With its year-round pleasant climate, the little municipality of Hollywood, California, became the center of the motion picture universe. From Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore to Charlie Chaplin and Al Jolson, motion pictures made stars out of actors. The concept of an unknown being “discovered” in a soda shop and becoming a leading lady could happen in the land of dreams. As the big movie studios grew into a multibillion-dollar industry, their business models relied on stars. Celebrities were created, developed, celebrated, and either lionized or torn down.
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Radio came along with a similar system of creating stars. Where Hollywood was symbolic of the movie industry, radio had stations all over the place. The bigger cities had larger stations with a further broadcasting reach. As Nashville became closely associated with country music, the sound of Bakersfield, California, seriously challenged Tennessee’s capital for the title of Music City. The music of Buck Owens and His Buckaroos dominated the country charts for years. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Act Naturally” by Buck Owens and His Buckaroos.
They’re gonna put me in the movies
They’re gonna make a big star out of me
We’ll make a film about a man that’s sad and lonely
And all I gotta do is act naturally
The Inspiration
Country music singer/songwriter Johnny Russell came up with the song in 1961 in the back of his friend Dave Stogner’s station wagon. Russell was called to a Saturday-night recording session in Hollywood, which caused him to cancel a movie date with a girl. When she asked why, he replied, “They’re gonna put me in the movies and make a big star out of me.” That was the seed that sprouted the song.
Well, I’ll bet you I’m gonna be a big star
Might win an Oscar you can never tell
The movies gonna make me a big star
‘Cause I can play the part so well
Let’s Make a Deal
Russell shared the song with various artists for a couple of years without success. No one was interested. The writer felt it was a unique twist on a love song and couldn’t understand why it was not embraced. He played it for his songwriting partner, Voni Morrison. She loved it and felt it would be perfect for Buck Owens, who was having success on Capitol Records but had yet to have a No. 1 hit. She took five songs to play for Owens and his fiddle player/guitarist/harmony singer Don Rich. “Act Naturally” was the song Owens liked least, but Rich liked it best. He kept humming and singing the song repeatedly until Owens called Russell and told him he wanted to record it. Owens worked a deal with Russell and Morrison. In return for recording the song, he would retain the publishing rights. As Russell and Morrison were unproven songwriters, they agreed to the terms.
Well, I hope you come and see me in the movies
Then I’d know that you will plainly see
The biggest fool that ever hit the big-time
And all I gotta do is act naturally
Buck’s Side of the Story
Owens remembered the events a little differently. In his 2016 autobiography Buck’ Em, the singer wrote, “I don’t know how many stories I’ve heard over the years about ‘Act Naturally’ and how I came to record it. The song is credited to Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison. Johnny told me he wrote the song and then ended up sharing the writer credits with Voni because she was the one who brought the song to me. … I’ve heard the story that a couple of years after he wrote it, Voni brought the song to me, and I didn’t like it, but that’s sure not the way I remember it.
“Voni came into my office with these acetates, and each acetate had one song on ’em,” he continued. “Don was there with me. I listened to several of ’em and didn’t hear anything that I thought would work for me. When Voni was down to her last acetate, she started to hand it to Don, but then she said, ‘Oh, I’m pretty sure you won’t like this one.’ Don said, ‘Well, since we’re here, let’s hear it.’ When Don put the needle down on that last acetate, I heard Johnny singing the first line of ‘Act Naturally,’ and I said, ‘That’s the one.’”
We’ll make the scene about a man that’s sad and lonely
And beggin’ down upon his bended knee
I’ll play the part, but I won’t need rehearsing
All I have to do is act naturally
A String of No. 1 Hits
The song went to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart. It was the first of 15 consecutive chart-toppers. Wrote Owens, “Now, I’d had three singles before ‘Act Naturally’ that had gotten up to No. 2, so you wouldn’t think one little spot would make that much difference. But once I had that first No. 1 single, it was like the floodgates opened up. Between September of ’63 and July of ’67, I put out 14 more singles with me and the Buckaroos—and every damn one of ’em went to No. 1.”
Well, I hope you come and see me in the movies
Then I know that you’re gonna plainly see
The biggest fool that ever hit the big-time
And all I gotta do is act naturally
The Beatles
Every time Buck Owens released an album, The Beatles requested a copy through their shared record label. When the Fab Four were looking for a song for Ringo Starr to sing, they found it in this one. Owens reflected, “I thought having The Beatles do ‘Act Naturally’ was just the ultimate. You can’t imagine that feeling. It’s a feeling all unto itself, and probably only to me, because a whole lot of people heard about Buck Owens for the very first time after The Beatles cut a song that I’d made famous. Like they say, you can’t pay for that kind of publicity. Suddenly I started developing a whole new audience of young people that had never bought my records or been to my concerts before. I guess they figured if The Beatles recorded one of my hits, then I must be all right.
“The Beatles’ recording of ‘Act Naturally’ came out first on their album Help in August 1965,” Owens continued. “Most of the songs on that album were from the soundtrack to their new movie, so I was lucky—’Act Naturally’ was one of the other songs they decided to fill out the record with. Not long after the Beatles’ version was a hit, I was on a plane sitting next to a lady who didn’t know who I was. When she asked me what I did for a living, I told her I was a country singer. Well, she started going into great lengths about how she hated country music. She said she thought it was common and crude—and in the very next breath, she was saying how much she loved The Beatles. I asked her if she liked ‘Act Naturally,’ and she said, ‘Oh yes. That’s one of my favorites.’ And as hard as I tried, I couldn’t convince her that ‘Act Naturally’ was a country song.”
We’ll make a film about a man that’s sad and lonely
All I have to do is act naturally
Two, three, four
All we have to do is act naturally
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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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