On This Day in 1963, Buck Owens Was at No. 1 With One of the Biggest Country Hits of the 20th Century

On 31 October 1963, Buck Owens was in the middle of a 16-week run at No. 1 on the country chart with “Love’s Gonna Live Here”. The success cemented his standing as one of country music’s dominant chart acts of the decade, and the song became his biggest hit.

The track reached No. 1 on the chart dated 19 October and held the position through the end of 1963 and the first five weeks of 1964. Only three earlier hits had longer runs before 2000: Eddy Arnold’s “I’ll Hold You in My Heart”, Hank Snow’s “I’m Movin’ On” and Webb Pierce’s “In the Jailhouse Now”, each with 21 weeks. Owens had 18 chart-toppers in the 1960s, and “Love’s Gonna Live Here” was widely covered by artists including Waylon Jennings and Ray Charles.