Singer Buck Owens, the flashy rhinestone cowboy who shaped the sound of country music with hits like "Act Naturally" and was co-host of the long-running TV show "Hee Haw", and leader of the band "The Buckaroos". Owen has passed away at age 76.

He died at his home in Bakersfield and the cause of death was not immediately known. In 1993 he suffered throat cancer surgery and contracted pneumonia in 1997.

After a string of hits, Owens stayed away from the recording scene for a decade returning in 1988 to record another No. 1 hit, "Streets of Bakersfield", with Dwight Yoakam.

In 1992, when asked how he would like to be remembered, Owens said "I'd like to be remembered as a guy that came along and did his music, did his best and showed up on time, clean and ready to do the job, wrote a few sons and had a hell of a time."

Irene