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.