Can you please tell me if country artist Buck Owens is the father of country singer Dwight Yoakam?
—Dorothy S., Texas
No, Buck Owens, 74, is not Dwight Yoakam's father, although they became great friends in the 1980s after Yoakam claimed him as a huge musical influence. After they sang Owens' Streets of Bakersfield together on a CBS TV special, Yoakam persuaded Owens not only to go on tour with him, but to record the song together. It became a hit in 1988 and won Owens a younger audience. Owens has lived in Bakersfield, Calif., his entire life. Married and divorced three times, he has three sons—Buddy, Mike and John—and while he is basically retired, he still performs at his Crystal Palace in Bakersfield most Friday and Saturday nights. His three volumes of DVDs, Buck Owens' Ranch Shows, are available through his website, www.buckowens.com. "I'd like just to be remembered as a guy that came along and did his music, did his best and showed up on time, clean and ready to do the job, wrote a few songs, and had a (heck) of a time," Owens says.
