On This Day in 1988, Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens Were at No. 1 With a Milestone Song Birthed From a Merle Haggard Scheduling Conflict

On this day in 1988, Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens were at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Streets of Bakersfield.” It was the final chart-topper for Owens, who originally recorded the song more than a decade before. At the same time, it was Yoakam’s first trip to the top of the chart.

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Owens first recorded “Streets of Bakersfield” for the 1972 compilation album Buck ‘Em Volume 2: The Music of Buck Owens. More than a decade later, he was slated to perform a duet with Merle Haggard, another Bakersfield legend, on a CBS TV special. However, Haggard was unable to make the show. When asked who he’d like to perform with, Owens chose Yoakam, an up-and-comer who was heavily inspired by the Bakersfield sound that Owens and others helped popularize in the 1960s and ’70s.

[RELATED: Country Archives, 1988: Dwight Yoakam Teams Up with Buck Owens to Perform the Bakersfield Legend’s Final No. 1 Song]

DJs from country stations across the nation had recorded the performance and soon began calling to ask permission to broadcast the audio. This let Owens know they had a hit on their hands and, before long, he convinced Yoakam to go into the studio and cut an official version of the song.

Yoakam took the chance to cut a song with one of his musical heroes. Then, on June 17, 1988, he released it as the lead single from his album Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room.

Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens Score a Milestone Hit

“Streets of Bakersfield” was more than a No. 1 song. It was a career milestone for both Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam.

The song was Owens’ first No. 1 in more than a decade. Before the duet topped the chart, his last No. 1 was “Made in Japan” in 1972. It was also the country legend’s final trip to the top of the chart.

Conversely, “Streets of Bakersfield” was Yoakam’s first No. 1 single. It came after years of near-misses. At the time, he had released two albums and seven singles. All but one of those singles, “It Won’t Hurt,” landed in the top 10 of the Hot Country Songs chart.

In a way, “Streets of Bakersfield” marks a passing of the torch from one California-based country legend to another.

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