Heard something about Buck and Don the other night that I didn't know

[TheGoodTexan]

Maybe I've been living under a rock, but I had never heard this.

I was at a weekly poker game the other night, with a friend of mine who plays for a country music veteran from way back. My friend has a 70s vintage juke box in his house, filled with late 60s and 70s singles. During a down turn in my luck... I do what I always do... walk over to the juke box and select every Buck Owens tune, all in a row.

"Buck for luck" I call it = six Buck tunes in a row.

We all got to talking about Buck and the various Buckaroos.. and Don Rich of course. I talked about the motorcycle wreck. My friend who hosts the game says, "I'll never believe that Buck had anything to do with it."



After I questioned him, he went on to say that some people have questioned over the years if Buck had Don "knocked off" because of a woman. Said that some people at the time suggested that Don had been shot while riding his motorcycle that day, and that's why he wrecked. My friend said he'd never believe it.

Now please understand... I'm just throwing this out there for conversation, because I had never heard this. They're both dead now, so no need to flame either of them. And I don't mean for this thread to turn sour. If it does, I hope it gets locked and deleted.

I'll always love their music, and as someone on here once said, and it describes me perfectly..."Just trying to find that happy medium between Buck and Jimi."

By the way... I came back from the smallest chip count to win that round!

 

[e-merlin]

I've never heard that one.

 

[musicmatty]

As good as Buck Owens was..I don't think he had the influence to stop an inevestigation into a Shooting if that had actually happened and keep it from the press

 

[TheGoodTexan]

Those are my thoughts as well.

But my friend who filled me in on this speculation is not some sort of conspiracy theory hack. He's just about as legit as it gets. Again, he didn't believe the theory. He only went into detail on it when I asked. He was sort of surprised that I had never heard it. Someone else at the table with us said he had heard it a long time ago.

 

[tazzboy]

I think whoever told your friend that was probably lying to him.

 

[dmarg1045]

Strictly my opinion, based on zero first hand knowledge: this sounds like BS. I checked Snopes, which doesn't say anything about it.

 

[Tim Armstrong]

It's certainly nothing I've ever heard, and kinda goes against the story that Don's death devastated Buck...

Tim

 

[TheGoodTexan]

I'll have to check back with my friend and see if he was just pulling my leg.

Especially since I was beating him at poker at this time.

 

[getbent]

GT, a few years ago, I contacted a reporter at the Bakersfield Californian and we (my family) traveled to SLC Courthouse to find specific records about the accident.... and find the spot where it occurred etc.

Buck was more than 100 miles away at the time of that accident (easily verified.)

Granted, it could be argued that Buck 'had it done' except they sure picked a strange place to do it... and the circumstances of the wreck aren't consonant with a 'hit'.

I am confident that it is a rumor that could easily 'have legs' if folks don't know the circumstances nor location of the accident... there is just no way that anything in the story is anything other than 'juicy' made up stuff...

Buck's wikipedia entry has incorrect information about the actual location of the accident and Don's wiki entry is also not correct... (but different) so, when the available sources are all over the place, consipiracies abound.

It is an interesting discussion though.... I need to finish my "California GPS for country music fans" website one of these days... I'm about 40% done.

 

[tazzboy]

From wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Rich

On July 17, 1974, after finishing work at Owens' Bakersfield studio, Rich was killed in a motorcycle accident.[1] He had been en route to join his family for vacation on the central coast of California.For unknown reasons,his motorcycle hit a center divider on northbound Highway 1 at Yerba Buena Road in Morro Bay.He was pronounced dead at 10:37 that evening.California Highway Patrol officials stated that there were no skid marks and no apparent mechanical problems.Reports indicated that Owens had pleaded with Rich not to take his motorcycle that day and had been pleading with him for years to quit riding.
Owens was devastated by the news, and for years did not talk about Rich's death. In a late 1990s interview, Owens said, "He was like a brother, a son, and a best friend. Something I never said before, maybe I couldn't, but I think my music life ended when he died. Oh yeah, I carried on and I existed, but the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever."

 

[Tim Bowen]

Seriously doubt that. That said, Buck was a far more complex individual than the happy-go-lucky guy I watched on Hee Haw on Saturday nights as a youngster. It's probably impossible to write really good country music without being a flawed and conflicted human being.

Can't substantiate any of the following read, but certainly an interesting spin:

http://mykindofcountry.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/book-review-buck-owens-the-biography-by-eileen-sisk/

 

[Mark Davis]

I never heard anything like that either.

Don is the last person on Earth Buck would want to die they were as attached as siamese twins. After Don died Buck was never the same.

 

[RebelTwang]

Seriously doubt that. That said, Buck was a far more complex individual than the happy-go-lucky guy I watched on Hee Haw on Saturday nights as a youngster. It's probably impossible to write really good country music without being a flawed and conflicted human being.

Can't substantiate any of the following read, but certainly an interesting spin:

http://mykindofcountry.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/book-review-buck-owens-the-biography-by-eileen-sisk/

Wow, kinda blows my impression of Buck all to hell. I always pictured him as a good guy. I guess everyone has their demons...............

 

[WaylonFan76]

yeah... I don't see it either. It is common knowledge that Buck was never the same after the accident. There's always crazy conspiracy theories about famous musicians.

 

[outlawyer]

There were so many women between the two of them that one wasn't going to cause any lasting trouble, much less murder.
Not uncommon at all for coroner's reports or autopsy records to be absent from files of publicly known figures in CA. Indeed, there may well have not been an autopsy at all; after a brief search there's not any reliable source definitely confirming that one was performed, which again is not unusual in accident cases where the cause of death is obvious. Autopsies are gruesome.
One anecdotal observation-I hit a median divider on MY bike and got pretty beat up as a teenager. It's not hard to do, especially if there's a happy hour involved. I never hit the brakes either, and was catapulted a good 70 feet.
The onstage rapport between the two was and remains one of the best in show business.

 

[WaylonFan76]

Well said, outlawyer. Plus, I think Buck was smart enough to know that that would mean career suicide for him.

 

[emu!]

Well, the million dollar question is:

Was there a gunshot wound on Rich?

I never even knew how Don Rich died until this thread.

 

[outlawyer]

This is more like it, hahaha

Fender's deal with most of their artists was that they would exchange their instruments for new ones every 7 years or so. Buck refused to return the instruments given to them by Fender, so Fender stopped giving them instruments. Gibson picked up on this and in the early 70's they struck up a deal with Buck. Don received an ES-335 as well as a Les Paul Recording Model.

 

[telex76]

Your friend might not be a conspiracy theory nut, but stupidity has no boundaries.

 

[TheGoodTexan]

...being a flawed and conflicted human being.

This describes so many of us, huh?

I just want to make it clear again... not that anyone here has misinterpreted me at all... but I am in no way subscribing to this theory, nor holding it up as possibly legitimate.

It just took me by such surprise the other night that I thought it would make for decent conversation around here. I had never heard this... and obviously most of you have not heard this either.

Bent... I appreciate your comments, especially reminding everyone that Wikipedia can be incorrect.