Buck Owens & His Buckaroos: Buck Owens (vocals, guitar); Tom Brumley (pedal steel guitar); Don Rich (fiddle, acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Doyle Holly (electric bass, guitar); Willie Cantu (drums).
Additional personnel: Jelly Sanders (guitar); Ralph Mooney, Jay McDonald (pedal steel guitar); George French, Jr. (piano); Bobby Austin, Kenny Pierce, Bob Morris (electric bass); Wayne "Moose" Stone, Ken Presley, Mel King, Mel Taylor (drums).
Reissue producer: Bob Irwin.
Recorded at Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood, California between December 6, 1961 and June 10, 1964. Originally released on Capitol (2135). Includes liner notes by Rich Kienzle.
If you wanted to give someone the quintessential Bakersfield honky-tonk country album (that wasn't a Merle Haggard album), THIS would be it. The beat, strong yet possessed of a near-shuffle-type groove, the chilling harmonies, the weeping pedal steel, the terse twang of the guitars and Owens' expressive singing combine with memorable originals and classic covers ("Close Up the Honky Tonks," "Truck Drivin' Man," "A-11") and a countrified take on the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me" comprise a country music album classic.