Buck’s first national TV appearances came in 1963 and 1964, with several guest spots on both ABC’s Jimmy Dean Show and NBC’s Kraft Music Hall. He first ventured into his own nationwide TV series in 1966. His friends Bud and Don Mathes, owners of Mathes Brothers Furniture in Oklahoma City, asked him to host a half-hour TV show. The show, to run 52 weeks a year, would be sponsored locally by Mathes. Buck saw an opportunity to expand his horizons by having the shows nationally syndicated, and at its peak, Buck Owens’ Ranch ran in 100 markets. Top artists taped a dozen or more performances at WKY in Oklahoma City, which were patched into the shows by Buck and his son Mike, who doubled as the show’s announcer. Among the regulars were eldest son Buddy, who performed as "Buddy Alan," and Oregon-bred vocalist Susan Raye, who began working with Buck’s shows in 1964.

1966 and 1967 were banner years for #1 Buck Owens records as tallied by Billboard. Most were in the "freight train" style and they continued in a steady stream. Late in 1967, his "thank you" to the fans "It Takes People Like You (To Make People Like Me)" reached #2.

He began experimenting musically in 1968 pulling away from the "freight train" sound. "How Long Will My Baby Be Gone" was conventional enough; the ballad "Sweet Rosie Jones" was a bit more dramatic. "I’ve Got You On My Mind Again," which made it to #5, was a greater departure, its R&B feel unlike anything he’d previously recorded. However, his success continued. On Saturday March 30, 1968, Buck and The Buckaroos played for Lyndon Johnson and an enthusiastic audience at the White House. They were among the first to know that the next night Johnson would announce his decision not to seek re-election. An LP of the performance appeared in1972.

Buck’s fan club was massive. The Buck Owens "All American" Fan Club published a regular magazine, and the merchandising even extended to a Buck Owens Guitar Method book, a guitar instruction record by Buck, and a Buck Owens guitar chord book. He even had an offer that year from some Canadian TV producers to star in a pilot of a country music TV variety/comedy program.

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