Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006), born Bonnie Campbell, was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer who was married to

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...

and later

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...

Biography

She was born Bonnie Campbell in

Blanchard, Oklahoma Blanchard is a city in McClain and Grady counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,670 at the 2010 census, up from 2,816 at the 2000 census. Blanchard is part of a rapidly growing area of northern McClain and Grady counties kn ...

, United States.Obituary: Bonnie Owens, 76; Singer and Ex-Wife of 2 Country Stars
Articles.latimes.com, Retrieved December 5, 2014. She met

when she was 15. They played in a band in Mesa, Arizona, and married in 1948. They were the parents of musician

Buddy Alan Alan Edgar "Buddy" Owens (born May 23, 1948 in Mesa, Arizona), known professionally as Buddy Alan, is an American country music artist. The son of Buck Owens and Bonnie Owens and stepson of Merle Haggard, Alan recorded four albums for Capitol Rec ...

. They moved to Bakersfield by 1951 and started music careers. They divorced in 1953. Bonnie Owens's first recording was "A Dear John Letter", a duet with Fuzzy Owen on Mar-Vel Records (#MV-102) in 1953. The B-side contained the song "Wonderful World". Owens recorded on numerous labels during the 1950s and early 1960s, including

’s and Fuzzy Owen's own Tally label, all of which were singles. Her first album titled ''Don't Take Advantage of Me'' came in 1965 on Capitol Records # ST-2403. Owens had hits on the country chart in the early 1960s with the songs "Why Don't Daddy Live Here Anymore?" and "Don't Take Advantage of Me". In 1965, Haggard and Owens recorded the song "Just Between the Two of Us", a duet, and probably Owens's best known hit. It is also the title song to their 1966 duet album on Capitol Records (#ST-2453), that was recorded with The Strangers. Bonnie Owens was named Female Vocalist of the Year in 1965 by the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

. She and Haggard married the same year. From this point, Owens dedicated her time to Haggard's children and his career, touring with Merle's band The Strangers as a backup vocalist. Owens and Haggard divorced in 1978; after a brief hiatus, she continued touring with him. On April 24, 2006, Owens died at the age of 76, in hospice for Alzheimer's disease.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Bonnie Owens at CMT.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Bonnie 1929 births 2006 deaths American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Oklahoma X Records artists People from Blanchard, Oklahoma 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Country musicians from Oklahoma The Strangers (American band) members 21st-century American women