This day in history: Country musician Homer Joy’s song ‘Streets of Bakersfield’ recorded by Buck Owens

From 1974: Homer Joy, a country musician in residence at the Spokane House, received a “big boost in his career” when Buck Owens recorded several of his songs.

One of those songs was “The Streets of Bakersfield.” When the Buck Owens version was released in 1973, it was met with only minor success.

Little did Homer Joy know that many years later, in 1988, Owens and Dwight Yoakam would record “The Streets of Bakersfield” as a duet, and it would hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country charts. It was Owens’ first No. 1 hit since 1972.

Homer Joy was appearing in Spokane with his five-man backup group, the Lawmen. They were set to record 15 singles for Capitol Records.

From 1924: Bandits locked three servants in the basement of the Guy Riegel home and proceeded to steal $8,000 worth of jewelry, furs, furniture and clothing.

The three robbers waited until Guy Riegel and his wife left their “large, secluded home” on the Little Spokane River for a trip into town. Then the robbers confronted a gardener and two other employees and herded them into the basement. Then they spent hours ransacking the home and loading stolen items into a truck or large auto.

The employees managed to free themselves from the basement after about four hours, when they notified police.