About Buck Trent

When Buck Trent says, “Oh, Yeah”, and gives his famous thumbs up signal, get set for a world-class performance by an internationally renowned county music artist. Buck Trent delights audiences with his spectacular banjo pickin’ and hilarious country humor.

A short biography of Buck Trent’s extensive career follows.

Buck’s Best Known Recordings

Buck’s versatility on the banjo was made famous on such albums as “Sounds of Now & Beyond”, “Bionic Banjo”, “OH Yeah!”, “Pair of Fives”, “Banjo Bandits”, “Buck Trent” and more. Recording, and playing lead guitar and his electric banjo, on such singles as “Jolene” and “I’ll Always Love You” with Dolly Parton, Buck has received numerous awards. Buck composed many of the instrumentals for his award winning albums.

Buck has just released a new album “Spartanburg Blues” featuring many friends and entertainers he loves and admires. There are 15 songs on the album, many of the ones he is well known for and several new songs. Featured performers include Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, Connie Smith, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Pretty Miss Norma Jean, Jeannie Seely, David Frizzell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rhonda Vincent, the Reno Brothers, Ricky Van Shelton, and Rodney & Beverly Dillard. The album was produced by Bruce Hoffman and Marty Stuart.

Nominations & Awards

Over his long history, Buck has received many awards and nominations. He has twice been named the Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year (1975, 1976) and he has twice been the #1 Instrumentalist of the Year for the Music City Awards. Included in his nominations are the 1976 #1 Instrumentalist of the Year for Record World, 1972 through 1981 #1 Instrumentalist for the Music City News Awards and in 1979-1981 Instrumental Group of the Year (with Wendy Holcomb in the Bluegrass category) for the Music City News Awards. He was inducted into the Spartanburg Music Trail Hall of Fame. In Branson he was named Entertainer of the Year in 2014 and his show has featured many other award-winning cast members.

National Television Star

A variety of national and syndicated television appearances have brought Buck the title of entertainer as well as master musician. Starring in various TV shows since 1959, his appearances on other shows like the “Mike Douglas Show”, “Tonight Show”, “Nashville On The Road”, “Tommy Hunter Show”, “Dinah!”, “Command Performance”, “Music City Tonight”, “Nashville Now” and more have made Buck’s talents and humor familiar to millions of visitors. In 1962, Buck joined the “Porter Wagoner Television Show” and appeared over 11 years with such notable country legends as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Marty Robbins and more. In 1973 Buck joined the “Roy Clark Show” and was a regular featured performer on the popular country TV show “Hee Haw”.  In recent years his appearances have included the Dolly Parton’s 50th Anniversary at the Grand Ole Opry NBC special, the Marty Stuart Show, Hee Haw Roadhouse Special, Larry’s Country Diner, Branson USA, Hee Haw Homecoming, and more.

Morning Show in Branson, Guest Appearances, and Touring

Throughout his career, Buck has performed all over the United States and around the world. He began performing in Branson in 1981 and fell in love with the town. As a result, he moved to Branson in 1990 and was the first national star to open a morning show. Buck has always loved performing in front of an audience. Visitors say Buck starts their day out right, with a high-energy, eye-opening, family-fun, country music variety show. When performing in Branson, Buck visits with guests and signs autographs during intermission and after every show.
Buck has also been touring the country performing both with his own band and also on the Hee Haw Kornfield Tour, recently he performed on Marty Stuart’s Psychedelic Country Music Hall of Fame Show, Dolly Parton’s 50th Anniversary at the Opry, and more.

Personal & Career

Born and raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Buck started performing on WORD Radio at the age of 10. He traveled to California and Texas, finally arriving in Nashville in 1959 where he joined the Bill Carlisle Show and first appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. He was a regular on “The Porter Wagoner Show”, “Roy Clark Show”, and “Hee Haw”. Buck invented the electric Banjo and also plays the 5-string Banjo, Dobro, Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Electric Bass and Guitar. Buck is well known for his incredible performances on a variety of instruments and for singing songs, telling country tales and creating a warm rapport with his audiences.