There's something about physical proximity to cultural history. Got your camera? You can tour movie stars' homes in and around Hollywood. You can take Chicago's Untouchables Tour and visit scenes of assorted mob hits. You can even touch the hallowed Harlem asphalt where hip-hop music was born. Just wash your hands afterward.
You can also visit the spots where the Bakersfield Sound, that trebly, concrete-floored strain of distinctly American music, was born half a century ago -- but it's a do-it-yourself thing.
A few years ago, the Bakersfield Convention and Visitors Bureau tried to market a self-guided tour of Bakersfield-area spots of note: the converted boxcar in Oildale where Merle Haggard grew up, tough and wild; the broom closet-sized building near Baker Street where a third-tier country star named Buck Owens recorded rockabilly records under a pseudonym; even the long-defunct dance club where performers like Lefty Frizzell inspired a generation of young, poor Oklahoma transplants -- including some who played guitar.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau's semi-organized tour never really came off, but that doesn't mean you can't undertake your own Bakersfield Sound Tour, a distinctly unglamorous excursion through central Kern County. From a 2005 article, here's the whole thing, right down to suggestions for accompanying songs.
Enjoy.
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Bob! This old picture of you is just the cutest thing! You look like a younger version of Bob Vila of This Old House.
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