Bonnie Owens "Don't Take Advantage Of Me" (Capitol Records, 1965) (LP)
(Produced by Fuzzy Owen)
Although she'd been recording for over a decade, and had been married to one of the most successful men in country music, her full-length debut didn't come until 1965...
Bonnie Owens & Merle Haggard "Just Between The Two Of Us" (Capitol Records, 1966) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson & Fuzzy Owen)
A collaboration between Owens and her new husband, Merle Haggard... This has been reissued a few times on several different labels...
Bonnie Owens "All Of Me Belongs To You" (Capitol Records, 1967) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson & Fuzzy Owen)
Bonnie Owens "Somewhere Between" (Capitol Records, 1968) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson)
Bonnie Owens "Hi-Fi To Cry By" (Capitol Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson)
I know it's sexist of me to point this out, but she got her hair done (and changed the color!) for this album... And it looks pretty good! As on other albums, she plays the part of a sassy gal who's still kind of a doormat -- men keep doing her wrong, but she sticks up for herself by pointing out what jerks they are, even through she accepts her own misery as part of a package deal. The musical side is good -- basically it's the Strangers backing her up with a classic, Haggard-esque style. They play it pretty straight on most tunes, though they get a little goofy on a rock-flavored update of the Jenny Lou Carson oldie, "Jealous Heart." Another mega-oldie she covers is "Philadelphia Lawyer," a song that draws a vocal-tone connection between Owens and Rose Maddox that I might not otherwise have made. Also of interest are a couple of songs written by Lola Jean Dillon, and one by Mary Taylor. Like many female singer of the time, Owens may have been cast as an emotional doormat, but at least she had other gals writing some of the songs for her. Nice stuff!
Bonnie Owens "Lead Me On" (Capitol Records, 1969) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson)
Backed by Merle's band, The Strangers, Owens delivers a modest set of songs, many about sad or bitter domestic situations, and the tang of resentment and regret has a surprisingly strong, believable undercurrent. The overall sound echoes that of Haggard's brand of Bakersfield Sound -- more laid-back and acoustic-leaning, and the Strangers style is unmistakable. She records a couple of great, almost scandalous cheating songs by Dallas Frazier -- "Number 82" and "How Can Our Cheatin' Be Wrong?" -- along with a nice sassy number by Liz Anderson, "Tonight I'll Throw A Party (Out The Door)" and a fluffy toss-off from Buck Owens, "Merry-Go-Round Of Love." And of course there are several songs from Merle Haggard, including the jaunty "Livin' On Your Love," and the kinda creepy domestic violence "novelty" song, "The Back Of My Hand." The title track, written by Leon Copeland, was Owens' last charting single, hitting #68 in an ignominious end to her commercial career... After that, a gospel album and pffftt! she was gone.
Bonnie Owens "Mother's Favorite Hymns" (Capitol Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Earl Ball, Hugh Davies & Jay Ranelucci)
A great, no-nonsense traditional country gospel album, leaning heavily on easily recognizable old-school standards such as "Farther Along," "I'll Fy Away," "What A Friend We Have In Jesus," and "Where Could I Go But To The Lord," with a few quick dips into more modern territory, like "I Saw The Light" from Hank Williams, and Betty Sue Perry's novelty weeper," "Medals For Mothers." The backing is pure Bakersfield twang with low-key delivery by the Strangers, a sound that should be quite familiar to Merle Haggard fans, while Ms. Owens is committed but cool, sounding like a gal who regularly goes to Sunday church and knows all the words, but doesn't get too carried away when the band kicks in. Along with Merle's band, she's also backed by a male vocal group called the Victors and perhaps more interestingly by a trio of female soul singers that included Venetta Fields, Gloria Jones and Merry Clayton, a gal best known as the wailing wildcat on the eerie Rolling Stones classic, "Gimme Shelter," which was recorded just a year earlier. Quite a lineup! Anyway, it you want to hear country gospel done right, track this one down.
Merle Haggard & Bonnie Owens "The Fightin' Side Of Me" (Capitol Records, 1970) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson & Hugh Davies)
Though she's given top billing along with Merle, Bonnie Owens is a relatively marginal figure on this live concert album, which was recorded in Philadelphia... She sings on three tracks, including covers of "Jackson" and "Orange Blossom Special" and "Philadelphia Lawyer" (in homage, one assumes, to Okie icon Rose Maddox, as well as their host city). The album was designed to capitalize on the pugancious title track, "The Fightin' Side Of Me," which was sort of the loud-mouthed little kid brother of Haggards earlier hit, "Okie From Muskogee."
Merle Haggard "Land Of Many Churches" (Capitol Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Ken Nelson & George Richey)
Another album where Bonnie Owens gets prominent billing, but is actually kind of in the background as part of Merle Haggard's road show. But still: wow. Kind of an intense record. Merle digs down about as far into the real-deal Pentecostal fundamentalist bedrock as you can get on this stark, all-gospel set, a two-disc epic recorded at the height of his fame in the early 1970s. He performs at two churches, also at San Quentin prison and at a rescue mission in Nashville, accompanied on some tracks by the remnants of the Carter Family (Anita, Helen and Maybelle), and by the church congregations as well. In addition, there are several bits of sermons and sermon-like introductions by various pastors... One side was recorded deep in the Central Valley at the Assembly Of God Tabernacle, a Pentecostal church in Keyes, California, just north of Turlock on the 99 and mere miles away from the equally tiny town of Denair, where Bill Harris, owner of Vision Records, was busy recording some of California's best, street-level rural gospel. This disc has a level of religious authenticity that you don't often hear on country records, particularly ones by big, famous stars. Might be a bit much for the casual listener, but gospel fans will really be impressed by the apparent depth of Merle's convictions. He's backed by a the early 'Seventies outlaw edition of the Strangers, including drummer Biff Adam, steel player Norm Hamlet, Dennis Hromek on bass, picker Roy Nichols and rhythm guitarist Bobby Wayne, with Bonnie Owens kind of in the background,. Guest performers included Tommy Collins, Johnny Gimble, Jody Payne, and the early 'Seventies Carter Family.
Bonnie Owens (1929-2006) is perhaps best known as the gal who married (and divorced) both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard... But she was a kick-ass West Coast country singer in her own right. She started performing the 1940s, and recorded her first single in the early 1950s, and continued to record infrequently for small independent labels for the rest of the decade. She and Buck Owens had known each other for years, and performed in country bands together, but were not married until 1951. They divorced several years later, and their son, Buddy Alan had a brief country music career as well. Bonnie Owens later married Merle Haggard in 1965, and continued her career as a solo singer and as a performer in Haggard's live band. Here's a quick look at her work...
Bonnie Owens "Queen Of The Coast" (Bear Family Records, 2007)
