Greetings from Asheville, where we always have good music.  Today’s Single Of The Day is a 1963 effort for the duo of Buck Owens and Rose Maddox.  At the time, Buck was still a rising star in country music, while Rose was a veteran of the business, having spent several years on the West Coast, performing and recording many now-classic tracks with her brothers as The Maddox Brothers and Rose.

At the time of release, Buck had just scored his first number one hit with “Act Naturally”, and his next one, “Love’s Gonna Live Here”, was just a few months away.  Meanwhile, Rose was in the midst of her own string of Country 20 hits, including “Sing A Little Song Of Heartache” in late 1962, and at the time of release of this 45, “Down To The River” was charting.

The second of two chart singles for Buck and Rose, together, this was a double-sided hit, as “Sweethearts In Heaven” would also enter the Country 20, peaking at nineteen.  Both sides debuted on the Country 20, within a week of each other, in August.  ”We’re The Talk Of The Town” would be the bigger hit, as it climbed as high as fifteen.  A quick-paced, bouncy track, it’s a strong precursor of what became Buck’s trademark “freight train sound”.  As for “Sweethearts In Heaven”, it’s slightly more subdued.  It’s also worth noting that Buck had previously recorded this song in one of his early pre-Capitol sessions, in the 1950′s.  Both tracks feature strong vocal tracks, though Buck sounds almost out of his high-end range on “We’re The Talk Of The Town”.  Overall, a pair of decent tracks from fifty years ago.

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