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.	Artist	Title	Album	Buy
1	Buck Owens	Streets of Bakersfield	All-Time Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
2	Bill Woods & His Orange Blossom Playboys	Have I Got A Chance With You	Swingbillies
3	Joe Maphis & Rose Lee	Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
4	Jean Shepard with Ferlin Husky	A Dear John Letter	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
5	Bud Hobbs	Louisiana Swing	Defining Country Music – The Sounds of Bakersfield
6	Billy Mize	Who Will Buy the Wine	Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
7	Rose & The Maddox Brothers	Why Don't You Haul Off & Love Me	Maddox Brothers & Rose
8	Alvadean Coker	We're Gonna Bop	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
9	Tommy Collins	What'cha Gonna Do Now?	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
10	Ferlin Husky	I Feel Better All Over	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
11	Bonnie 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'
12	Billy Mize	Solid Sender	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
13	Bill Carter	I Wanna Feel Good	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
14	Johnny Bond	Three Or Four Nights	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
15	Herb Henson	Goodbye, Baby, Goodbye	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
16	Wynn Stewart	Playboy	Come On – Gonna Shake This Shack
17	Buck Owens	Hot Dog (with Danny Dedmon)	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
18	Buck Owens	The Key's In The Mailbox	Buck Owens Sings Harlan Howard
19	Buck Owens	Love's Gonna Live Here	Buck 'Em: The Music of Buck Owens (1955-1967)
20	Buck Owens	Together Again	The Very Best Of Buck Owens, Volume 1
21	Ferlin Husky	Six Days on the Road	Defining Country Music – The Sounds of Bakersfield
22	Red Simpson	Truck Drivin' Man	The Best of Red Simpson: Country Western Truck Drivin' Singer
23	Red Simpson	The Highway Patrol	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
24	Bonnie Owens	Just for the Children's Sake	Warped 6534 – Bonnie Owens – 1964 – 1966
25	Bobby Austin	Apartment #9	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
26	Merle Haggard	Okie From Muskogee	Capitol Collector's Series
27	Merle Haggard And The Strangers	Mama Tried (2006 Digital Remaster)	Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard
28	Dallas Frazier	California Cotton Fields	Singing My Songs
29	Abe Mulkey	Packed Up And Shoved Off	The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 2; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West'
30	Wynn Stewart	It's Such A Pretty World Today	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
31	Wynn Stewart	Donna On My Mind	California Country
32	Buck Owens	Act Naturally	The Buck Owens Collection (1959-1990) [Disc 1]
33	Merle Haggard & the Strangers	Please Mr. D.J.	Swing West 1: Bakersfield
34	Buck Owens	Streets of Bakersfield [With Dwight Yoakam]	The Buck Owens Collection (1959-1990) – Disc 3
35	Maddox Brothers & Rose	The Death of Rock 'n' Roll	Classic Rockabilly