And all you gotta do is ...

It was Alvis Edgar Owens' first No. 1 song and it ruled the country charts on this day in 1963.

Folks who listened to "Act Naturally" back then were getting an early taste of the Bakersfield sound that Buck Owens would make famous with the Buckaroos and those twangy twin Telecasters. The song and the movement strongly influenced bands of many genres, but especially the evolving rock scene.  Two years later Ringo sang a cover on the Beatles' flip side of "Yesterday." And years later the Rolling Stones gave it a nod on "Faraway Eyes" with Mick Jagger drawling the famous intro:

I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield...

If you don't like twangy country you may never appreciate bands like the Buckaroos and Merle Haggard and the Strangers. And that's okay. But you know where we stand on twang here at the Sanctuary. We love Buck Owens BECAUSE he was the biggest fool to ever hit the big time. All he had to do was act naturally.

You know what we'll be playing as we're driving to work early Monday morning through Brookfield...