Streets of Bakersfield

Streets of Bakersfield

It was Nashville West but with a decidedly more amount of midwestern flavoring. Bakersfield was the terminus of most of the migrant traffic from the dust bowl where the hope for a better life was not always fulfilled. So many landed square on the Central Valley and for those who grew up it became a whirlwind post-war prosperity that was familiar: oil drilling, agriculture, almond orchards, cattle raising, and a transportation industry to support it. Those who were raised on country swing and the classic country sounds coming out of Nashville were lucky given Bakersfield’s proximity to the studios of Hollywood and Los Angeles. We’ll hear from many of them, digging into the early years of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Tommy Collins, Wynn Stewart and a host of other performers who made that blend of rough country, trucking songs, and honky-tonk swing what it would become.

No.
1Artist Title Album Buy
2Buck Owens Streets of Bakersfield All-Time Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 Amazon
3Bill Woods & His Orange Blossom Playboys Have I Got A Chance With You Swingbillies Amazon
4Joe Maphis & Rose Lee Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music) Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
5Jean Shepard with Ferlin Husky A Dear John Letter Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
6Bud Hobbs Louisiana Swing Defining Country Music – The Sounds of Bakersfield Amazon
7Billy Mize Who Will Buy the Wine Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Amazon
8Rose & The Maddox Brothers Why Don't You Haul Off & Love Me Maddox Brothers & Rose Amazon
9Alvadean Coker We're Gonna Bop The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
10Tommy Collins What'cha Gonna Do Now? Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
11Ferlin Husky I Feel Better All Over The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
12Bonnie Blue Bell & Leon Reach & Chic Adams Band Let's Go The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
13Billy Mize Solid Sender The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
14Bill Carter I Wanna Feel Good The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
15Johnny Bond Three Or Four Nights The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
16Herb Henson Goodbye, Baby, Goodbye The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
17Wynn Stewart Playboy Come On – Gonna Shake This Shack Amazon
18Buck Owens Hot Dog (with Danny Dedmon) The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
19Buck Owens The Key's In The Mailbox Buck Owens Sings Harlan Howard Amazon
20Buck Owens Love's Gonna Live Here Buck 'Em: The Music of Buck Owens (1955-1967) Amazon
21Buck Owens Together Again The Very Best Of Buck Owens, Volume 1 Amazon
22Ferlin Husky Six Days on the Road Defining Country Music – The Sounds of Bakersfield Amazon
23Red Simpson Truck Drivin' Man The Best of Red Simpson: Country Western Truck Drivin' Singer Amazon
24Red Simpson The Highway Patrol Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
25Bonnie Owens Just for the Children's Sake Warped 6534 – Bonnie Owens – 1964 – 1966 Amazon
26Bobby Austin Apartment #9 Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
27Merle Haggard Okie From Muskogee Capitol Collector's Series Amazon
28Merle Haggard And The Strangers Mama Tried (2006 Digital Remaster) Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard Amazon
29Dallas Frazier California Cotton Fields Singing My Songs Amazon
30Abe Mulkey Packed Up And Shoved Off The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' Amazon
31Wynn Stewart It's Such A Pretty World Today Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
32Wynn Stewart Donna On My Mind California Country Amazon
33Buck Owens Act Naturally The Buck Owens Collection (1959-1990) [Disc 1] Amazon
34Merle Haggard & the Strangers Please Mr. D.J. Swing West 1: Bakersfield Amazon
35Buck Owens Streets of Bakersfield [With Dwight Yoakam] The Buck Owens Collection (1959-1990) – Disc 3 Amazon
36Maddox Brothers & Rose The Death of Rock 'n' Roll Classic Rockabilly Amazon