Johnny Burnette
John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette (born March 25, 1934 in Memphis , Tennessee , † August 14, 1964 in Clear Lake , California ) was an American rockabilly musician . Burnette is considered a pioneer of this music genre. Well-known pieces by him include The Train Kept A-Rollin ' , Honey Hush and Rockbilly Boogie .
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Life
Childhood and youth
Johnny Burnette was born in Memphis two years after his brother Dorsey . In fact, his family name was Burnett; the additional "e" was accidentally added by the record company. Burnette graduated from Catholic High School and showed great interest in sports . Burnette worked as an electrician during the day. Young Elvis Presley , with whom Burnette and his brother occasionally performed together , also worked in the same company . He then worked with his brother on the barges on the Mississippi , while the two brothers had a band, the Burnett Rhythm Rangers, together with Paul Burlison ( guitar ), Al Vescovo ( fiddle ) and Tommy Seeley (fiddle) .
Career
Sponsored by Eddie Bond's father Bill Bond, the band recorded their first record on Von Records in 1955. Both songs You're Undecided and Go Mule Go were recorded in the studio of the radio station WBIP in Corinth in November 1955. Shortly thereafter, Johnny and Dorsey Burnette auditioned for Sun Records in Memphis, but Sam Phillips showed no interest in them. All of the tapes that were recorded have been lost to this day. In early 1956 Burnette founded the Rock'n'Roll Trio with Dorsey ( bass ) and Paul Burlison (guitar) and traveled to New York City in the hope of making a career there. After the group appeared on the Ted Mack Original Talent Hour , they won a recording deal with Coral Records . Their manager became Henry Jerome and their first session took place in May 1956 with Eddie Gray as drummer . Were recorded, among others, Tear It Up and Oh Baby Babe .
During these recordings the group played a different sound, in the following sessions the band was supported by Farris Coursey on drums. Above all, Burnette's choppy vocal style and Burlison's guitar playing came to the fore, which produced an aggressive sound. The best example of this is the well-known track The Train Kept A-Rollin ' , for which Grady Martin was present as an additional guitarist. There were around 21 tracks, most of which were later released on LP, including the well-known All By Myself or the then unreleased Sweet Love on My Mind, written by Wayne Walker . The title was actually written for the duo Jimmy and Johnny , who recorded the song again in the same year.
However, since the records did not sell well, the trio appeared in the movies rock, rock, rock and on television, went on a tour with Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent , which did not help, because the records only stayed in the New York area Hits. In the fall of 1956, the rock'n'roll trio split up. Burnette moved to California with his brother, Burlison stayed in Memphis. As The Burnette Brothers they released some instrumentals, Burnette then moved to Liberty Records . There he finally got his breakthrough with his third single Dreamin 'in 1960 and became an international pop star. Other hits like You're Sixteen or Little Boy Sad followed . With his titles he was not only successful in the USA but also in Europe.
However, Johnny Burnette's career came to an early end when he was killed in a boating accident on August 14, 1964 at the age of only 30. Burnette was posthumously inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements in rockabilly music .
Discography
Singles
Additional publications in Germany , England and France can be found on rocky-52.net.
| year | Title A | Title B | Record company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | You're undecided | Go Mule Go | From records |
| 1956 | Tear It Up | You're undecided | Coral Records |
| 1956 | Oh baby babe | Midnight Train | Coral Records |
| 1956 | The Train Kept A-Rollin | Honey Hush | Coral Records |
| 1957 | Lonesome Train (On a Lonesome Track) | I just found out | Coral Records |
| 1957 | Eager Beaver baby | Touch me | Coral Records |
| 1957 | Drinkin 'Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee | Butterfingers | Coral Records |
| 1957 | Rockbilly boogie | If you want it enough | Coral Records |
| 1958 | Kiss me | I'm restless | Freedom Records |
| 1959 | Me and the bar | gumbo | Freedom Records |
| 1959 | Sweet baby doll | I'll never love again | Freedom Records |
| 1959 | Settin 'the Woods on Fire | Kentucky Waltz | Liberty Records |
| 1960 | Don't do it | Patrick Henry | Liberty Records |
| 1960 | Blues Stay Away from Me | Midnight Train | Coral Records |
| 1960 | Cincinnati Fireball | Dreamin ' | Liberty Records |
| 1960 | You're sixteen | I beg your pardon | Liberty Records |
| 1961 | Green Grass of Texas | Bloody River | Infinity Records |
| 1961 | Little boy sad | Down to the river | Liberty Records |
| 1961 | Big Big World | Ballad of the One Eyed Jacks | Liberty Records |
| 1961 | I've Got a Lot of Things to Do | Girls | Liberty Records |
| 1961 | Fools Like Me | Honestly I Do | Liberty Records |
| 1961 | God, Country and My Baby | Honestly I Do | Liberty Records |
| 1962 | Clown Shoes | The Way I Am | Liberty Records |
| 1962 | The Fool of the Year | The Poorest Boy in Town | Liberty Records |
| 1962 | Damn the Defiants | Lonesome Waters | Liberty Records |
| 1962 | I want to thank your folks | The Giant | Chancellor Records |
| 1962 | Tag Along | Party girl | Chancellor Records |
| 1962 | Remember Me (I'm the One Who Loves You) | Time is not enough | Chancellor Records |
| 1963 | It isn't there | (Wish It Were Saturday Night) All Week Long | Capitol Records |
| 1964 | The Opposite | You Taught Me the Way to Love You | Capitol Records |
| 1964 | Sweet Suzie | Walkin 'Talkin' Doll | Capitol Records |
| 1964 | Fountain of Love | What a summer day | Sahara Records |
| 1964 | Less than a heartbeat | Bigger Man | Magic Lamp Records |
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Coral Records (unreleased) | ||
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not published |
Albums
- 1956: The Rock'n'Roll Trio
- 1960: Dreamin '
- 1961: Johnny Burnette
- 1961: Johnny Burnette Sings
- 1962: Johnny Burnette's Hits & Other Favorites
- 1962: Roses Are Red
- 1964: The Johnny Burnette Story
- 2003: The Train Kept A-Rollin '- From Memphis to Hollywood 1955–1964 ( Bear Family -Work edition)
Web links
- Johnny Burnette at Discogs (English)
- Johnny Burnette at Allmusic (English)
- Discography with audio samples
Individual evidence
- ^ Joel Whitburn: US Singles: Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-2006. Billboard Books, New York 2007, ISBN 0-89820-172-1 .
- ↑ Charts US Charts UK
- ↑ Dreamin 'reached # 3, You're Sixteen # 4, Little Boy Sad # 15 in the UK charts. Günter Ehnert (Ed.): Hit Records. British Chart Singles 1950–1965 . Taurus Press, Hamburg 1988, p. 23
- ↑ Johnny Burnette . rocky-52.net. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Burnette, Johnny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Burnette, John Joseph (real name); Burnett, John Joseph (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 25, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Memphis , Tennessee, USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 14, 1964 |
| Place of death | Clear Lake , California, USA |