Buck Owens had a Tiger by the Tail
Buck Owens’ song Tiger by the Tail has been playing over and over again in my head ever since hearing about Buck’s death yesterday. I can’t get it out of my head even though I’ve heard many other Buck Owens songs on KUZZ radio since his passing. Together Again, Act Naturally, Made in Japan and the Streets of Bakersfield along with Tiger by the Tail are just a few of Buck’s songs that have been pouring out over the radio airwaves in a fitting tribute including listener and radio DJ Buck Owens testimonials and memories. But its Tiger by the Tail that is stuck in my head. Why? I think because the song to me embodies the persona of Buck Owens life. He grabbed hold of that Country music Tiger's tail and the Bakersfield Sound he created and rode life to its fullest. And he hung onto that Tiger’s tail till the very end.

Buck was eccentric, did things his way instead of the Nashville way, but he loved Bakersfield. He gave back to this community and built businesses here. He promoted Bakersfield everywhere he went, he was proud to call Bakersfield his home. Which in a community that loves to loathe, hate, and make fun of Bakersfield, his attitude was rare. He found something in Bakersfield he couldn’t find anywhere else, a place where he could be himself. Aren’t we all looking for that? As he sings in his song the Streets of Bakersfield: “Hey, you don’t know me, but you don’t like me, say you care less how I feel, but how many of you that sit and judge me ever walked the Streets of Bakersfield.” No matter how famous he was, he fit in here in Bakersfield, he was just one of us.

My favorite memories of watching Buck Owens perform at the Crystal Palace involved his interaction with the people in the crowd, how he engaged everyone, joked, laughed, performed requests, spoke to everyone from the little children to the oldest person in the crowd, he was generally pleased to be able to perform for us, his home town. I never got to go to the big name ticket shows or the Birthday bashes, but I was priveledged to eat dinner at the Crystal Palace many times and see Buck perform. We had our very own worldwide Country music legend and we took every free performance at the Crystal Palace for granted. We had the King of the Bakersfield Sound in our backyard and now that he’s gone we’ll all wish we’d went more often to hear him sing, to be part of history. I wish I had.

Buck Owens will live on in my heart through his music. Like Buck, I want to grab a Tiger by the tail and hang on for the ride…  posted by Matildakay at 9:06 PM