Draw Naturally – A Buck Owens Coloring Book is a Record Store Day Special Treat
By Michael Berick Musical Shapes blog
This year’s Record Store Day is all about the vinyl exclusives, limited edition CDs and a coloring book. What? A coloring book? Yes, and not just any coloring book but a vintage 1970 Buck Owens & the Buckeroos coloring book!
Here’s the story. Last year, the folks at Omnivore Recordings released a 45 of rare Buck Owens (“Close Up The Honky Tonks”/”My Heart Skips A Beat”) and they were looking for a different Owens item for this year’s RSD. Omnivore partner Cheryl Pawelski had a Buck Owens coloring book in her collection and thought they could do some type of reprinting of it. They checked with the Owens estate, who asked how many of the actual coloring books they wanted. So they struck a deal for 2,500 of these sought-after collector’s items that were stored in the Owens warehouse.
There’s a bit of a mystery surrounding these vintage coloring books. While there were made back in the 1970, Pawelski isn’t 100% sure if they are ever available to the public except for periodically at the Crystal Palace. The coloring book deals with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos performing a concert and features a double page spread of them playing with a list of four songs: “Act Naturally, “I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail,” “Together Again” and “Crying Time.”
It wouldn’t be a Record Store Day item, however, without some music involved. So, Omnivore is also including a four-song flexidisc (and a digital download card) with the four songs spotlighted on the coloring book’s songlist. These songs are come from a Live At The White House album that Omnivore is giving its CD debut to in June. This CD release also comes packed with some interesting extras – previously unreleased recordings that Buck & The Buckeroos did for the Apollo 16 astronauts (so, you could say that these tunes are making their earthly debut).
To go along with the patriotic theme of this material, the flexidiscs will be pressed up in three different colors – red, white or blue (although it won’t be red, white and blue, like Buck’s signature guitar). While Record Store Day will come with a treasure trove of music treats, few will match the uniqueness of these real, antique coloring books. Just keep them away from any crayon-crazy toddlers!
I was at Disc Exchange a few years ago in the jazz section and someone asked me what CD would be good for someone wanting to get into jazz. I immediately without even thinking twice handed them Dave Brubeck's Take Five. I said this is the one he needs to hear first.
