From 1969 to 1986 Buck Owens co-hosted the hit TV show, Hee Haw, with Roy Clark.
Buck considered himself a “super patriot”, but rather than alienate some of his fanbase during a highly contentious, and flag burning political era, he chose to make his statement without words.
The medium for his voice was his guitar.
Buck’s roots were in Bakersfield, the home of Semie Moseley and Mosrite Guitars. In 1966 he had Semie build him a red, white and blue acoustic to quietly make his statement.
This was the main guitar Buck played on Hee Haw.
Now Buck’s guitar of choice was a Fender Tele and he’d been a Fender endorser since 1964. So Fender of course had to create a sparkly red, white, and blue Tele for Buck to play on the show as well.
In the true patriotic form of American capitalism, Buck was also a very astute businessman.
He negotiated a licensing deal with Harmony for them to sell a budget version of his red, white, and blue Mosrite custom.
From 1969 to 1972 Harmony of Chicago produced the model H169, or known by its street name, the Buck Owens American. It’s a grand-concert size based on the Harmony H164 Sovereign.
These were also sold with a Silvertone badge in the Sears catalog, technically the Silvertone model 1219L. They retailed for $82.50 plus about $9.00 for the case.
Buck received $2.50 for each one sold.
And they sold a ton.
Happy 4th of July!
Harmony H169 Specs: Solid Spruce top, Birch back and sides, some may have been mahogany, Rosewood fretboard & bridge
Plus something extra if you need inspiration for your home setup. Here’s Will Ray going over his living room practice rig. NICE!