Bonnie Guitar

Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar in 1966
Background information
Birth name	Bonnie Buckingham
Also known as	Bonnie Guitar
Born	(1923-03-25) March 25, 1923 (age 94)
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Country, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, businesswoman, horse/cattle breeder
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1956 – 1996
Labels	Dot Records, Dolton Records, Columbia Records, MCA Records
Associated acts	Patsy Cline, Buddy Killen
Website	Bonnie Guitar official website

Bonnie Guitar (born Bonnie Buckingham; March 25, 1923, Seattle, Washington) is an American singer, musician, producer and businesswoman. She is best remembered for her 1957 country-pop crossover hit "Dark Moon". She became one of the first female country music singers to have hit songs cross over from the country charts to the pop charts. She appeared as herself on an episode of To Tell The Truth with Johnny Carson, Ralph Bellamy, Dina Merrill, and Betty White, and tricked three of the panelists (Carson, Bellamy and Merrill).

She raised cattle and quarter horses in Sumner, Washington with her second husband, Mario DiPiano, whom she married in 1969. He died in 1983. She co-founded the record company Dolton Records in the late 1950s, that launched the careers of The Fleetwoods and The Ventures. In 1960 she left Dolton and became part owner of Jerden Records. She was married to musician and inventor Paul Tutmarc.

Born in 1923 in Seattle, Washington to John and Doris Buckingham, Bonnie was initially raised in Redondo Beach along Puget Sound. Later, the family (including her five siblings) moved inland to a farm just outside the rural town of Auburn. She began performing at age 16, having taken up playing the guitar as a teenager, which led to her stage name, Bonnie Guitar. She later started songwriting. In 1944 she married her former guitar teacher Paul Tutmarc; the couple had one daughter, Paula (born 1950), but split up in 1955, and Bonnie moved to Los Angeles. Through much of the 1950s, she worked as a session guitarist at quite a few small labels, like Abbot, Fabor, and also Radio Recorders.