I didn't say I wasn't gonna do rockabilly. I just said I ain't gonna sing no song that ain't a country song. I won't be known as anything but a country singer.

"
Owens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1996. Biography
Owens was born on a farm in Sherman Texas to Alvis Edgar Owens Sr. They achieved crossover success on to the pop charts.

The accidental death of Rich his best friend in 1974 devastated him for years and abruptly halted his career until he performed with Dwight Yoakam in 1988. Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. His signature style was based on simple storylines infectious choruses a twangy electric guitar an insistent rhythm supplied by a drum track placed forward in the mix and high two-part harmonies featuring Owens and his guitarist Don Rich.