Gary Buck

Buck, Gary
Gary (Ralph) Buck. Singer-songwriter, administrator, record producer, b Thessalon, near Sault Ste Marie, Ont, 21 Mar 1940, d Didsbury, Alta, 14 Oct 2003. His career began in Sault Ste Marie where he sang on CKCY radio, initially with Ray Kovisto's band The Country Caravan. After playing semi-pro baseball, in 1959 he made his first recordings for the Canatal label in Toronto. In 1963 his recording of his song 'Happy to Be Unhappy' was an international hit for the (US) Petal label. Buck was subsequently hailed as newcomer of the year by the US trade magazine Cashbox. Other records followed, including a second US hit, 'The Wheel Song,' for Petal in 1964 and several singles popular in Canada, including 'Calgary, Alberta' (1968), 'Mr. Brown' (1969), and 'Wayward Women of the World' (1970), all for Capitol.

Buck moved in the mid-1960s from Sault-Ste-Marie to Kitchener, Ont, where he starred 1967-9 on CKCO-TV's 'The Gary Buck Show.' He appeared on other Canadian and US country music TV shows and made several appearances in the late 1960s and early 1970s at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. In 1970 he began to divide his time between performance and administration, serving as general manager 1970-1 of Capitol Records' BMI publishing affiliate, Beechwood Music, and launching the Gene MacLellan song 'Snowbird.' In 1971 he established his own publishing and recording company, Broadland Music. The label's early roster included Don Cochrane, Alex Fraser, Dallas Harms, Patti MacDonnell, Artie MacLaren, Orval Prophet, Ian Tyson, and several others. Quality Records acquired a controlling interest in the label in 1976; with Quality's demise in 1985, Broadland fell dormant until Buck established Broadland International in Nashville in 1990 with a largely US roster that included George Hamilton IV. Buck continued to produce albums for Hamilton and many Canadian musicians from Broadland's Nashville and Calgary bases until his death.

Recordings
For Broadland and other labels Buck produced recordings by Hamilton, Harms, Dick Damron, the Family Brown, Tommy Hunter, the Mercey Brothers, and others. His own songs have been recorded by such pop and country artists as Bobby Curtola, Donna Darlene, and Orval Prophet. His own discography was completed by more than 50 singles, and by individual LPs for Canatel and Petal (the latter issued by Sparton in Canada), four for Capitol, three for RCA, and two for his own GB label. His later hits included 'It Takes Time' (1971), 'Saunder's Ferry Lane' (1972), and 'What'll I Do' (1975), all for RCA, and 'You Can't Change Horses' (2001). He also wrote and recorded many jingles. Among his later recordings were the CD Western Swing and Country (Broadland BRI-CD-0598, 1998) and the gospel album Don't Be Standin' on the Outside (BRI-CD-0302-2, 2002).

Industry Executive Activities
In 1971 Buck took the first of six non-consecutive terms as a director of the Nashville-based Country Music Association. In 1976 he was a founder of the Academy of Country Music Entertainment (see CCMA) and in 1981 began to organize the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, which opened in 1989 in Kitchener, Ont (see also Country Music), and which he served as president.

Honours
Buck won the Juno Award for country male singer annually 1964-6 and Big Country awards for top male vocalist and top producer in 1975. He was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

Author Richard Green, Betty Nygaard King

Bibliography

Batten, Jack. 'Gary Buck: the country singer is all business,' Toronto Globe and Mail, 29 Apr 1972

Lorimer, Cliff. 'Gary Buck ... the legend keeps growing!!' CMN, vol 9, Feb 1989

Buck, Gary. Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, Official Souvenir Book (Kitchener, Ont, 1990)

Delaney, Larry. 'The Gary Buck Story,' Country Music News, Sept 2001

Links to Other Sites
Canadian Country Music Association
The Canadian Country Music Association website. Check out the national country music awards, the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, links to country music stars, and more.