Anyone with ears and a taste for good country music knows that Dwight Yoakam learned much of what he knows from Buck Owens and other prominent Bakersfield Sound artists. However, by the time he was ready to release his debut album, Guitars, Caddilacs, Etc., Etc., in 1986, the West Coast scene’s popularity was waning. That didn’t stop the young rising star from coming out swinging with fiddles and loud Telecasters.
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In the late 1980s, Owens was slated to perform a duet with Merle Haggard, another Bakersfield legend, on a CBS television special. However, Haggard couldn’t make it. When asked if there was another artist he’d like to perform with, Owens chose Yoakam, the young up-and-comer who was carrying the torch he and his compatriots lit decades ago. They took the stage and played “Streets of Bakersfield,” an album cut he had recorded more than a decade before their performance.
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According to country historian and podcaster Tyler Mahan Coe, radio DJs across the country who had videotaped the special began calling for permission to air the audio. Owens knew he had a hit on his hands.
With the momentum behind the track building, Owens convinced Yoakam to go into the studio and cut the song. He agreed and released in the summer of 1988 as the lead single from his third album, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room. On October 15, it became Yoakam’s first No. 1 single and Owens’ last.
Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens on Austin City Limits
The video above comes from the October 23, 1988, taping of Austin City Limits. That night, Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens each taped an episode of the show. And, since they were both in the building, Owens joined Yoakam on the stage.
This was the perfect time for the two West Coast country throwbacks to take the stage for a national audience. “Streets of Bakersfield” had just topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. At the same time, Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room, which dropped on August 2, was still fresh and had just reached No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. For a moment, they were the hottest act in country music.
In some ways, the clip above captures more than an up-and-comer performing alongside the legendary artist who was among his biggest influences. It was a passing of the torch from one generation of Bakersfield legends to the next.
Featured Image by Lester Cohen/Getty Images
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