Bonnie Guitar
b. Bonnie Buckingham, 25 March 1923, Seattle, Washington, USA. She learned several instruments as a child, was a talented guitarist and began to write songs before she completed her education. In the early '50s she recorded for Fabor and in the mid-50s worked as a session guitarist in Los Angeles. She made her debut in the US country charts in 1957 on Dot Recordswith her own song Dark Moon. In 1958 she formed her own Dolton label in Seattle and began to record various local acts, including a pop trio called the Fleetwoods who, in 1959 had two million selling records on her label with Come Softly To Me and Mr Blue. Her instrumental work, production and recording abilities with the Fleetwoods attracted the attention of Dot; wishing to concentrate on her own career, she sold Dolton and worked for Dot and ABC-Paramount, both on A&R and production and as a recording artist. In the '60s she scored Top 10 country hits with I'm Living In Two Worlds, (You've Got Yourself) A Woman In Love (her biggest hit) and I Believe In Love. In 1969 she also had a minor hit with A Truer Love You'll Never Find, a duet recording with Buddy Killen issued as Bonnie And Buddy. She also worked with songwriter Don Robertson and recorded Born To Be With You with him as the Echoes. She was a popular touring artist in the '60s and early '70s, often working with Eddy Arnold. During the '70s, she recorded for Columbia and MCA and her last chart entry was a minor hit entitled Honey On The Moon in 1980, by which time she had moved to the 4 Star label. In 1986 after a long absence, she doubtless pleased her fans by releasing two albums, called YESTERDAY and TODAY.