Don Rich was the leader of Buck Owens band "The Buckaroos" and was known for was his fiddle playing, his ability to sing harmony with Owens and as mentioned his guitar playing.
Rich also was one of those rarities in the music business-Don Rich was a member of a band, yet the country fan base looked at Rich as a star and not just as a supporting player to Buck Owens.
It isn't often that a member of a band is looked at as a star beyond the hardcore fans of said band.
Don Rich was just that.
If you were a country kid in the early '70s, Hee Haw was more or less a staple of rural living.
Before we moved in with our late Aunt Edna, she and her mother lived alone and Hee Haw was always a must-watch there as well as down the road with my grandparents.
There were parts of Hee Haw that I didn't care for, but the Buckaroos were the house band with Rich serving as a musical director for the show and Rich received exposure every week for his talents that almost no one had other than the hosts, Owens and Roy Clark.
If Buck Owens did a number, Don Rich was in the shot unless that shot was a closeup on Owens.
Rarely does that kind of exposure go to a band member and it reflects well on Owens and a lack of ego to allow Rich to share in the attention.
The other fun thing about looking back at clips from YouTube (besides the music) is Don's wardrobe, which brings to mind the sartorial splendor of Dwight Schrute from The Office!
It's a miracle more people didn't catch fire from the clothes of that time!
To so many fans of the era, Don Rich was looked at as the equal of Buck Owens with two people making great music and not the star and supporting character.
Rich's harmony in so many of those great songs meshes so well with Owens and I really give an edge to Don and Buck's singing their classic hits on Hee Haw or the Buck Owens ranch program live more than their studio versions.
I'm sure that you've listened to live versions and there is always a clear difference, but usually the studio versions are better after they have been "cleaned" up.
Not the case with the music of the Buckaroos in my opinion.
Rich never really had a solo career, although he did have two solo albums and two more releases in the CD age, one of which I'd like to have as Rich covers the catalog of George Jones.
Rich clearly had the talent, but just seemed to prefer being the leader of the Buckaroos and making classic records...
Don Rich passed away at just 32 in a motorcycle accident (I truly hate those things) when his cycle hit a center divider and sent Rich flying with fatal injuries.
The accident didn't just end Rich's life and career, it also ended the career of Buck Owens as far as hit records went.
Buck Owens would not have another huge hit until he teamed with Dwight Yoakum for "Streets of Bakersfield" over 15 years later and Owens referred to the loss of Rich as "part of me died" and despite still being popular on Hee Haw, would never have another singles hit without Rich.
Terrific with the fiddle, groundbreaking as a country guitarist and tremendous in harmony.
Adept as a band member or on his own, we welcome Don Rich to the Forgotten Superstars universe and wonder what might have been.
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