Buck and Bonnie Owens divorced in 1953 but remained friends (as they do to this day), sharing custody of son Buddy and Michael. Buck continued at the Blackboard with Bill Woods – and people began to take notice. Buck’s performances at the club inspired Town Hall Party guitarist Joe Maphis, who often played in Bakersfield, to write the honky-tonk ballad "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)."

In 1954 Jack McFadden, who became Buck’s manager in 1963, was at the Blackboard with Tommy Collins discussing the singer’s first national tour when he took notice of Buck. He still savors the memory: "The place was just jam-packed full on a Sunday afternoon. Me and Tommy sat down and we watched, everybody in the band was doin’ their thing, and here comes Buck, to sing. And I watched and watched the way people reacted to what he was doing. Tommy wanted to hire Buck to take him on his tour as his guitar player. Buck Owens had that something. He was gonna be a star." Buck traveled with Collins to the Grand Ole Opry in 1954 when Collins performed "You Better Not Do That," but otherwise worked only briefly as Collins’ guitarist before returning to the Blackboard. The club had given him a leave of absence to work with Tommy.

Meanwhile, Ken Nelson began using Buck on other sessions at Capitol. At some times, he did little more than fetch coffee, strum a ukelele or pound on a pillow in the studio if Nelson needed that from him. Session work nicely supplemented his income from the Blackboard. For one date he could make as much as $110, a week’s earnings at the club. From 1954 to 1958, Nelson used him on recordings by Stan Freberg, Del Reeves, Gene Vincent, Tommy Sands, Wanda Jackson, Sonny James, Faron Young, and many lesser-known artists. Buck’s admiration for Elvis Presley and Little Richard made him a formidable rockabilly guitarist.