Bonnie Owens was a singer, songwriter, and performer who helped shape the country music genre in the 1950s and 1960s. She was married to two of the most influential country music stars, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, and collaborated with them on many hit songs. She also recorded several solo albums and won awards for her vocal talents. She died in 2006 at the age of 76, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
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Bonnie Owens’s Early Life and Career
Bonnie Owens was born as Bonnie Campbell on October 1, 1929, in Blanchard, Oklahoma. She grew up in a poor family and moved to Arizona with her mother when she was a teenager. There, she met Buck Owens, who had a local radio show and played in a band. He discovered that she could sing and helped her get a job with him on another radio show in 1947. They married the following year and had two sons, Buddy Alan and Michael.
The couple moved to Bakersfield, California, in 1951 and started their music careers. They divorced in 1953, but remained friends and sometimes performed together in the local clubs. Bonnie Owens’s first recording was “A Dear John Letter”, a duet with Fuzzy Owen on Mar-Vel Records in 1953. She recorded on various labels during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Tally Records, which was owned by Merle Haggard and Fuzzy Owen.
Bonnie Owens’s Marriage and Collaboration with Merle Haggard
Bonnie Owens met Merle Haggard when she was working as a waitress at a Bakersfield club. He was impressed by her voice and asked her to record a duet with him. Their rendition of “Just Between the Two of Us” hit the top of the country charts in 1965 and won the best vocal group award from the Academy of Country Music. They married that same year and became one of the most popular country music duos of the time.
They recorded several albums together, such as Just Between the Two of Us (1966), The Best of Bonnie Owens (1967), All of Me Belongs to You (1967), Somewhere Between (1968), Lead Me On (1969), and A Portrait of Merle Haggard (1971). They also wrote songs for each other and for other artists, such as “Today I Started Loving You Again”, “I’ll Look Over You”, “The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde”, and “Sing Me Back Home”. Bonnie Owens also toured with Merle Haggard and his band, The Strangers, as a backup vocalist.
Bonnie Owens’s Solo Career and Awards
Bonnie Owens did not neglect her solo career while she was married to Merle Haggard. She released several albums under her own name, such as Don’t Take Advantage of Me (1965), Hi-Fi to Cry By (1969), Mother’s Favorite Hymns (1970), The Best of Bonnie Owens (1999), and The Very Best of Bonnie Owens (2007). She had hits on the country chart with songs like “Why Don’t Daddy Live Here Anymore?”, “Don’t Take Advantage of Me”, “Number One Heel”, and “Consider the Children”.
Bonnie Owens was recognized for her contributions to country music by various organizations. She was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 1965. She was also inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
Bonnie Owens’s Death and Legacy
Bonnie Owens and Merle Haggard divorced in 1978, but they remained close friends and continued to tour together until her death. She married her third husband, Fred McMillan, in 1982. In the late 1990s, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disorder that causes memory loss, confusion, and dementia. She died on April 24, 2006, at a hospice hospital in Bakersfield. She was buried next to Buck Owens at Greenlawn Memorial Park.
Bonnie Owens left behind a legacy of music that influenced generations of country music artists and fans. She was praised for her distinctive voice, her songwriting skills, and her pioneering role in the country music genre. She was also remembered for her kindness, generosity, and humility. As Merle Haggard said about her: “She never knew how great she was.”
