|
Garth, Dwight Remember Buck
04/03/2006 11:55 AM, E! Online
Buck Owens might be gone, but the master of the electrified
honky-tonk "Bakersfield Sound" won't be soon forgotten.
Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks, Trace Adkins and Brad Paisley were among the more
than 2,000 mourners who turned out to pay their respects to the Country
Music Hall of Famer as he was memorialized Sunday in his adopted
hometown of Bakersfield, California.
"Buck gave
birth to a movement," Paisley said. "At the time when he came through,
his music was so different. He was a maverick in the true sense of the
word.
"A larger than life music legend who reinvented
country music, epitomized musicianship, and was the inspiration for
countless artists," Paisley continued. "If any good can come from his
passing, I hope that it's a renewed interest in his achievements...He
deserves to be remembered as one of the most important artists in all of
music history."
After speaking about Owens, with whom he
shared a CMA Vocal Event of the Year award in 2000, Paisley surprised
the throng of family, friends and fans at the Valley Baptist Church
service with a performance of Owens' "When I Get Where I'm Going."
"I never thought I'd be singing this for my friend," he
said.
Yoakam, who wore his cowboy hat inside the
church "in deference to Buck," and Adkins also followed suit, with
Yoakam singing the hymn "In the Garden," and Adkins honoring the former
Hee Haw star with "Wayfaring Stranger."
"I
don't think most people are aware of what a contribution to the sound of
country music Buck had," Adkins said.
The
Texan-born "Act Naturally" warbler racked up nearly two dozen number one
records during his heyday in the mid-60's, 15 of which were consecutive
chart-toppers. He's largely credited with bringing country music out of
Nashville and into the rest of the country, bringing the genre to TV
through his long-running role on Hee Haw, and eventually becoming
known as the originator of the "Bakersfield Sound," a twangy alternative
to the lush productions that dominated Nashville music in the '60s and
'70s.
Another country music icon, George Jones, was
unable to attend the funeral service due to his own health problems. But
Jones did release a statement.
"I am glad Buck and I got to
spend some time together on his recent West Coast tour," Jones said. "He
was a wonderful friend and he will be dearly missed."
Meanwhile, Owens' three sons, John, Buddy and Michael, remembered their
dad as stern but loving, quick with a corny joke and always eager to
offer some fatherly advice.
"My father told me
opening the door to success is the easy part," Buddy Owens said.
"Staying there with pride is the challenge."
Owens
died of a heart ailment in his home on Mar. 25, just hours after
returning home from a gig at Crystal Palace, his famed Bakersfield
restaurant and museum.
The country legend's
nephew, Mel Owens Jr., said his uncle went peacefully, that he "had one
of his favorite meals, entertained on one of his favorite stages, and
went home to the ranch he loved and went to sleep."
Nearly 6,000 mourners showed up at the Crystal Palace on Saturday to
view Owens' open casket; he was interred in one of his trademark flashy
suits. A private burial for family and friends took place later Sunday.
|
