Heart Attack Most Likely Cause of Buck Owens' Death

March 28, 2006 — Allaboutcountry.com reports Buck Owens probably died of a heart attack in his sleep after performing last night at his Crystal Palace club in Bakersfield, Calif. Buck's longtime spokesman and keyboardist, Jim Shaw, tells the Los Angeles Times, "He had come to the club early and had a chicken-fried steak dinner and bragged that it's his favorite meal."

Buck planned to cancel his Friday appearance because he didn't feel well. But on the way to his car in the parking lot, he met a group of fans who had traveled from Bend, Ore., just to see his show — so the 76-year-old singer returned to the club and performed.

Shaw recalls Buck telling the audience, "'If somebody's come all that way, I'm gonna do the show and give it my best shot. I might groan and squeak, but I'll see what I can do."

"He died in his sleep...probably of heart failure," says Shaw. "So he had his favorite meal, played a show and died in his sleep. We thought, that's not too bad."

Sometime after 4:30am on Saturday, Buck was rushed to Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, but could not be revived. Plans for his memorial services are pending, Shaw told the Bakersfield Californian.

"He joked one day he was going to die on stage," says Kim McAbee, who has been singing with Owens and the Buckaroos since the Crystal Palace opened. "Mr. Owens performed his last show at the Crystal Palace with us on Friday night. Although it was a quieter show than normal, Buck gave all he could as he has done several times in the last few weeks. Normally, he played Don Rich's fiddle as a part of the show, Friday he did not. I knew he wouldn't be back for our show on Saturday, I told him I loved him, and to go home and get well. Those were my last words to the man who has watched over me, worked beside me, laughed and joked with me and shared the one love that makes us all spark, our music. I will miss my friend dearly, but will never forget him."

Allaboutcountry.com adds, "Yesterday afternoon a steady stream of fans trickled in to visit a makeshift shrine to Owens at the Crystal Palace and pay their respects. The small tribute included flowers, balloons, pictures of Owens and American flags on a grass embankment on Buck Owens Boulevard. Behind the tribute, the gates to the Crystal Palace were locked and the dinner club and museum remained closed Sunday. Shaw said the establishment will not reopen until after Owens' services have been held."

"I looked at CNN.com today and (the headline) said, 'Hee Haw Star Buck Owens Dies,' and it made me mad," Brad Paisley tells The Tennessean. "This is a guy who influenced The Beatles. They covered him. He's one of the most important country artists ever. That headline should say, 'Music Legend Buck Owens Dies.'"

"Buck Owens is one of my all-time favorites," says Sara Evans, who was signed to RCA after execs heard her version of Buck's 1965 classic, "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail." "I am deeply saddened by his passing. I was privileged to have met him on many occasions and even sing with him. He was definitely one of a kind. A very sad loss for the world of country music."