Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. was born in 1929 to Alvis Edgar Owens Sr. and Maicie Azel. "Buck" was a donkey on the family's Texas farm. When Alvis Jr. was three or four years old, he walked into the house and announced that his name also was "Buck." That was fine with the family, and the boy's name became "Buck" from then on.

In 2005, CMT named the Buckaroos No. 2 on its list of the 20 Greatest Country Music Bands. Don Rich, Doyle Holly, Tom Brumley and Willie Cantu were the original members of the Buckaroos during the 1960s. The 1970s version included Don Rich, Jerry Wiggins, Jerry Brightman, Doyle Curtsinger, and Jim Shaw.

In 1988, Owens recorded a duet version of "Streets of Bakersfield" with country singer Dwight Yoakam, which became one of Yoakam's first No. 1 Hot Country Singles hits.

Using the pseudonym "Corky Jones" to prevent the recording of a rock 'n' roll tune from hurting his aspiring Country Music career, Owens recorded a rockabilly record called "Hot Dog" for the Pep label.

The Buckaroos were known for their signature red, white and blue guitars and fiddles. Owens, a self-described superpatriot, knew that by letting his instruments speak for him, he could articulate his patriotism without attacking or offending anyone, regardless of their politics.

Named in honor of Bakersfield, California, Owens' adopted home, Bakersfield was the first genre of country music to be significantly influenced by rock and roll, and as a result, the first to rely heavily on electric instrumentation and a defined backbeat. It was also a reaction against the slickly produced, orchestra-laden Nashville sound, which was becoming popular in the late 1950s.

Inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, with the major difference being that Hee Haw was centered on rural rather than pop culture, the show was equally well known for its corn pone humor as for its voluptuous, scantily clad women (called the Hee Haw Honeys) in stereotypical farmer's daughter outfits.

"They're gonna put me in the movies
They're gonna make a big star out of me
We'll make a film about a man that's sad and lonely
And all I gotta do is act naturally"

The Beatles recorded a cover of the song in 1965 with Ringo Starr as lead singer. Starr later recorded a duet of it with Owens in 1988.

On July 17, 1974, Owens' best friend and Buckaroos' guitarist Don Rich was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and struck a guard rail on Highway 1 in Morro Bay, where he was to have joined his family for vacation. Owens was devastated. "He was like a brother, a son and a best friend," he said in the late 1990s. "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."