by Patti McClintic / 11 hours ago / Comments

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Wade Hayes Returns with Fresh Take on Classic Hit “What I Meant to Say (Revisited)”

Alvis Edgar Owens, Jr. was born in Texas in 1929, where he lived on his family farm. At about age three or four, he declared his current name to be “Buck,” just like a donkey on the farm. The name stuck and he became the Buck Owens the world would come to know. Owens was a founding father of the popular Bakersfield Sound, named after Bakersfield, California, the city he moved to as an adult. What is the Bakersfield Sound? I’ll have Owens’ son, Johnny Owens, give you the description shortly.

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Johnny Owens recently. What a fantastic guy. So engaging and so happy to talk about his own musical career and not one bit hesitant about telling stories about his dad either. It was such a fun, informative conversation and I will always remember it fondly.

You know it’s going to go well when the call starts with some back and forth joking around.



Johnny informed me that I was his sixth interview of the day. My response? “Sixth? Wait a minute I want to be first, or at least a respectable second.” He laughed and said, “Well, of course you’re number one, at least until we get off the phone and I go to the next one and have to say they are.”

We jumped right into his new single, a remake of Buck Owens' number one hit, “Act Naturally.” The song was originally released in March 1963 and was written by Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison. Johnny Owens’ version released on August 7, 2026 and if you haven’t heard it yet, just wait. I would encourage you to give the Buck Owens’ original a spin before listening to the new one, there’s no doubt that the familial DNA is strong when it comes to vocals.

I told Johnny that he sounded a lot like his dad. He laughed and said, “Well, I appreciate that. I don’t try to, I think it’s just I’ve sung it so many times that it just c

📌 Keeping the Bakersfield Sound Alive (Patti)
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