Artist:Buck Owens
Song:I've Got a Tiger by the Tail
Album:21 #1 Hits: The Ultimate Collection
Act Naturally is Buck Owens' best known song because The Beatles covered it for the 1965 film Help! with Ringo Starr singing lead. But the 1965 single I've Got a Tiger by the Tail crossed over to pop. So it's his biggest hit. Of course today Owens is best known for hosting the long running TV variety show Hee Haw!. But does he even get that opportunity without hits like I've Got a Tiger By the Tail? Remember Owens was not part of the Nashville scene. He was born Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. Aug. 12, 1929 in Sherman, TX. Buck was a donkey on the family farm. One day Owens walked into the house and announced that his name is Buck too. The family moved to Mesa, AZ. in 1937. Owens didn't like school much. But he liked performing. So he taught himself to play guitar and quit school in ninth grade to work on his dad's farm and pursue a music career. He hosted a 1945 radio show with Theryl Ray Britten called Buck and Britt and they also performed in clubs. Owens started driving a truck in the San Joaquin Valley. He really liked Bakersfield and he and his wife moved there in 1951. He started working as a session musician for Capitol Records in Los Angeles. He was living in Tacoma, WA. when he met Don Rich in 1958. They started working together and after a couple of singles made the country charts, Capitol wanted them to move back to Bakersfield. The band was called Buck Owens and the Buckaroos. This was the beginning of The Bakersfield Sound. The 1963 single Act Naturally was Owens' first #1 country hit. At first Owens didn't like the song. But Rich did like it and convinced Owens to record it. This was followed by a string of #1 country hits including I've Got a Tiger by the Tail. The big difference was that I've Got a Tiger by the Tail crossed over to pop and reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the only song to do this and Owens' hot streak continued to the end of the 60s and helped get him on Hee Haw! and other variety shows. Owens wrote I've Got a Tiger by the Tail with veteran Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard. Owens got the idea for the song when he was at an Esso gas station and saw their slogan "Put a tiger in your tank." The song wrote itself. The record was produced by Capitol country A&R head Ken Nelson in Los Angeles. Owens' band at the time was Don Rich on guitar, Doyle Holly on bass, Tom Brumley on pedal steel guitar and Willie Cantu on drums. I recommend this Rhino comp which has all of Owens' #1 hits. Owens continued to have success in the early 70s with a series of duets with Susan Raye. But Doyle Holly left the band in 1971. And the big blow was when Don Rich died from a motorcycle crash on July 17, 1974 at age 32. Things weren't the same for Owens after that. Owens left Capitol for Warner Bros. in 1976. He only recorded two albums for Warners. Owens bought a bunch of radio stations to keep busy. He wouldn't record again until Dwight Yoakam brought him back in 1988 and revived Owens' career. Owens returned to Capitol. Owens continued to tour until he died on Mar. 25, 2006 at age 76. Here's Buck Owens and Don Rich performing I've Got a Tiger by the Tail on the Buck Owens Ranch Show Mar. 15, 1966.
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