BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Country music legend Buck Owens disappeared from sight earlier this year amid rumors of serious health problems. However, Owens told 23News Tuesday he is ready to return to the stage.

Without much notice, Owens went missing from his usual Friday and Saturday concerts at the Crystal Palace. He suffered a stroke in February.

"I had a stroke -- a friggin' stroke," Owens told KERO. "I couldn't get up out of my chair by myself. For three or four months I was like a vegetable."

Buck said he couldn't talk at first, but luckily the stroke was contained to his lower body and never went to his brain.

"I have lost some short-term memory," Owens said.

One thing he does remember is spending eight days with a heart specialist in Cleveland. He said he felt like a guinea pig and on the eighth day, he had had enough.

Three weeks ago, Owens started playing again. Aside from a slight speech impediment, which he said is not present when he sings, Owens plans to rock Crystal Palace again, where he will be having a 75th birthday celebration next month.