Bonnie Owens
Bonnie Owens (October 1, 1929 – April 24, 2006), born Bonnie Campbell, was an American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard. Biography. She was born Bonnie Campbell in Blanchard, Oklahoma, United States. She met Buck Owens when she was only 15. They played in a band in Mesa, Arizona, married in 1948. She and Buck Owens were the parents of musician Buddy Alan. They moved to Bakersfield, California, by 1951. They divorced in 1953, but the move to Bakersfield jump-started both their music careers. Bonnie Owens's first recording was "A  Dear John Letter", a duet with Fuzzy Owen on Mar-Vel Records (#MV-102) in 1953. The B-side contained the song "Wonderful World". Owens recorded on numerous labels during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Merle Haggard’s and Fuzzy Owen's own Tally label, all of which were singles. Her first album titled "Don't Take Advantage of Me" came in 1965 on Capitol Records # ST-2403. Owens had hits on the country chart in the early 1960s with the songs "Why Don't Daddy Live Here Anymore?" and "Don't Take Advantage of Me". In 1965, Haggard and Owens  recorded the song "Just Between the Two of Us", a duet, and probably Owens's best known hit. It is also the title song to their 1966 duet album on Capitol Records (#ST-2453), that was recorded with The Strangers. Bonnie Owens was named Female Vocalist of the Year in 1965 by the Academy of Country Music. She and Haggard married the same year. From this point, Owens dedicated her time to Haggard's children and his career, touring with Merle's band The Strangers as a backup vocalist. Owens and Haggard divorced in 1978; after a brief hiatus, she continued  touring with him. In 2006, Owens died at the age of 76, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.