California country: 15 songs that exemplify the Bakersfield sound

Music historians suggest that this 1954 single, recorded by Bakersfield musician Bud Hobbs, is the progenitor of this pioneering country sound. And perhaps not surprisingly, Buck Owens is on lead guitar on Hobbs's recording. 

Buck Owens helped pioneer the Bakersfield sound, and songs like 1959's "Under Your Spell Again" are proof of its enduring appeal. After hitting #4 the year it was released, the song has been covered multiple times throughout the decades, including a duet version recorded by Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. 

Perhaps the most widely known example of the Bakersfield sound, "Mama Tried" is loosely inspired by Merle Haggard's own true story of going to prison for robbery. With its blend of rock, honky-tonk, and country influences, it remains one of the genre's timeless classics. 

Though many younger country fans may not recognize the name Wynn Stewart, he's one of the major artists responsible for pioneering the Bakersfield sound in the 1950s. His version of "Waltz of the Angels" was a commercial success, and Stewart went on to write for — and inspire — artists like Merle Haggard. 

Rose Maddox sounds like a true honky-tonk angel on "Sing a Little Song of Heartache," her 1962 single that reached #3 on the country charts. If you consider yourself a fan of artists like Emmylou Harris and Kitty Wells, Rose Maddox (and the band she fronted, the Maddox Brothers) is definitely worth a listen. 

Written by Wynn Stewart, Merle Haggard notched a top-40 hit with "Sing A Sad Song" in 1963. Stewart later found his own commercial success with the song more than a decade later. 

Thanks to its appearances in countless films and television shows, "Act Naturally" is one of those songs that everybody seems to know. In 1963, Buck Owens and the Buckeroos notched their first #1 hit with this twangy, endlessly cheeky tune. 

Originally written and recorded by rockabilly icon Johnny Horton, Dwight Yoakam made "Honky Tonk Man" his debut single in 1986. It was both a top-ten hit, and an immediate notice that Yoakam was a real-deal neo-traditionalist. 

Yet another influential recording from Wynn Stewart, "Big Big Love" has inspired quality covers from Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, and k.d. lang. 

Dwight Yoakam is both a student of the Bakersfield sound and a historian of those who came before him. That influence is clear on songs like 1993's "Fast As You," in which Yoakam's vocals really recall a young Buck Owens. 

Merle Haggard was at the top of his game in 1966 when he penned "The Bottle Let Me Down," a drunkard's lament that perfectly exemplifies that twangy Telecaster that's a trademark of his take on the Bakersfield sound. 

Honky-tonk queen Jean Shepard, who grew up just outside of Bakersfield, is fully fed up with her no-good lover on "Twice The Lovin' In Half The Time." "No need for me to sit around and worry over you, I'm gonna tear your playhouse down, that's what I'm gonna do," she sings. "You know that you killed my love and baby that's a crime, I'll go where I can get twice the loving in half the time." 

Whether you think Haggard was being tongue-in-cheek or totally serious on "Okie From Muskogee," a song that derides flag-burning to protest the Vietnam War and smoking marijuana in favor of living clean, it's still a killer example of the Bakersfield sound. 

Jean Shepard and country crooner Ferlin Husky teamed up in 1953 for "A Dear John Letter," a song that earned mainstream crossover success and helped expose more listeners to the budding Bakersfield sound. 

In 1988, Dwight Yoakam got to team up with one of his most important musical influences for "Streets of Bakersfield," an instant #1 hit.