Bakersfield Sound

tagStarted 1950sPeak 1961–1970Last big hit 2019

The Bakersfield sound is country music with the gloves off: trebly Telecasters, loud snare on two and four, slicing pedal steel, quick shuffle or train beats, and little patience for syrup. Vocals are plainspoken and punchy, and the records feel lively, dry, and club-tested rather than upholstered.

History

Developed in and around Bakersfield honky-tonks and California TV shows, the style answered the orchestral direction of the Nashville Sound with bar-band immediacy. Wynn Stewart laid early groundwork; Buck Owens and the Buckaroos perfected the crisp twin-guitar template; Merle Haggard expanded it into working-class realism, and the style later powered trucking country, neotraditional country, and country rock.

Defining artists

Wynn StewartSpotify YouTube
Buck OwensSpotify YouTube
Merle HaggardSpotify YouTube
Tommy CollinsSpotify YouTube
Susan RayeSpotify YouTube
Red SimpsonSpotify YouTube

Essential listening

Wishful Thinking — Wynn StewartSpotify YouTube
Act Naturally — Buck OwensSpotify YouTube
I've Got a Tiger by the Tail — Buck OwensSpotify YouTube
Swinging Doors — Merle HaggardSpotify YouTube
The Bottle Let Me Down — Merle HaggardSpotify YouTube
You Better Not Do That — Tommy CollinsSpotify YouTube

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Sources

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
PBS Country Music
Visit Bakersfield
California Museum