Maybe that's one of the ways Buck Owens became so wealthy. The Blue Boys confirmed that Jim couldn't stand the man.
Even in the early days when their paths crossed, there were unpleasant exchanges. On one occasion, they both played a very rough club where fights were known to break out. Jim had warned one of the female singers, Shirley Bates, to remain on the stage and not go out and mingle with the crowd. That was good advice, as it turned out.
Some man didn't like Buck's singing and told him to STOP. Of course Owens didn't, so the man leaped onto the stage and punched him out, leaving him bloodied. Whereupon Reeves, who witnessed the assault but had no real incentive to lend a hand to Buck even then, merely turned to Shirley and told her "see, I told you it was a rough crowd" (or words to that effect). I'm not sure if I have that story in my book or not.
Suffice it to say that Jim was a good judge of character and he did NOT like Buck. The irony is that Buck was later given the "Jim Reeves International Award." When I found out, I contacted the award committee, one of whose leaders sent me a mea culpa expressing consternation that this award named in honor of Jim had been bestowed on a man that Reeves couldn't stand.
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