Buck Hummer—The True
Story:
or most of what he
told …
Dust Bowl Days…
Well, the story starts in the still Wild West days in the territories of New Mexico and Arizona. The hardscrabble, fun loving, yodeling, moseying cow-boying Hummer family grew by one.
Buck
Hummer circa 1917…. and the whole damn clan
We never knew Buck’s given name...it
has been Buck for so long...it is just Buck. Sometimes it is just that simple.
Some say his given name is Bucyrus Ulysses Columbia King.
Buck used to tell his back-up
band…”Boys, Let ‘em hear you in Flagstaff and make it smooth as Route
66 !”
Buck
Hummer takes in a show…. at the University of Bob Wills. circa 1934
Famous, you ask?
Why, as far as most remember Buck was
there from the beginning.….
During 1977
renovations to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, under the stage was
found a gold drinking flask with the initials “B. H.” shining bright.. Rumor has it was half full of good old mountain
dew! It can be seen today in the American Museum of Country and Western
Music in Helsinki Finland. It is not surprising given the acclaim of Buck Hummer, where he
was voted entertainer of the century, even out billing the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones. By the way,
the last time Buck was known to have played the Opry was 1959…… I bet he’s
still looking for that flask!
Buck
Hummer circa 1959
Musician
and Model
Buck
Hummer in the 1954 Harmony Guitar catalog
Meanwhile ,
back at the ranch….
After more
than forty five years on the road, thousands of one nighters, sharing shows
with the legends and up-starts, Buck Hummer and the Pick-Ups headlined the
famous 1961 free concert in Muskogee, Oklahoma with the famous Bob Wire, Chuck
Berry, BB King, Pee Wee Russell, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, a very young
Merle Haggard and even the Red-Headed Stranger, Willie Nelson.
Buck Hummer
Buck with Bob Wire and the Fence Menders circa1961
Buck
Says “No to Banjos!”
In 1959, while in New York City, Buck auditioned an
aspiring musician, lawyer, baseball player, revolutionary, dictator…. Oh, how
the world would be different if only Fidel could have gone on the road with the
Pick-Ups.
Buck helps the Beatles
In 1962,
while touring England, Buck was approached by a scruffy group of lads from
Liverpool. He recalled years later how back stage he showed Ringo Carl
Perkin’s Matchbox. The drummer
never forgot that and had Buck meet them during their 1964 tour of America.
Buck Hummer
WHEN MYTH BECOMES LEDGEND (1978 -2002)
While Disco and New Wave dominated the scene, Buck mounted
his greatest tour ever and spent the better part of 1977 - 1978 in Northern
Europe.
His show in Helsinki Finland was said to have caused near
hysteria and the applause from the show finale was reported by the news to be
heard along the coast of Estonia. He was so popular on tour, with lovers
shining belt buckles to the waltzes, the Official Medical Services Record of
Finland reports in May of 1979 (nine months later) no less than fifty boys were
born... all named Hummer by their adoring parents!
Another little known fact, he gave a group of six Swedish
beauties two piece swimsuits and … Bingo...
Swedish Bikini Team!
Coincidence? Well Buck always had an eye for the lovelies.
Buck’s
original 1958 Harmony Archtop
Electric
Guitar on display at the
American
Museum of Country Music
in
Helsinki, Finland
Photograph
courtesy of
Jor
Pulgin Mikleg
Well that’s about all we can say about the infamous, incomparable and ubiquitous Buck Hummer. The last we heard Buck was somewhere between the fjords of Norway and the honky tonks along Route 66, we’re not sure but we always have an extra microphone just incase he shows for the gig.