Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006) was an
AmericanAs of October 20th 2009, the United States has a total resident population of 308 million. It is a very urbanized nation, with 81% of the population residing in cities and suburbs as of mid-2005 . The mean population center of the United States has consistently shifted westward and southward, with...
Country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
singer.
Born Bonnie Campbell in
Oklahoma City, OklahomaOklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 551,789, with an estimated metro-area population of 1,206,142...
, Bonnie Owens was a country music singer who was married to
Buck OwensAlvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 number one hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
and later
Merle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band "The Strangers" helped create the Bakersfield Sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a...
. She met Buck Owens when she was only fifteen. They played in a band in Mesa, Arizona and then later were married in 1951 and moved to Bakersfield, California. They eventually divorced but moving to Bakersfield jumpstarted both their careers in music.
Bonnie Owens' first recording was a duet with Fuzzy Owen called "A Dear John Letter" and was on Mar-Vel Records #MV-102 and dates about 1950.
Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006) was an
AmericanAs of October 20th 2009, the United States has a total resident population of 308 million. It is a very urbanized nation, with 81% of the population residing in cities and suburbs as of mid-2005 . The mean population center of the United States has consistently shifted westward and southward, with...
Country musicCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
singer.
Road to Stardom
Born Bonnie Campbell in
Oklahoma City, OklahomaOklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's estimated population as of 2008 was 551,789, with an estimated metro-area population of 1,206,142...
, Bonnie Owens was a country music singer who was married to
Buck OwensAlvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 number one hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
and later
Merle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band "The Strangers" helped create the Bakersfield Sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a...
. She met Buck Owens when she was only fifteen. They played in a band in Mesa, Arizona and then later were married in 1951 and moved to Bakersfield, California. They eventually divorced but moving to Bakersfield jumpstarted both their careers in music.
Fame
Bonnie Owens' first recording was a duet with Fuzzy Owen called "A Dear John Letter" and was on Mar-Vel Records #MV-102 and dates about 1950. Side B contained a song titled “Wonderful World”. Bonnie and Fuzzy’s “A Dear John Letter” was not a remake of the 1953 Jean Shepard/Ferlin Husky version as some believe, as theirs predated Shepard/Husky by 3 years.
Owens recorded on numerous labels during the 1950’s and early 1960’s including Merle Haggard’s and Fuzzy Owens own Tally label, all of which were singles. Her first album titled “Don’t Take Advantage Of Me” came in 1965 on Capitol Records # ST-2403.
Owens was named “Female Vocalist Of The Year” in 1965 by the Academy Of Country Music and she and Haggard were married that same year. From that point on Bonnie dedicated her time to Haggard’s children and his career, touring with Merle’s band “The Strangers” as a backup vocalist.
Little known to many is the fact that during the early stages of Bonnie and Merle’s careers together, Bonnie was the headliner, and Merle, the up and coming (and underlining) new star.
Owens and Haggard divorced in 1978, and after a brief hiatus, she continued touring with him.
She had hits on the Country charts in the early 1960’s with the songs "Why Don't Daddy Live Here Anymore?" and "Don't Take Advantage Of Me". In 1965 Haggard and Owens recorded the song called "Just Between the Two of Us", a duet hit and probably Owen's best known hit. It was also the title song to their 1966 duet album on Capitol Records #ST-2453.
In 2006, Owens died in a hospital, not even a month after her first husband Buck Owens died. She was 76 years old.
Albums
| Year |
Album |
US Country |
| 1965 |
Don't Take Advantage of Me |
15 |
| 1966 |
Just Between the Two of Us (with Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band "The Strangers" helped create the Bakersfield Sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a...
) |
4 |
| 1967 |
All of Me Belongs to You |
35 |
| 1968 |
Somewhere Between |
34 |
| 1969 |
Hi-Fi to Cry By |
|
| 1969 |
Lead Me On |
|
| 1970 |
Mother's Favorite Hymns |
|
| 1999 |
The Best of Bonnie Owens |
|
Singles
| Year |
Title |
US Country Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
|
Album |
| 1963 |
"Why Don't Daddy Live Here Anymore" |
25 |
Don't Take Advantage of Me |
| 1964 |
"Don't Take Advantage of Me" |
27 |
| "Between the Two of Us" (w/ Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band "The Strangers" helped create the Bakersfield Sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies, and a...
) |
28 |
Just Between the Two of Us |
| 1965 |
"Number One Heel" |
41 |
Don't Take Advantage of Me |
| 1966 |
"Consider the Children" (w/ The Strangers) |
69 |
All of Me Belongs to You |
| 1969 |
"Lead Me On" (w/ The Strangers) |
68 |
Lead Me On |
External links