http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1478060/20-ouestions-with-buck-owens.jhtml

4. Buck, you've always been my favorite country artist. I was wondering what you consider the biggest achievement -- or proudest moment -- of your musical career?

Well that's a tough one, you know. Was it playing the Grand Ole Opry, when I played the guitar for Tommy Collins in 1954? Was it playing the Palladium in London (and doing a live album)? I don't have just one proudest moment; I have several of them, probably. But the one that sticks out so much in my mind is being chosen to perform at Carnegie Hall. I remember that they called October of 1965 and asked about us performing there in March of 1966. I said, 'We're taking that month off and tell them no thank you. I don't want to book there. I don't care how much they're paying.' [My manager] Jack McFadden says to me, 'Buck, you don't understand, this is Carnegie Hall, this is the pinnacle.' I said, 'Well, let me think about it.'

I didn't know if I would like New Yorkers or if they would like me (although I had appeared at the old Madison Square Garden). Finally I said, 'OK, I guess it's important to do. Book the thing and we'll do it.' Capitol Records wanted to make a live album of the performance, to which I said, 'OK, that's fine, we'll try that.' I must tell you I was very apprehensive, no way to know how it was going to turn out. But as it was, the New Yorkers were at least as great as any audience I ever performed before. They said, 'One thing about the New Yorkers, if they don't like you, they'll let you know pretty quick and you'll see a lot of the folks getting up and leaving.' I did the Carnegie Hall thing and I think it turned out to be my proudest moment. At least for country music, I presented it straightforward. Yes, we did some comedy, we always did comedy, but I presented the music in the same fashion I had all my life. Let me tell you what it is, it's very simple -- 'It don't mean a thang if it ain't got that twang.' I live for twang.