{"id":433925,"date":"2026-08-15T17:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T17:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/433925\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T17:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T17:06:10","slug":"born-85-years-ago-today-in-washingtons-capital-city-the-bakersfield-sound-pioneer-who-became-buck-owens-right-hand-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/433925\/","title":{"rendered":"Born 85 Years Ago Today in Washington\u2019s Capital City, the Bakersfield Sound Pioneer Who Became Buck Owens\u2019 Right-Hand Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even the best country music frontman is nothing without their backing band.<\/a> George Strait has his Ace in the Hole Band. Merle Haggard had the Strangers. And Buck Owens had his Buckaroos, whose original lineup consisted of Don Rich,\u00a0Doyle Holly,\u00a0Tom Brumley\u00a0and\u00a0Willie Cantu.<\/p>\n

In 1966, the Buckaroos made history as the second country music band ever to grace the stage at New York City\u2019s prestigious Carnegie Hall. With guitarist and fiddler Don Rich at their helm, they recorded eight top-selling albums in a three-year span and won four straight Band of the Year awards from the Academy of Country Music.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

But Rich was more than a mere sideman to Buck Owens. He was \u201clike a brother, a son, and a best friend,\u201d according to the \u201cAct Naturally\u201d crooner himself. And his champagne sparkle Fender Telecaster and lush harmonies with Owens helped form the bedrock of the \u201cBakersfield sound\u201d that came to dominate country music in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019re exploring the all-too-brief life and legacy of Donald Eugene Ulrich, born in Olympia, Washington, on this day (August 15) in 1941.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

Don Rich Was a Childhood Musical Prodigy<\/p>\n

Growing up with his adopted parents in Tumwater, Washington, Don Rich displayed an early aptitude for music.<\/p>\n

Just three years old when he learned to play fiddle, Rich had soon mastered the guitar as well. He played at various local venues before opening for Elvis Presley at the Tacoma Lincoln Bowl in September 1957\u2014at just 16 years old.<\/p>\n

How Did He Meet Buck Owens?<\/p>\n

By 1958, Don Rich had landed a regular gig at Steve\u2019s Restaurant in Tacoma. It was at this venue that his path\u00a0crossed with<\/a>\u00a0Buck Owens, who co-owned the KAYE radio station in town. Owens attended one show and immediately hired Rich to play with him in the Washington area.<\/p>\n

After Owens reached number four on the country charts with 1959\u2019s \u201cUnder Your Spell Again\u201d, he returned to Bakersfield and begged Rich to accompany him. Initially, Rich refused, deciding instead to attend Centralia College and work toward a career as a music teacher.<\/p>\n

By December 1960, Rich had changed his mind, dropping out of college to join the country singer in Bakersfield. They hit the road<\/a> in Owens\u2019 old Ford with acoustic guitars and Rich\u2019s fiddle, playing clubs with whatever available musicians they could find.<\/p>\n

Becoming the Buckaroos<\/p>\n

Eventually, after moving to Telecasters and amps, Buck Owens began teaching Don Rich lead guitar.<\/p>\n

Once the younger man had mastered the instrument, Owens was free to focus on his singing and frontman duties.<\/p>\n

In 1963, Rich convinced an unimpressed Owens to record \u201cAct Naturally\u201d. Topping the charts in June of that year, the song marked both Rich\u2019s debut on lead guitar and Owens\u2019 first number-one hit.<\/p>\n

In 1964, Owens formed the Buckaroos, declaring Rich the bandleader.<\/p>\n

A Tragic End<\/p>\n

In addition to fronting the band, Don Rich also co-wrote hits with\u00a0Owens, including \u201cBefore You Go\u201d and \u201cWaitin\u2019 in Your Welfare Line\u201d.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: On the Charts 60 Years Ago Today, Buck Owens Was in the Middle of Yet Another Run at No. 1 With This Don Rich-Penned Hit]<\/a><\/p>\n

The Buckaroos\u2019 lineup changed over time until Owens and Rich were the only original members. The pair reached No. 1 for the last time in 1972 with \u201cMade in Japan\u201d.<\/p>\n

Two years later, Don Rich died in a motorcycle accident on July 17, 1974, at age 32.<\/p>\n

After wrapping up a recording session at Buck Owens\u2019 studio in Bakersfield, Rich headed north<\/a> to join his family for a fishing trip on California\u2019s central coast.<\/p>\n

While specific details are unclear, it appears Rich\u2019s motorcycle struck a center divider on northbound Highway 1 at Yerba Buena Street\u00a0in Morro Bay, California.<\/p>\n

The renowned sideman was pronounced dead on arrival at\u00a0Sierra Vista Hospital\u00a0in\u00a0San Luis Obispo.<\/p>\n

Don Rich\u2019s death shattered his best friend and musical partner, who admitted years later that \u201cmy music life ended when he died.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, I carried on and I existed,\u201d Buck Owens said. \u201cBut the real joy and love, the real lightning and thunder is gone forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even the best country music frontman is nothing without their backing band. George Strait has his Ace in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":433926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[172176,151,153,152,44992,172284],"class_list":["post-433925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-1940s","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-country-music","tag-don-rich"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}