Donnie Owens born October 30, 1932

Donnie Owens (aka Donald Lee Owens) (October 30, 1932 – October 27, 1994) was an American singer, guitarist, producer, and composer.

Owens was born on October 30, 1932, in Chester, Pennsylvania to parents John Easley Owens and Nellie Mae Brigman Owens. After high school he joined the United States Air Force and became an Airman First Class. He served in the Korean War. When fellow Korean War veteran Lee Hazlewood moved to Arizona, Owens helped him get a job as a disc jockey at KCKY, a small country station in Coolidge, Arizona. This was the beginning of a working relationship which spanned decades. Owens performed for almost five years as Donnie Owens and the 4 Jacks at Harry’s Capri Lounge in Phoenix, Arizona.

                                   

Owens recorded several singles on the Guyden Records label (a subsidiary of the Philadelphia-based Jamie Records label), each featuring Duane Eddy on guitar. His first release was in 1958 when he recorded songwriter Buddy Wheeler's song “Need You” at Loy Clingman's Viv Recording Studio in Phoenix, Arizona. “Need You” peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and stayed on the charts for 15 weeks In 2012, “Need You” was named by the Phoenix New Times as one of the 100 songs which define Arizona. His second release, “Tomorrow” was also written by Buddy Wheeler. The back-up vocals were provided by the Ben Denton Singers.

 “Tomorrow” charted in the Top 30 in Phoenix and was play listed in Chicago and Boston. It reached #89 on the Cashbox Top 100 Singles chart, but never charted in Billboard. His third Guyden song “Ask Me Anything,” was released in May 1959. It made the Top 30 in Phoenix, Arizona, but failed to chart nationally. During this period Owens played the rhythm guitar and was a Rebel in Duane Eddy`s band, Duane Eddy & The Rebels. He recorded with Eddy on his albums Have 'Twangy' Guitar Will Travel (Jamie Records, 1958), The “Twangs” The “Thang” (Jamie Records, 1959), Duane Eddy With Guests Donnie Owens and Neil Sedaka ( Reo Records, 1959), and Duane A Go Go Go (Colpix Records, 1965).

To promote his albums, Owens made appearance on numerous radio and TV shows. On November 2, 1958, Owens was featured on the Len Graham Record Hop and on January 14, 1959, he performed on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Owens also had releases on other record labels. In 1960 he recorded with rock'n'roll singer Don Cole as the Two Dons and released "Out In The Cold Again". In 1961 he recorded the single “Stormy (Came to Town)” (written by Lee Hazlewood) with B-side “What A Dream!” for Trey Records. The single was released in the US and Canada. “Stormy (Came To Town)” received airplay in Vancouver and peaked at #7. Vancouver was the only record market where the song charted. The same year Owens also released the promo single “No Love Lost”/’I Forgot About You” on Project Records. Both songs were written by Norma and Connie Conway and produced by Lee Hazlewood.

In 1966, Owens wrote and released the single “Heart Attack” with B-side “Loneliness of Hurt” (written by Jimmy Gray) on the Ramco label. Owens and Floyd Ramsey produced both sides. The same year, he released the single “My World” (written by Owens and Waylon Jennings) with B-side “Soldier’s Last Letter” (written by Ernest Tubb and Sgt. Henry Stewart) on the ARA label. Both sides were produced by Owens and Waylon Jennings. In 1967, he wrote and recorded the single, “Climbin’ the Walls,” which was the A-side to his cover of the song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” which was written by Lee Hazlewood and previously recorded by Nancy Sinatra. Owens and Waylon Jennings produced both sides. Owens played guitar for Nancy Sinatra’s album, Sugar (Reprise Records) and also performed with Nancy Sinatra at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. He also wrote songs for a number of other recording artists, including Budd the Spudd and the Sprouts, Virgil Warner, Johnny Wakely, Ray Sharpe, Sanford Clark and Mac Wiseman.

Rare photo of Donnie Owens

Owens played guitar on several Lee Hazlewood albums, including The N.S.V.I.P.'s (Not So Very Important People) (Reprise Records, 1965), Love and Other Crimes (Reprise Records, 1968), Requiem for an Almost Lady (Viking, 1971), and his Cowboy in Sweden soundtrack (LHI Records, 1970). In 1968 Owens was a guitarist on the Elvis Presley RCA Records release “Speedway,” the original motion picture soundtrack for the MGM motion picture of the same name. Having developed a loyal following, Owens continued to do back up work and perform locally in the \phoenix area for many years.

On October 27, 1994, Owens was accidentally killed at the Palms Motel in Phoenix, Arizona. His girlfriend, the manager of the hotel, was trying to scare off a man who was threatening Owens, but instead, accidentally shot Owens in the stomach. He was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries on October 27, 1994, at the age of 61, just a few days prior to his 62nd birthday. He was interred at National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.

(Edited from Wikipedia)