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The Bakersfield sound is a sub-genre of country music developed in the mid-to-late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield is defined by its influences of rock and roll and honky-tonk style country, and its heavy use of electric instrumentation and backbeats.
Jun 24, 2021 · An idiomatic strain of country music sprung up in Bakersfield, California, in the 1950s and became known as the Bakersfield Sound.
The all-in-one restaurant, museum and music venue spotlights the rich history of the Bakersfield Sound and the career of Buck Owens. The Palace is home to countless items of memorabilia from Owens' early days to his time as co-host of Hee-Haw and his final years as a living legend.
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- Dwight Yoakam. Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor, known for his pioneering style of country music.
- Merle Haggard. Merle Haggard, a towering figure in the field of country music, was born on April 6, 1937, in Oildale, California. His upbringing during the Great Depression and his early life spent in converted railroad car home provided him with ample experiences to draw upon for his future songwriting.
- Buck Owens. Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), professionally known as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter and band leader who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band the Buckaroos.
- The Buckaroos. The Buckaroos were a Grammy-winning band led by Buck Owens in the 1960s and early '70s, who, along with The Strangers, were heavily involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield sound."
While Bakersfield sound was on the rise, it had some major influences in how it sounded; one of primary influences would have been Bob Wills with his up-beat tempo. The 60s is by far the most popular decade for Bakersfield sound due to people like Merle Haggard and Buck Owen.
Kurt Wolff of the All Music Guide states that the Bakersfield Sound was marked by the sharp, loud, high-end sound of the electric and steel guitars, fiddles, and lead and harmony vocals influenced by rock and roll and rockabilly as well as traditional country.
With unabashed twang—and with Don Rich playing guitar and adding harmony—Owens and the Bakersfield Sound was the opposite of the Nashville Sound, which he called “soft, easy, sweet ...
