Tuesday, March 25, 2025, marks 19 years since the passing of KUZZ founder and County Music legend Buck Owens.

Buck died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at his ranch just north of Bakersfield on March 25, 2006, just hours after performing at the Crystal Palace.

He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music chart. He pioneered what came to be called the Bakersfield sound.

He flipped the 107.9 FM frequency to Country Music in 1969 and replaced KKXX with KUZZ in 1977.

Buck is a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

He was 76 years old.