Country legend Buck Owens passed away on March 25, 2006, at age 76. Two decades later, his influence is still all over country music. With 21 No. 1 hits, the Sherman, Texas-born artist influenced artists like Dwight Yoakum and Brad Paisley. On this day (April 4) in 1964, Owens released a song, “Together Again”, that would later disrupt his own run on top of the U.S. country charts.
“Together Again” served as the B-side to another Owens No. 1 hit, “My Heart Skips a Beat”. The latter spent seven weeks atop the Hot Country Singles chart—both being replaced by, and later replacing, “Together Again”.
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Together again / The gray skies are gone, Owens sings tenderly. You’re back in my arms / Now, where you belong.
Many artists have since put their spin on “Together Again”, including Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, and Ray Charles. Harris took her version to the top of the country charts in April 1976. Meanwhile, Charles recorded a soul version that hit No. 1 on the adult contemporary chart. It also reached No. 9 on the pop chart.
In his acceptance speech for the 2015 MusiCares Person of the Year Award, Bob Dylan said the song “trumps anything else out of Bakersfield.” (That was mostly a jab at Merle Haggard, but the compliment stands.)
[RELATED: These 4 Buck Owens Songs From the 1960s Will Always Make Me Smile]
This Buck Owens Song Inspired Jerry Garcia to Pick up a Steel Pedal Guitar
In addition to Buck Owens’ clear, twangy vocals, “Together Again” is notable for pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley’s solo—widely regarded as one of the finest steel guitar solos in the history of country music, according to CMT.
Brumley—who died on Feb. 3, 2009, at age 73—played on other Buck Owens recordings, including “Cryin’ Time”, “Under Your Spell Again”, and “Foolin’ Around”. Another notable player in the “Bakersfield sound” movement, he earned the Top Steel Guitarist Award from the Academy of Country Music just two years after his “Together Again” solo.
In fact, Brumley’s “Together Again” solo inspired Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia to learn the instrument. California steel guitarist Pete Grant, a student of Garcia’s, recalled the two hearing “Together Again” on a drive from Palo Alto to Berkeley.
“We both listened in reverent awe, and said, ‘Man, we gotta learn pedal steel,’” Grant wrote after Garcia’s death in August 1995.
Featured image by PoPsie Randolph/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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