Download MP3 I had never heard of this song until I saw The Beatles do it on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1965. I, of course, thought they wrote the song. If I’d have been a fan of country music I would have known Buck Owens recorded it first in ’63. Hey, I was just a kid (still am, unfortunately).
“Act Naturally” was written by a songwriter named Johnny Russell in the early 60’s. He had been invited to a recording session in Los Angeles and had to break a date with his girlfriend to do so. She wanted to know why he was going to L.A. and he said, “They’re gonna put me in the movies and make a big star outta me”. They had a good laugh at that, but what he had said stuck in his mind and he wrote this song that very afternoon. Russell wanted to record it himself, but his producer turned it down because songs about movies were not hit material. Fat lot he knew!
It was a full two years before Buck Owens took the song and made it his first number one hit. The Beatles only covered the song two years later, mostly because Ringo was due to sing a tune and this one was easy. I’ve always loved this piece – the clever lyrics did it for me, and it really is no problem to sing – which is a prerequisite for all of my vocal adventures. Singers, country or not…. you’ll want this one in your set list.
Buck Owens and Ringo got together and did a video of “Act Naturally” in 1989… click the link below.
Stageworthy Backing Tracks by Dave Zobrist 