BONNIE OWENS
Apart from her solo
career, singer Bonnie Owens is well known for the work she did with her former
husbands, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Born Bonnie Campbell on October 1, 1932,
in Oklahoma City as one of eight children, she first met Buck in the mid-'40s
when he had a local daily 15-minute radio show. Once Buck discovered that Bonnie
could sing, he helped her get a job with him on another radio show in 1947. The
following January, Buck and Bonnie married, but the union would be short lived.
By 1951, after giving birth to two sons, the marriage was over. Since neither
could afford a divorce, they stayed legally married, but separated, for several
years. Bonnie and the two boys left for Bakersfield. It was during this period
that Bonnie met Fuzzy Owen and guitarist Roy Nichols, who would be instrumental
in the career of Haggard.
By the late '50s Bonnie was recording on the Mar-Vel label with Fuzzy and his
band, the Sun Valley Playboys. She cut a well-received duet album with Fuzzy,
her sometime boyfriend, on Tally Records. In 1961, Bonnie saw Haggard singing
for the first time at a Lefty Frizzell concert. At the time, Haggard was just a
few months out of San Quentin prison. By 1964 Fuzzy was managing Haggard and
suggested that Bonnie and Haggard re-record "Just Between the Two of Us." Taking
Fuzzy's advice paid off; the song hit the top of the country charts but not for
long. It was replaced by "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," Haggard's
breakthrough single.
In 1965 Haggard signed with Capitol Records, married Bonnie, and signed the
Strangers (including Bonnie) with a booking agency owned in part by Buck.
Bonnie's marriage to Haggard lasted until 1978, but the two had already
separated in 1975. Eventually Bonnie resumed touring with the Strangers in the
late '70s and remarried for the final time to Fred McMillenher. While Bonnie
released half a dozen albums and numerous singles on Capitol Records in the mid-
to late '60s, she remained satisfied singing backup as a member of the Strangers.