released in december 1964 (just weeks after he had recorded it), "i've got a tiger by the tail" was owens' and the buckaroos sixth no. 1 hit on the "billboard magazine" hot country singles chart in february 1965. the song is owens' and the buckaroos biggest hit (and only top-40 hit) on the "billboard" hot 100, where it peaked at no. 25, although its five weeks atop the chart made it far from owens' biggest hit on the country charts — several of his other no. 1 songs spent anywhere from six to 16 weeks at no. 1.