In 1987, Dwight Yoakam walked unannounced into Buck Owens’ Bakersfield office and asked a country legend who had spent years away from recording to sing with him that very night. Buck said yes. Yoakam was playing the local county fair, and his band already knew Buck’s songs. For the first time in years, Owens found himself back onstage singing the music that had once made him one of country’s biggest stars. That one night led to something neither man could have predicted. They began performing together, and eventually turned to “Streets of Bakersfield,” a Homer Joy song Buck had recorded back in the early 1970s without making it a major hit. This time, Dwight recorded it as a duet with his hero. Pete Anderson gave it a lively Tex-Mex arrangement, with Flaco Jiménez’s accordion running through the track. In 1988, “Streets of Bakersfield” reached No. 1. For Buck Owens, it was his first chart-topper in 16 years. Dwight had grown up admiring the Bakersfield Sound. Then he helped the man who created it find his way back to the top.
Introduction When Dwight Yoakam Brought Buck Owens Back to Bakersfield In 1987, a young Dwight...