He was 73. He was with the Buckaroos until leaving in 1981, following the band's nomination and win as "Touring Band of the Year" at the ACM Awards, to join the Epic Records vocal group Nightstreets, voted Billboard Magazine's Vocal Group of the Year 1981 for the single, "Love In The Meantime". The recording of this performance, released as Carnegie Hall Concert, is considered one of the greatest live country music albums. The first of these Buckaroos albums was 1966's The Buck Owens Song Book, where the group -- assisted in the studio by Owens himself, guitarist Red Simpson, and bassist Bob Morris -- revisited early Buck hits instrumentally. The Buckaroos were Buck Owens' backing band, led at its peak by Buck's lieutenant, Don Rich. }}\"\n\t\t{{\/membership_required}}\n\t\tclass=\"wsite-menu-item\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t{{{title_html}}}\n\t<\/a>\n\t{{#has_children}}{{> navigation\/flyout\/list}}{{\/has_children}}\n<\/li>\n","navigation\/flyout\/list":"