Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens, Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) 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. They pioneered what came to be called the
Bakersfield sound, a reference to
Bakersfield, California, the city Owens called home and from which he drew inspiration for what he preferred to call American music.