the return of all of his Capitol master recordings; his acquisition of numerous radio stations; and of his conceiving and building the Crystal Palace; one of the most venerated musical venues in the country.

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