Buck Owens: Bakersfield Boy #1

"People would say ‘You shouldn’t be sayin’ that. You should be talkin’ about country music.’ And I said, ‘Why not? It’s the truth! Why can’t I say I’m a Beatles fan?’ I used to get criticized for that." Those words are from country music great Buck Owens, who would have turned 86 today. He was responding to the country purists who accused him of selling out by adding rock elements to his repertoire in the mid-'60s. Most rock fans know that The Beatles recorded a version of Buck's 1964 hit "Act Naturally," which featured cowboy-loving Ringo on vocals. But few realize that Buck was a fan of The Beatles even before they chose his song as the B side of "Yesterday."

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