Act Naturally

Buck Owens and Merle Haggard created a sound that was influenced by rock and roll's energy, but remained fundamentally country in its sensibility.

Owens' Act Naturally from 1963 had that bright Telecaster sound, that driving rhythm.

It was honky-tonk updated for the electric era.

The Beatles actually covered Act Naturally, which tells you how much rock musicians respected what was happening in Bakersfield.

And then you have Haggard's Mama Tried from 1968, which combined working class autobiography with a sound that was raw and immediate.

Some artists managed to work within both traditions.

Even though it was a single B-side, nobody...

So was Act Naturally.

Do people really know that one very well? Yeah, yeah.

Just didn't get the same amount of press as some others, but that doesn't mean it's bad.

She likes to hang around And as long as there's a honky tonk She's never gonna settle down So close are the honky tonks Goes on the honky-tonks I wish I had the power to turn back the time Back to the hours when she was alone I hate to see her run to that crowd downtown But as long as there's a honky-tonk She's never gonna settle down Close all the honky-tonks, lock all the doors Don't let the one I love go there anymore Close all the honky-tonks, throw away the key And maybe the one I love is gonna come back to me

We'll make a big star out of me We'll make a film about a man who's sad and lonely And all I gotta do is act naturally Well, I'll bet you I'm gonna be a big star Might win an Oscar, you can't ever tell The movies are gonna make me a big star Cause I can play the part so well I hope you come to see me in the movies And I know that you will plainly see The biggest fool that's ever hit the big time And all I gotta do is And begging down upon his offended knee I'll play the part that I won't need reversing And all I gotta do is act naturally Well, I'll bet you I'm gonna be a big star Might win an Oscar, you can't ever tell The movies are gonna make me a big star Cause I can play the part so well I hope you come to see me in the movies And I know that you will plainly see The biggest fool that's ever hit the big time And all I gotta do is act naturally And all I gotta do is act naturally

I've held it all inward Lord knows I've tried It's an awful awakening In a country boy's life To look in the mirror In total surprise At the hair on your shoulders And the age in your eyes Amanda Light of my life Fate should have made you A gentleman's wife Amanda Fate should have made you a gentleman's wife Well, a measure of people don't understand the pleasures of life in a hillbilly band.

I got my first guitar when I was 14.

One of the best from one of the best to ever do it, Loretta Lynn, You Ain't Woman Enough.

How good is that? Before that, Don Williams, Classic Commander.

Before that, Charlie Pride, doing Buck Owens with Act Naturally.

And before that, Johnny Paycheck doing Close All the Honky Tonks.

Oh, ticket to ride.

Act Naturally, which was a showcase for Ringo.

It's Only Love, You Like Me Too Much, Tell Me What You See, I've Just Seen a Face, Yesterday, and Dizzy Miss Lizzy.

There's a lot going on here.