Don Rich - Biography

Biography

Donald Eugene Ulrich was born in Olympia, Washington on August 15, 1941. He was the adopted son of Bill and Anne Ulrich. Don grew up in the Tumwater area at 6th and Ferry on Tumwater Hill. His parents began teaching Don the fiddle as early as age three. Bill also constructed a small scale violin for Don to play. His parents entered Don in numerous talent contests and had him playing at any venue. Don also moved to the guitar in his youth.

Don played both in and out of school, playing locally in bars as well as in the orchestra. Don was only 16 years old when he opened for Elvis Presley in September 1957 at the Tacoma Lincoln Bowl. While in high school he formed an early Rock and Roll band called the Blue Comets with his friends, drummer Greg Hawkins and pianist Steve Anderson. By 1958, Don was playing regularly in Steve's Restaurant in South Tacoma. Buck Owens observed one of his shows and immediately went to speak with Don. Don was soon playing fiddle with Buck at local venues. They were featured on the weekly BAR-K Jamboree on KTNT-TV 13. Soon after, Buck's "Under Your Spell Again" made it to No. 24 on the charts and Capitol Records wanted Buck to return to Bakersfield, California.

Buck tried to convince Don to come with him to Bakersfield, but to no avail. Don opted to go to Centralia College so that he could become a music teacher while tutoring and playing local venues. Don met Marlane Schindler, his future wife,at Centralia.

After a year of college, Don decided to drop out and join Buck in Bakersfield. Don signed on with Buck for $75 a week in December 1960. Don returned to Washington to marry Marlane, who would work with the pair on their music, keeping Buck and his band performing. Don and Marlane would have two children, Vic and Vance Ulrich.

The first single he played on was "Excuse Me (I Think I've Got A Heartache)" which peaked at No. 2. Buck and Don toured rather archaically, throwing Buck's Telecaster and Bassman Amp and Don's fiddle into the back of Buck's old Ford pickup and hop from bar to bar, dance hall to dance hall, while playing with whatever house band they could find.

Buck and Don continued recording singles back in Bakersfield. In 1961 "Foolin' Around" spent eight weeks on the No. 2 slot. In 1962, change came to Buck and Don. Up until that point Buck had stuck to the Texas Shuffle style, with Don playing the role of the lonesome fiddler. That sound would change with Buck's single, "You're For Me", a song he'd written several years prior. The shuffle on the snare drum moved to a tightly closed high-hat. The off-beat was accented by an aggressive half-rimshot half-click on the snare drum. The bass went from upright to electric. Buck dubbed it the "freight train" sound, and it is now often referred to as the "Bakersfield Sound".

In 1963, Buck decided to create a backing band for the sake of convenience when recording and touring, including drums, bass, and pedal steel. Don, naturally, was chosen as the band leader. Buck's old Ford gave way to a Chevrolet camper. During the early years of the band, members came and went quickly. Former members include Ken Presley (who died in a car accident while a member), Jay McDonald, Mel King, Wayne Stone, and Merle Haggard. Before leaving, the latter christened the band "The Buckaroos" and the name stuck.

In early 1963, the Johnny Russell song "Act Naturally" was pitched to Buck. Buck initially didn't like it, but Don enjoyed it a lot. It eventually grew on Buck and he recorded it with the Buckaroos on February 12, 1963. It was released on March 11 and entered the charts of April 13. By June 15 the single began its first of four non-consecutive weeks at the No. 1 position. It was Buck's first No. 1 hit.

"Act Naturally" also marked Don's first appearance on lead guitar. Over the years Buck had taught Don his guitar style and by 1963 Don was ready to put down the fiddle and pick up Buck's Telecaster. Buck was more than happy to oblige, as this allowed him to concentrate on singing and being the frontman.

Buck and Don followed up with another freight train rhythm song, "Love's Gonna Live Here". It spent eight weeks at No. 1.

During the summer of 1963, Buckaroo's bassist Kenny Pierce walked out on the band during a tour. Don called in a bass-playing acquaintance named Doyle Holly. Shortly thereafter, Steel player Jay McDonald quit and was replaced by Tom Brumley.

Buck, Don, and the boys soon recorded two songs to release as a single in late January 1964. One was a fast song entitled "My Heart Skips a Beat". The other was a slow ballad about a returning love called "Together Again". Don played an excellent ride on "My Heart Skips a Beat" and Tom played what has been called one of the greatest steel guitar solos ever on "Together Again". Both songs shot up to No. 1 simultaneously and switched spots multiple times.

Don and Doyle soon hired a young man from Texas named Willie Cantu to play drums for the Buckaroos in January 1964. In July of that year, the new band recorded "I Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)". This too went to No. 1 and brought forth another twangy guitar solo from Don's bag of tricks.

In 1965, the hits just kept coming. There was "Tiger by The Tail", "Before You Go" (which Don co-wrote), "Only You (Can Break My Heart)" and "Buckaroo" which was the only instrumental ever to go No. 1 on the country charts.

Also around that time, Fender took notice of the Buckaroo's popularity. They had given Buck a golden sparkle Telecaster prior, but this time they outfitted the whole band. Buck received a Fender Acoustic, Don a Champagne Sparkle Fender Telecaster, and Doyle a Champagne Sparkle Jazz Bass. On top of that, Willie received a sparkle Drum Kit from Rodgers and Tom got a 11-string pedal steel from ZB guitars (This allowed Tom to play Don's licks during the choruses of songs, leaving Don free to harmonize with Buck).

On January 3, 1966, "Waitin' in Your Welfare Line" was released which went to No. 1. On March 15, Buck and his Buckaroos began filming a half hour television show entitled "The Buck Owens Ranch Show" (the show was filmed and distributed for several years, being canceled because it came into conflict with Buck's other project, Hee Haw).

Ten days later the group would travel to New York City to play Carnegie Hall. The show was recorded live and is considered by many to be one of the finest live country music records of all time. Buck would later say that the band was so tight that they didn't have to go back in post-production and fix any mistakes, as there were none to be found.

Buck and Don continued recording, scoring No. 1 hits in 1966 with "Think of Me" (which was penned by Don), "Open Up Your Heart" and "Where Does The Good Times Go?". In late 1966 Doyle Holly left for a nine month period and his vacant spot was filled by Wayne Wilson. That didn't slow Buck and Don down, scoring two No. 1 hits in 1967 ("Sam's Place" and "Your Tender Loving Care") and recording another live album, this time in Japan, which also went on to great success.

During 1968, Buck and Don decided to start experimenting outside of the freight train sound, but the success continued. "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone?" hit No. 1 and the group recorded another live record at The White House. That LP would not be released until 1972. Buck also signed onto Hee Haw in 1968, and Don was appointed as the musical director.

In 1969, Buck and Don hit No. 1 with both "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass?" and "Tall Dark Stranger". Don added a new experimental fuzztone guitar part to the former. Hee Haw aired on CBS from 1969 through 1971 and afterward promptly went into syndication in 1971 and remained a weekly series through the summer of 1992. The Buckaroos served as the house band, and Buck was suddenly getting national exposure on a weekly basis. Another live record was also recorded in 1969, "In London".

Buck and the Buckaroos continued playing, recording, and filming Hee Haw episodes. The Buckaroos continued changing and morphing, until Don was the only original member. Buck and Don together would reach No. 1 one last time with "Made in Japan" which was released in 1972. Buck started to turn his music back towards the style he had in the earlier years, but the short success of this turnaround would be cut short in an instant on July 17, 1974.