Since he was11 years old he's been a singing cowboy and for the past 64 years he has been at the
reins of the ORIGINAL RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE.  Buck started in radio at eleven years old
playing string bass and the rhythm guitar with "The Valley Ranch Boys" till he was fourteen. He then
formed The Riders of The Purple Sage. The Riders became NBC staff members for three years at
KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, PA. It was the very first radio station in history, doing five one hour radio
shows per week coast to coast.   The Riders then headed to New York to do WOR Radio coast to
coast.  He has been the lead guitar player for the Riders now going on 64 years. Their songs  like
"Ghost Riders in the Sky," "Blue Shadows on the Trail", "Cool, Water", "Tumbling Tumble Weeds,"
(both also done by the Sons of The Pioneers), "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You", and "Don't
Fence Me In" and many others became Western music standards.

Buck plays 21 instruments in all, including lead guitar, rhythm guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo,plectrum
banjo, 5 string banjo, ukulele, fiddle, violin, viola, cello, string bass, electric 6 string bass, 4 string
electric bass, steel guitar and drums.  He is a member of the screen actors guild, The American Fed-
eration of TV and Radio Actor's and a life time member of L.A. Local 47 of the American Federation
of Musicians ad AGVA since he was 17 years old.  Since 1940 Buck has been a Gretch Guitar artist
and has been endorsed by the top notch guitar company. Buck has studied with George Smith and
Barney Kessel and done recording sessions with Spade Cooley, Glen Miller, Buck Owens, Lefty
Frizzell, Stewart Hamblen, Bob Will's Texas Playboys, Sons of The Pioneers and many of the greats.

Buck is playing the guitar on the original recording of the theme song for  "Bonanza" and he is on
guitar in the "Seventy-Seven Sunset Strip" theme song and he played on "Tales of Wells Fargo,"
"Wagon Train,"  "Laramie,"  "Checkmate" and others, giving him a great perspective on the story of
the early days of television.

He was good friends and worked with Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Montie Montana, Patsy
Montana, Eddie Dean, Cliffy Stone and many of the great singing cowboys,"  His experience also
cuts through the early days of the movies when his band would play on stage before the showing of
movies like "All Along the Santa Fe Trail" with Earl Flynn.

Buck worked with Audie Murphy and Rory Calhoun pictures, and he was in Spartacus, King Richard
and the Crusaders, The Eddie Cantor Story, Black Shield of Falworth, Gypsy, Sign of the Pagan, By
the Light of the Silvery Moon, The Boy from Oklahoma, The Silver Chalice, Destry Rides Again, A
Star is Born with Judy Garland.  Buck has recorded with the likes of Buck Owens, Benny Goodman,
Wynn Stewart, Stuart Hamblen, Leon McAuliffe from the Texas Playboys, Bobby Bare, Cliffie Stone,
played with the Glen Miller Band for the Glen Miller Story and many many others.

In 1964, the Baldwin Piano Company hired him as a consultant.  In June 1965, he went to work full
time for Baldwin and stayed with them through August 1969.  While there, together with their
engineers, he conceived and developed the Supersound Amps, models C-1, C-2, B-1 & B-2 and the
Exterminator, (their answer to the Vox Super Beatle).  Buck also conceived the idea for electrifying
the Classic Guitar, the transducer pickups that are sill in use, originated with these early prototypes
models.  Buck says, "We threw away a couple of baskets full before such contemporary artists as
Charlie Byrd, Carlos Montoya, Willie Nelson, and many others were satisfied with the sound.  Willie
Nelson to this day still use the Prismatone guitar pick-up on his famous guitar "Trigger" and the
Baldwin Supersound Amp.

At 82 years young the Buck doesn't stop here.  He is still touring and doing dates from clubs, to
rodeos, the Gene Autry's Golden Boot Awards, Willie Nelson's picknicks to fairs and private parties,
he is presently doing some work for a Jimmie Rodgers DVD that Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard part
of and is part of a project that is a history of the music business DVD and online Internet Museum at
KickingUpDust.com.  And he has had time to accept the Silver Spur Award from the Reel Cowboys,
be inducted into the Walk of Western Stars, receive the Living Legend Award from the NACA,
and many other awards the past few years. 

PioneerTroubadours.com