Bakersfield highlight
Birthplace of the Bakersfield Sound
A distinctive electric country sound pioneered in the mid-1950s by artists like Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
The Bakersfield Sound emerged in the mid-1950s in honky-tonk bars and local performance venues throughout Bakersfield and the surrounding San Joaquin Valley. It developed as a reaction against the orchestrated Nashville country sound of the era, drawing on the culture of migrant workers from Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas who brought their musical traditions to California's Central Valley. Wynn Stewart pioneered the style; Buck Owens and the Buckaroos developed it further with their distinctive approach using twin Fender Telecasters; and Merle Haggard became the sound's most famous interpreter.
The Bakersfield Sound is characterized by electric instrumentation, raw and picking-style guitar work, prominent drum beats, and the occasional pedal steel guitar solo. Honky-tonk and rock-and-roll influences blend in the recordings that came out of Bakersfield's studios and clubs throughout the late 1950s and 1960s. Artists including Jean Shepard and other regional musicians built audiences that embraced this authentic, energetic approach to country music.
For families living in Bakersfield, the Sound represents a particular kind of permanence—traditions that take root and last. Planning for the people you care about works the same way: a term life policy sized to your income and obligations today creates the continuity your family would need if you were not here tomorrow.