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By Popular Demand Sonny Langley has released a new CD featuring 15 Traditional Country Songs
from the 1930's and 1940's. Sonny is touted as one of the best Country singers by his friends
Merle Haggard and George Jones. Mr. Langley resides in Bakersfield and and occassionaly
performs at the local venues. He has opened for Merle Haggard on several occassions and
commands standing ovations. The CDs are available at a modest price of $13.00
(includes shipping). Click on the above picture of Sonny for the payment process
to order you a copy ... Glenn P.


Site Coordinated by Glenn J. Pogatchnik,
"The Ambassador of The Bakersfield Sound"
E-mail: Glenn
Phone 805-528-6144
Sonny Langley - Senior Advisor





Click for More on the Bakersfield Sound ...














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HI EVERYBODY. We are currently doing research on many of the musicians in Bakersfield that excelled in some of the top rock bands in Bakersfield over the last thirty years. Bakersfield has produced in the last decade one of the top bands in the world Korn and Adema. We are very proud of that fact in the Bakersfield musical community. Rock is a very important part of the Bakersfield Sound.We will be doing interviews on these musicians and that takes time so be patient and if you are a rock musician who played in Bakersfield and you think the readers would be interested in what you have to say by all means e-mail me - Jpogatchn@aol.com




Titan Music and That Bakersfield Sound have also teamed up to sell musical instruments and supplies to our readers. We sell at a discount. D'Addario, GHS and Elixir guitar strings in dozen sets only. Pro Mark & Vic Firth Drumsticks (dozen sets only). E-mail us on prices. Here is our affordable beginning guitar line while they last. Subject to stock at hand. Guitars are $175.00 which includes shipping only in the U.S.A.
BCRich Mockingbird (225.00 which includes shipping & handling)



Titan Talent and Management and
"That Bakersfield Sound" Join Forces
We are now offering services to post your bands schedule on the www.thatbakersfieldsound.com and http://www.titantalentandmanagement.com web sites. Fee is $500 for six months. This service includes updating your schedule every two weeks. For more information, e-mail: Glenn J Pogatchnik or Titan Talent & Mgmt /b>




That Bakersfield Sound web site editor, Glenn J. Pogatchnik, visits with Merle Haggard at "The Hag's" home, September 16, 2005.



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Kern County Museum's Website
For those of you wishing to know more about Bakersfield's history the Kern County Museum which is located in Bakersfield has a very in depth website at www.kcmuseum.org. If you click onto Exhibits it will take you to the Bakersfield Sound section which includes articles on many of the artists known as the early pioneers of the Bakersfield Sound.




For those of you visiting Bakersfield, here is a current list of nightclubs showcasing Live Country music:
Buck Owens Crystal Palace
2800 Buck Owens Blvd.
(661)328-7560

Ethel's Old Corral Cafe
4310 Alfred Harrell Highway
(661)873-7613

Kern River Belle
100 North Chester Ave.
(661)392-9002

Rockin' Rodeo
3745 Rosedale Hwy
(661)323-6617

Tejon Club
117 El Tejon Ave.
(661)392-1747

Trout's Nightclub
805 North Chester (661)399-6700

Vinny's Bar
2700 S. Union Ave.
(661)835-7444



Backin' Up Buck?
By DR. BRUCE L. THIESSEN aka Dr. B.L.T.
Link to one-song soundtrack to this article:
Backin' Up Buck (words and music by Dr. B.L.T. ©2005
http://www.drblt.com/music/BackBuck.mp3
http://www.theblackboardfreepress.com/200507/features.html
           "The people of Bakersfield are wonderful. They sang very well!" Ritch Sublett, Producer, CMT (Country Music Television).
           Where were you on the night of June 29, 2005? I can proudly proclaim that I was on the streets of Bakersfield backing up Buck Owens on a CMT-video-taped version of the country classic, The Streets of Bakersfield. Notice that I used the term "proudly" with a small, not a capital P. Much to my chagrin, I was one of nearly 200 Buckaroo-wannabes who stood on that same street near the intersection of Sillect Avenue and Buck Owens Boulevard, right next to the Crystal Palace, singing the same song. We were the dewy-eyed desperadoes who answered the call proclaimed in the June 29th edition of the Bakersfield Californian to participate in the creation of a production involving the top twenty country songs based on American cities. The Streets of Bakersfield is right near the top of the list, so I'm told.
           The song was originally released on May 14, 1973. But it didn't really catch fire until Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakom (Merle Haggard's replacement) re-recorded the song with a Tex-Mex flavor with on June 17, 1988. It immediately stormed up to number one on the country charts, and ultimately won the duo a Grammy. Needless to say, the song has become a classic's classic. Therein lays the pressure and my concomitant dose of performance anxiety. Would we, the group dubbed, "A new generation of Buckaroos," by the Bakersfield Californian, be able to do justice to such an inviolable standard?
           On August 27, 2005 at 7 pm, 8 pm (central), CMT (Country Music Television) airs the show nation-wide, and, if I'm not mistaken, around the world.
           In the meantime, I suggest you take the word of CMT producer, Ritch Sublett. He was exceedingly complimentary in his comments to me about the people of Bakersfield, and about our collective performance at the event. More specifically, he said, (and I quote), "The people of Bakersfield are wonderful." When I asked him to appraise our collective performance, he didn't hesitate for a second. "(We) sang very well," he noted confidently. I'm really enjoying this event. I like almost all country music ‹ especially the stuff with the twang." Mike Bell, Director, Clear Channel Communications Inc.
           "I'm really looking forward to this. I want to be on TV." The refreshingly candid comments of Gracie Murdoch, Age 6. I decided it was time to expand my sphere of interaction, so I mingled with the crowd that had slowly gathering in the street. I tried to tap into the existential experience of folks representing a diverse range of ages, occupations, and personality types. Don Jaegar, Bakersfield Convention and Visitor's Bureau president, had just spent nearly two days hanging out with the folks form CMT. He told me how grateful he was to share in this experience. "I'm excited to see the enthusiasm people have, and the respect they all share for Buck Owens, "said Jaegar. This is clearly an historic moment," he added.
           Bakersfield resident, Mike Murdoch, said "This is great for the community ... a great way of getting involved." He brought his daughters, Ellie, aged 4, and Gracie, age 6. Little Ellie, was dressed in Western gear and sported a charming, down-home country smile to boot (pun intended). This was not her first moment of glory. She has already made her debut on Direct TV. Her older sister, Gracie, was no stranger to fame and fortune either. Gracie has the distinct honor of having graced the screen on a Hallmark commercial in which she was joined by a bunny rabbit. When asked what she liked most about attending this event, she stated unabashedly: "I really want to be on TV." Now she is somebody I can respect: A candid camera-lover. No hidden motives here. No shame in her self-promotion.
           My moments of mingling came to an abrupt end when CMT Producer Ritch Sublett gathered us all together for the big event. Before he arrived we were all roaming aimlessly around the streets of Bakersfield, like bucolic, "Buckaholic" sheep without a shepherd. He skillfully gathered the flock together and turned chaos into continuity, just in time for the grand entrance of Buck Owens, his beautiful wife, and his beautiful signature red-white-and-blue guitar. The rest was history‹literally.
           We rehearsed a few times with the "aid" of a car stereo. We could have used a louder stereo system, but hey, we're just plain old country folk. We weren't born with silver spoons in our mouths, and we have no sense of entitlement. We took what we could get and fervently attempted to memorize the song, especially the part we were responsible for - the chorus. After a few runs, the CMT cameraman exclaimed from the rooftop of his car, that the session was over‹no more takes were required. Our photo op was over, just like that‹the in the fleeting blink of an eye. Well, almost. We had one more chance to make our marks on country music history.
           We were given the opportunity to perform again ‹ this time as individuals or, as duos or small groups. This time it was me who had the unfair advantage‹me and my friend, and fellow band member, Jerry Rothberg. We were told we were not allowed to use a lyrical cheat-sheet. That was our excuse for forgetting the second last line of the first verse. After it became obvious that few of us knew the lyrics to one of our favorite songs, the bar was drastically lowered, and lyrical cheat sheets abounded. Performances varied in terms of confidence and skill levels. For one or two country crooners, this was perhaps the beginning of something very big. I was clearly not among them.
           Our hero departed to the tune of a thunderous applause and uproarious chants of Buck, Buck, Buck!!!! The burning sun beat down upon mercilessly as we left the now-conspicuously-starless street. I headed towards the parking lot to dump off my notes. Let it never be said that I don't know how to park. As luck would have it, I had parked right next to, Melanie Fields, CMT Associate Producer, who arrived at her vehicle just in time for me to hit her up for a succinct summary statement. She couldn't have summed up the event any better: "The turn out was great. We were very excited to celebrate the song, the legendary Buck Owens, and the city of Bakersfield."
           I grabbed my free CMT T-shirt and made my way into the Crystal Palace. Buck Owens had made history once again. As for the rest of us, we marveled in the fact that we had been extraordinarily blessed that day. We had actually shared the street-stage with one of the greatest pioneers to ever grace the evolving pages of country music history. I never expect to be invited to become a member of The Buckaroos, even in the loosest sense of the term. But here I was, a bona fide, if unofficial and amateurish, member of the back-up band I admired most. I walked out of the Crystal Palace with my head held high and took one more proud walk down The Streets of Bakersfield.



Bruce Thiessen's Interview with Jim Shaw of The Buckaroos




Buck's Legends in Bronze - Click




Left to right: Ferlin Husky - Elvis Presley - Faron Young - Hawkshaw Hawkinsand the gentleman on the right we cannot identify. Ferlin (aka Terry Preston/Simon Crum) has a connection to the Bakersfield Sound because he recorded several hit songs in Hollywood while residing in Bakersfield. He is a native of Missouri. This picture was sent to us courtesy of John Jones from Bakersfield.




Event photos here.




This picture was taken sometime in the mid sixties at a KUZZ radio picnic in Bakersfield. Left to right: Jerry Ward (bass guitar), Bonnie Owens and a dashing young Merle Haggard. In the background to the right is Don Rich. We would like to thank Sonny Langley for sending in this rare photo.




Bill Woods CD
For those of you who are fans of the Bakersfield Sound, here's your chance to own a piece of history by the man who started it all, Bill Woods "The Godfather of The Bakersfield Sound." This is a very rare live recording of Bill performing on the stage of the infamous Blackboard Nightclub in Bakersfield with his friends Don Rich (guitar player for Buck Owens) Don Markham (current sax/trumpet player for Merle Haggard) Fuzzy Owen (who has been Merle's personal manager) and Red "Hello I'm a Truck" Simpson. These two 30 minute shows recorded in 1961-62 are from jam sessions that were held on Sunday afternoons and answer the question I get all the time "Glenn what did the old clubs that spawned the Bakersfield Sound like?"
           Here's the best part. We will donate $5.00 of every CD sold to our friend Bob Timmers of the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame who is this "That Bakersfield Sound" website designer. So you not only have the opportunity to own a great CD but help support the web site in the process. Amount: $15.00 cashier's check or Money Order (includes shipping and handling). Payable to: Glenn J. Pogatchnik, 1675 Los Osos Valley Rd., Unit 130, Los Osos, CA 93402



Rare Rockin' Tracks from Bill Woods
Three songs recorded in 1957 are now available on a CD ... and, Buck Owens is pickin' lead guitar! $10.00 cashier's check or Money Order (includes shipping and handling). Payable to: Glenn J. Pogatchnik, 1675 Los Osos Valley Rd., Unit 130, Los Osos, CA 93402


Listen to a song sample.
Note: Bill Woods Rockin' In '57 was mastered by David Eriksen at www.FATnSASSYmastering.com



Kern River Belle Jam, Oct. 10th



Here's a great shot of Sonny Langley with his best buddy Merle Haggard performing on stage at the World Famous Buck Owens Crystal Palace.


Merle and Glenn J. Pogatchnik, August 17, 2004
Photos courtesy of Glenn

More Merle Photos Here









Alan Jackson and Strayhorn Band.
The photo was sent in by Tom Rutledge who plays guitar in the Strayhorn Band. It was taken in a little southern town at an abandoned gas station while shooting the video for the song "Little Man". Tom is that smiling fellow on the very right of the picture. Tom and Bakersfield page editor Glenn Pogatchnik became friends thru their mutual admiration of the late legendary Roy Nichols who played lead guitar in Merle Haggard's band. Tom has a very informative website located at www.tomrutledge.com.



Bakersfield Country Music is alive and well
... despite all predictions by these new fangled city slickers moving into town hell bent on erasing our "hillbilly" image. I've been reading about what those polecats in Nashville are trying to erase the traditional country image too. It's like I told some of these outsiders coming into Bakersfield. "Us Oakies are like cockroaches, It's pretty hard to kill us off." Currently in Oildale which is included in Bakersfield across the Kern River right by where Merle Haggard grew up at 1303 Yosemite there are four true honky tonks thriving and doing quite well thank you. These include the Kern River Belle, The Longbranch, El Tejon Bar and Trout's. Across the river down on Buck Owens Blvd. Buck Owens is packing them in every Friday and Saturday night at his Crystal Palace. Despite all dire predictions that country was dead in Bakersfield Country Music prevails. I am also happy to say there is a massive amount of talent in Bakersfield and many young artists eager to follow in the footsteps of Buck, Merle, Tommy Collins, Bonnie Owens, Ferlin Husky, Jean Shepard, Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, Maddox Bros. & Rose and so on. So all we have to do is wait out these creeps that run the music business and hopefully it will return to true country that the masses crave such as Buddy Jewell of Nashville Star fame. As long as Fender guitar company keeps making Telecasters there will always be Country Music. The kind we like in Bakersfield.
Glenn J. "The Ambassador Of The Bakersfield Sound" Pogatchnik






The Cousin Herb Henson Trading Post TV Show was broadcast live in Bakersfield on KERO Channel 10 from 5:PM TO 5:45 from 1953-1963, when Herb Henson passed away from a fatal heart attack. Bill Woods, Billy Mize and Cousin Herb started this show. The broadcast signal was so powerful that the show could be viewed all the way up in Fresno, 105 miles to the North. It was extremely popular with many famous artists of the day who performed on the show first and then later that evening performed at The Blackboard Nightclub. Bill Woods was the promoter.






Here is an artists rendering of the glory days of the world famous Bakersfield Inn with the Bakersfield Sign connecting the two sections of the Inn crossing over Union Ave. which was the road that travelers entering Bakersfield from the south saw as they traveled thru Bakersfield going north up thru the great San Joaquin Valley. Later Hwy 99 was constructed bypassing all the stoplights and started the demise of the Bakersfield Inn as a travelers favorite reststop as well as many other nightclubs and motels on Union Ave. The Bakersfield Inn has been demolished, and, Buck Owens at a cost of over $175,000, had the Bakersfield Sign dismantled and reconstructed only using the blue letters on his property at the Crystal Palace, a nightclub/museum that he currently owns and operates.






Courtesy: Fatt Katt




The Bakersfield Sound ...
By Jeff Nickell (As appeared in the Spring 2002 issue of the Historic Kern published by the Kern County Historical Society) When people around the country think of Bakersfield they will probably think of its association with country music. More precisely Buck Owens and Merle Haggard may come to mind (as just occurred while I was talking to a client in New Mexico this week). However, the Bakersfield Sound is much more than Owens and Haggard.
           Of course, there are many theories on how the Bakersfield Sound developed. Former Oildale resident and retired Sonoma State University professor Gerald Haslam's book Workin' Man Blues indicates one such theory. Haslam states that the Bakersfield Sound grew out of several different styles of music and that performers picked and chose the styles they liked to create their own brand of music. Kurt Wolff of the All Music Guide states that the Bakersfield Sound was marked by the sharp, loud, high-end sound of the electric and steel guitars, fiddles, and lead and harmony vocals influenced by rock and roll and rockabilly as well as traditional country.  This was a direct contrast with the production style of the Nashville Sound, at the time filling the country airwaves with crooning voices, lush string arrangements, and background choruses. The Bakersfield Sound was a reaction to the early ('50s and) '60s sweetening of country music epitomized by the Nashville Sound. Country Roots on a Budget Collection indicates that Bakersfield music was, by comparison, rawer, twangier and rocked more than just a little.
              One of the established facts, no matter whom you talk to, is that the Bakersfield Sound was created in the honk tonks.  Performers such as Cousin Herb Henson, Bill Woods, Billy Mize, Oscar Whittington, Eugene Moles, Jelly Sanders, Johnny Cuevelo, and a host of others crafted their trades within the smoke-filled honky tonks in and around Bakersfield.  The Blackboard Café, Bob's Lucky Spot, the Rainbow Gardens, the Pumpkin Center Barn Dance, the Beardsley Ballroom, the Clover Club, Tex's Barrel House, Trout's, and a number of other establishments offered music seven nights a week.  This provided enjoyment for the patrons, but more importantly allowed the musicians to hone their skills.
            The influence of the performers on one another should not be discarded. Owens and Haggard are household names, but what made their careers was a drive to succeed, talent, and the ability to work with and learn from others.  Haggard would not have enjoyed the success he has earned without the likes of Fuzzy Owen, Bonnie Owens, and Lewis Talley.  Likewise, Buck Owens rise to fame includes associations with Don Rich, Bonnie Owens, Bill Woods, Red Si, and Rose Maddox.
            The migration of the Okies to California in the 1930s and 1940s is really where the Bakersfield Sound started. "The (Bakersfield) music was simple but powerful, played by simple-living people who had to leave their farms to come west," said Tommy Collins, an Oklahoma native who wrote his first hit songs after moving to Bakersfield in 1951. "There's quite a history to the camaraderie that developed between those Dust Bowl people. They weren't apt to go for fancy music."  Not all of the musicians who fueled and fostered the Bakersfield Sound were actually the children of those itinerant dirt farmers, but many of them were - and every last one of them, poor or not, understood that sort of life and that sort of desperation. Legendary guitar player Eugene Moles indicated that the Bakersfield Sound was formed from many phases of singular parts and that no one person can really take sole credit for coming up with the sound.  Moles adds that the sound, to the best of his recollections, started in 1949/1950.  He remembers piano player George French (whom he said was the ultimate professional), Billy Mize, Fuzzy Owen, Lewis Talley, Tex Butler, and Bill Woods as leaders of the movement.  It should be noted that the Bakersfield Sound was driven by the piano, steel guitar, and of course the Telecaster guitar.
            When asked about the Bakersfield Sound, Jimmy Phillips said, "it had a simple sound ... to me it was simple ... they did a-lot of playing behind the vocalist ... it had a busier sound ... instruments filled behind the vocalist ... complimenting the vocalist."  Phillips, who played drums on several records and performed on KERO-TV's The Jimmy Thomason Show, agreed with Eugene Moles that the Bakersfield Sound got its' start in 1949 or 1950.  He added that Bill Woods was at the forefront of the movement and that Woods is known as the "Father of the Bakersfield Sound."
            Bill Woods, originally from Denison, Texas, came to the San Joaquin Valley at the age of 16.  By the age of 26, Woods was the bandleader at the Blackboard Café.  During that ten-year interval he lived in Arvin, Woodlake, and Richmond (during the war) playing guitar and singing at church and performing in local bands.  His big break came in the late 1940s when he was hired by former Bob Wills vocalist Tommy Duncan to play piano and fiddle.  Tommy Hays, a guitarist and bandleader who still plays in Bakersfield, once said that Bill Woods could darn near play anything including keyboards, guitar, and fiddle.  Woods was a key factor in many performers careers including Buck Owens, Ferlin Husky, and Cousin Herb Henson among others.
            The Bakersfield Sound, although resoundingly popular in Bakersfield and Kern County, became notable throughout the Central Valley and Los Angeles as performers began to spend time playing in those areas.  It is important to note that these areas already had country music and much of the same type of music was being played as it was in Bakersfield.  Again, the influence of performers on each other is significant.  Further widening the popularity was the session work being done in Los Angeles recording studios.  Some of the notable instrumentalists were Eugene Moles, Buck Owens, Jimmy Phillips, Bill Woods, Oscar Whittington, and Roy Nichols.  In fact, Moles was such a talent that Nashville guitar pickers starting copying his style.  Moles, however, never achieved the success of Nichols because he was unwilling to tour and leave his family behind.  In fact, Moles turned down a multi-year contract with Capitol Records.  Nichols, on the other hand, performed with such legendary stars as Lefty Frizzell, Wynn Stewart, and finally for twenty-two years with Merle Haggard.
            Another reason for the popularity of the Bakersfield Sound was radio and television.  KUZZ radio broadcast could be heard up and down the San Joaquin Valley.  Meanwhile, Cousin Herb and his Trading Post Gang could be seen every week on KERO-TV.  Folks tuned in even from the Central Coast and Fresno to watch the show.  The guest talent on the Trading Post Gang was every bit as good as what Nashville was producing at the time.  Entertainers such as Joe and Rose Lee Maphis, Dallas Frazier, and Barbara Mandrell performed on the show and for some it was their springboard to stardom.  Cousin Herb Henson hosted the show for ten years until his untimely death at the age of 39 on November 26, 1963.  I have long argued that the Bakersfield Sound would have been much more popular if Cousin Herb had lived longer.  This, of course, may or may not be true.
            But, Henson's replacement was a success in his own right.  Billy Mize began playing on KBAK's The Chuck Wagon Gang in the 1950s with Cliff Crofford.  He had already begun performing on the Trading Post Gang when Cousin Herb had his fatal heart attack.  Mize then took over as host of the show.  In fact, Mize also hosted Gene Autry's Melody Ranch for a number of years.  For two years, he even hosted both shows racking up over 3,000 miles per week driving between Bakersfield and Los Angeles.  Billy Mize won the Academy of Country Music's TV Personality of Year from 1965-1967.  Mize recorded for Columbia, Decca, United Artists, Zodiac and other record labels.  However, he like many of the Bakersfield Sound crowd was an excellent songwriter.  Vern Gosdin reached #1 on the country music charts with Just Enough to Keep Me Hangin' On, a song credited to Mize.  Dean Martin also recorded three of his songs including Terrible Tangled Web.
           Songwriting is an important part of the Bakersfield Sound equation.  The poetic writings matched with the instrumentation are what made it a success.  One songwriter that cannot go unmentioned is Dallas Frazier.  Frazier is thought of as one of the all-time great songwriters having composed songs that have been hits in several genres.  He got his start at a children's talent show in 1952 that was hosted by Ferlin Husky.  From that point, he became a member of Husky's band, and began appearing on Cousin Herb's Trading Post Gang.  It was from that association that he learned to play guitar being taught his first chords by another band member, Tommy Collins.[9]  Frazier, who spent most of his career working in Nashville, wrote hits such as Alley Oop, There Goes My Everything, and Elvira.  Artists such as Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, Eddy Arnold, Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, Charley Pride, and George Jones recorded his songs.  In 1976, Frazier was named Country Music Songwriter of the Year.  He has also been inducted into the National Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
           With all that being said, the impact of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard on country music is historic.  Both are prolific songwriters in addition to their musical talents.  The success of the two is evident in the fact that the American Country Countdown included both in the top ten artists of the century.  Haggard came in third and Owens was tenth (based on number of weeks the artists had songs on the charts compiled by Billboard Magazine).  Think about that for a moment ... only two country music performers in the history of country music have had more weeks on the charts than Merle Haggard.  Together they have more than sixty number one records, and that is only counting the songs they performed.
            To be quite honest, there is so much to the Bakersfield Sound that it can only be summarized in an article such as this.  Maybe sometime in the future another article can expand upon the rich history of Bakersfield's version of country music.





  • WORTH A CLICK:
    Toby Rider has Bakersfield Yahoo group, please check it out,
    it's called "The Bakersfield Sound":
    http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/bakersfield-sound/

  • WORTH A CLICK:
    36 HOURS In Bakersfield, Calif by Marc Weingarten.

    Worth a Click ...
    THE MERLE YEARS. By STEVEN MAYER, Californian staff writer e-mail: smayer@bakersfield.com








    HOT LINKS:


    Merle Haggard

    Complete selection of Merle Haggard souvenirs.

    www.wendellcrowley.com

    www.slidestation.com

    www.musicnewsnashville.com

    Click here: MPL Communications MPL Communications Links
        [The Rockabilly Hall of Fame® is proud to be linked to this Paul McCartney web site]

    www.reddogmusicbooks.com

    www.reddvolkaert.com

    Cowboy Allen

    Carolina Cotton

    Freddy Powers

    www.chestersmith.com

    www.redkilby.com

    www.heathermyles.com

    www.slidestation.com

    www.steelradio.com

    www.steelguitarforum.com

    www.sarahjory.co.uk

    www.mattlindahl.com

    Pure Country Music Greats

    Click here: National Reso-Phonic Guitars, Builders of Fine Brass, Steel and Wood Body Resophonic Guitars, and Ukuleles.

    Click here: Country Legends Association

    Click here: Mark Chesnutt

    www.donandanniekidwell.com

    Bobby Austin

    Jackie Burns

    John Paul Jones

    Buck Owens' Crystal Palace

    Dennis Payne

    Jim Pierce

    Peaches Price

    West Coast Playboys

    Ronnie Sessions

    Dave Stogner

    The Western Connection

    Fuzzy Owen

    "The Blackboard" Free Paper

    The Dusk Devils - Band Photos

    Fatt Katt and the VonZippers

    Welcome to Howells House

    Traditional Country Hall of Fame

    Rockabilly Hall of Fame®
    Tribute Page to Bill Woods







    • THE "BAKERSFIELD SIGN"
    TOP: the famous Bakersfield sign on Union Ave that greeted millions as they traveled from LA through the great San Joaquin Valley in the '80s photo. Much thanks to Buck Owens for having the sign saved and brought to his Crystal Palace where it was reconstructed and refurbished for all to enjoy.
    BOTTOM: The Bakersfield Sign as it stands today in front of Buck Owens Crystal Palace ... once named Pierce Rd., now renamed Buck Owens Blvd.
    (above photos: Glenn Pogatchnik)






    You know a question I get asked quite often from readers all over the world is "Glenn if I visit Bakersfield is there anywhere I can experience first hand a nightclub reminiscent of the old days of the Bakersfield Sound? "Well folks here are four taverns (Longbranch Saloon, Trout's Nightclub, Tejon Tavern and The Kern River Belle) in Oildale right across the Kern River from Bakersfield in Oildale that mimick that experience. The best part is that you don't have to worry about getting the &*((&$ kicked out of you like yesteryear. Incidentally Oildale is where Merle Haggard grew up. You can visit his old house at 1303 Yosemite. Like my old friend Bill Woods said, "I think they should change the name from Oildale to Merledale." - Glenn Pogatchnik



    "That Bakersfield Sound" audio clip courtesy of RED KILBY



    Ron & Glenn Pogatchnik Rockin' Out.



    GLENN
    E-mail: Glenn Pogatchnik - Phone 805-528-6144
    ©2002-2008



    Special "Thanks" to Toby Rider for providing graphics storage space.