Unsung heroine of the Bakersfield Sound, Bonnie Owens

When I was at Fordham University and on the air at WFUV-FM, I took over a country music program from a great DJ named Jim Monaghan, who went on to great success on WNEW-FM. I renamed the show, "Let There Be Country" and began my journey into country music, bluegrass and folk. Back then, the Mount Rushmore of country music, to me, consisted of George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Hank Snow, Roy Acuff and Merle Haggard. And one of the main reasons I really dug "The Hag" was Bonnie Owens. A successful singer and songwriter, Bonnie ultimately became best known, not for her music, but for whom she married. First, it was the great Buck Owens, whom I wrote about on April 23, then Merle Haggard. She and Buck were married in 1951 and moved to Bakerfield, California. Unfortunately, their marriage didn't last, but Bakersfield was the right place for them to nurture their sound. Bonnie met Merle and they were married in 1965, the same year she was named the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year. Her career took a back seat to Merle's and from '65 to the late '90s, she toured with him as his back-up singer, even though they had divorced in '78. You can hear her on many of his recordings. She didn't have a pretty voice, rather, it was a strong voice, very distinctive. It complimented Merle's and, like Don Rich was to Buc Owens in helping define and refine his sound, so too was Bonnie to Merle. I thought of her today for some reason and recalled she had developed Alzheimer's a few years back. I decided to check on her online and was saddened to learn she has died in 2006 at age 76, a few weeks after Buck died, and that her passing went largely unnoticed.

There's not too much video of Bonnie solo on YouTube. Here's a clip from "Hee Haw", ironically the introduction by Buck Owens is clipped off. Then links to audio of an early Merle hit, "Sing Me Back Home", which he wrote while in prison. It showcases the Bonnie sound so well. Then links (embedding was disabled) to a late '90s version of "Today I Started Loving You Again," with Bonnie next to Merle, rather than in the background, and a couple of versions of "Just Between The Two Of Us."

Bonnie, we miss you.

"All Of Me Belongs To You":


"Sing Me Back Home" (Merle Haggard audio, with Bonnie on backing vocals)

Late 1990's Version with Merle Haggard:
"Today I Started Loving You Again"

1960's Version with Merle Haggard (lipsynching, but cute):
"Just Between The Two Of Us"
Late 1990's Version with Merle Haggard (live):
"Just Between The Two Of Us"

Porter Tubb