Not many country artists received college scholarships to study opera.

But not many country artists can sing like Buck Jones.

Buck didn’t start out on the road to the Metropolitan Opera. Far from it. Raised in Belton, Texas, his first performance was singing Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother in a hometown honky tonk. He was five at the time. “I didn’t really know what the song was about,” he says, “but I knew it was fun singing bad words.”

Maybe divine intervention sent Buck to Baptist choir practice five years later where the director discovered and developed his extraordinary talent. The training led to a full college scholarship in vocal performance where professors had high hopes for this accomplished baritone. But Buck had other ideas. “All through college, I would slip out and sing at open-mike nights in the bars until 1 or 2 in the morning. I loved this music. It was what I grew up with. My professors weren’t real happy about that.”

After years of study, he walked away from classical music with an amazing voice and a determination to do what he loved. The road eventually led to Nashville, where he became a favorite at Billy Block’s Western Beat Roots Revival. Those performances opened the door to other gigs around the South and the ??? CD produced by Walt Wilkins. Refreshed by Buck’s genuine Lonestar style, Texas radio stations put it in rotation immediately.

“I grew up with cowboys,” Buck says in that unmistakable Central Texas accent. “I knew guys who rode bulls, who came home all busted up with stitches. That’s what I appreciated about the songs and song writers in Texas. They were songs about living that life.”
Buck’s love of lyric and an honest song comes through in his own writing, as well as the work of others he chooses to perform. “My earliest memories are of sitting around listening to my Dad play guys like Ray Hubbard, Jerry Jeff Walker and Guy Clark.”

Buck’s idols ignited his passion for storytelling that is reflected in his writing. “I write about what I know, about growing up on the Rio Grande River. That’s honesty. My favorite thing is to go into the old barbecue joints back home in Texas and listen to these old guys tell great stories. You don’t hear enough of that any more in country music.”

People who have worked with Buck, heard his songs and seen him perform are struck by his ease and authenticity. “He’s the real deal,” says Nashville vocal coach Anna Maria. “There are so many out there trying to be what he is naturally. Those roots bring a whole other quality to what he does both as writer and performer. He is fun, honky tonk and heart.”

Buck’s live performances have been called “infectious,” thanks to his rare combination of raucous good fun and pure talent. There’s no doubt about it: The boy can sing. But beyond that, he also understands how to engage an audience and deliver the story within the song. It all stems from his easy, good-natured personality, his Texas roots and his love for entertaining.

“When I play live on stage, it could be the worst day, the house could have burned down, but it’s OK,” he says. “It all goes away.”

His listeners feel the same way.