Jeffrey Harvey provides the story of Buck and the Hunters, who cut original songs for singles on Westland Records 15829/30 and Panorama 1004. “Without Your Love I’m A Nobody” has a wild desperate sound to it, unfortunately the youtube video is made from an off-center copy.
Buck Hunter was born into a musical family in Beaverton, Oregon in 1946. His aunts and uncles on his mother’s side played in a western swing group called The Blue Mountain Playboys, who at one time toured with The Sons Of The Pioneers.
Buck started playing music at age 13 and after a stint in the U.S. Navy, he formed Buck & The Hunters in Cove, Oregon in 1965 at the age of 19.
After winning a local battle of the bands competition, Buck & The Hunters were signed to cut a spec record for the local Westland label.
“The Train Is Leaving Me Behind” b/w “Without Your Love I’m A Nobody” was recorded in a basement studio in the Kennewick, Washington area and achieved significant airplay in the Washington, Wyoming, Oregon, and Idaho radio markets.
Buck Hunter – lead vocals / guitar / songwriter
Dan Aguilar – lead guitar
John McClay – bass
Dan Ross – drums
After the release of “Train” on Christmas Day 1965, the band spent 18 months touring the Pacific Northwest, playing armory dances, state fairs, high schools, and clubs, and opening for such Northwest luminaries as Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Wailers, The Kingsmen, and more.
A fun story Buck shared with me about the Hunters’ touring days goes like this: The band was booked to play a high school dance in John Day, Oregon on a Friday night. Buck and the boys were traveling to the gig in two separate vehicles, when they came upon an active blasting zone on the interstate.
The state was using dynamite in the area for construction purposes, and after the first car carrying half the band made it through the blast zone “We all hear this big boom! Sure enough, we look back and saw a landslide had cut off all the traffic – including the second car with the rest of the band in it!”
Buck and two other band mates continued on to John Day High School to find that the dance they were booked to play was the school’s prom. “We ended up playing with three guys that night, and were asked to come back the next night with the full band. They held two proms so our entire band could play!” recalls Hunter.
Buck & The Hunters disbanded in 1967 when a few members went off to college and Buck moved to Everett, Washington. It was there he met his wife in the same year, and the two were married within months.
Buck took a nightclub residency gig as a solo folk act, doing a supper club show at a local restaurant/lounge called Kay’s Rice n’ Bowl. Here he opened for such artists as Pat Suzuki and The Four Freshman.
After putting in his time at the club, Buck and his new bride formed The Tragedy with four other players. The group went on to win a “contemporary folk music battle of the bands” put on by The Pat O’Day Show, broadcast on KJR radio in Seattle at the time.
An A&R man from the Pacific Northwest stalwart label Panorama signed the group to a one-disc deal and “The Entertainer” b/w “Unfaithful Love” was recorded. The Tragedy then toured, opening for such acts as Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts and The Turtles.
In 1992 Buck began hosting a nightly radio show that was broadcast from the floor of The Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas. The program lasted until 2002, and in that time Buck met and interviewed thousands of artists including James Brown, Little Richard, Willie Nelson, Martha Reeves, and more. He also told me that the actress Betty White was an avid listener to his program and would call in on numerous occasions to co-host the show with him!
To say that Buck has lived an interesting and full life would be an understatement. He is still active in the business space and currently resides in Kuna, Idaho with his wife of 50+ years.
I asked him about the psychedelic sound of his two 45rpm releases, and if that was an intentional artistic choice or not. His response? “I was always looking for my own original sound.”
Article by Jeffrey Harvey.
