Sonny Burgess
Albert "Sonny" Burgess (* 28. May 1931 in Newport , Jackson County , Arkansas ; † 18th August 2017 in Little Rock , Arkansas) was an American rockabilly - musicians . He is considered one of the most famous rockabilly singers and was one of the many Sun artists to emerge there in the 1950s.
Life
Childhood and youth
Born Albert Burgess, named after his father, everyone soon called him “Sonny”. In high school he played guitar for the first time in a band with Paul Waney (vocals), Ray Hubbard ( bass ) and the Kennedy Twins on the piano . Burgess graduated from high school in 1948 and appeared shortly afterwards with the future Freddie Hart . But then Burgess was drafted into the army. He spent his time in the military in Heidelberg .
Beginnings
After his release in 1953 he formed The Moonlighters with his old bandmates . When in 1954 Elvis Presley with That's Allright Mama the first rockabilly titles published, including Burgess and his band took first rock'n'roll and rockabilly pieces in their repertoire. In October 1955 they had the opportunity to play with Elvis at the Silver Moon Club. Influenced by Elvis, the Moonlighters changed their name to The Pacers . Like Elvis Presley, Burgess was also very influenced by older generation blues musicians. While Arthur Crudup was one of Presley's favorites, Burgess was at a similar level of the blues singers and pianists Clarence Lofton from Tennessee embossed, who supported his rhythmic game with whistles and pounding of the foot. For example, Lofton's Brown Skin Girls from the 1930s was the model for Burgess 'own Truckin' Down the Avenue , which he would later record for Sun Records .
Career
In 1956, Burgess and the Pacers traveled to Memphis , Tennessee , to audition for Sam Phillips . Phillips was impressed by Burgess and his band and signed them to Sun Records. Her first single We Wanna Boogie / Red Headed Woman was released in September of that year. After an extensive tour with other Sun greats like Carl Perkins , Johnny Cash , Warren Smith and Roy Orbison , they returned to Memphis and released their second single. All of their records sold well locally, but Phillips didn't have the money to market the tracks nationwide. Burgess stayed with Sun until 1959, after separating from the Pacers, his contract with Sun ended.
Then Burgess became a member of Conway Twitty's backing band, which he had also met at Sun. He worked with him until 1961. After a single with Abdur Records, he signed a contract with Razorback Records with his new band, the Kings. However, music should remain a leisure activity, as he had found a job in his brother-in-law's sports shop. He then gave up music entirely and worked for a company in St. Louis for the next 15 years . When the rockabilly revival gave the old rockabillies the opportunity to perform again, Burgess initially stayed in the background and kept working. It was not until ten years later that he took up his career again with a trip to England and appearances there . He signed again with Sun and reappeared. In 1999 he was inducted into the Europe Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame .
Until recently, Sonny Burgess and the newly founded Legendary Pacers appeared again. In 2006 they performed at the Newport Folk Festival and were a regular at the Las Vegas Rockabilly Festival. You were inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2002.
Discography
Singles
| year | title | Label # | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | We Wanna Boogie / Red Headed Woman | Sun 247 | |||
| 1957 | Ain't Got a Thing / Restless | Sun 263 | |||
| 1958 | My Bucket's Got a Hole In It / Sweet Misery | Sun 285 | |||
| 1958 | Thunderbird / Itchy | Sun 304 | |||
| 1960 | Sadie's Back in Town / A Kiss Goodnite | Phillips International 3551 | |||
| 1960 | Sadie's Back In Town / A Kiss Goodnite | London Records (UK) | |||
| 1963 | That Girl Next Door / Today | Abdur | |||
| 1964 | Lawdy Miss Claudia / Willie and the Hand Jive | Razorback R-117 | |||
| 1965 | Mary Lou / It Is Wrong | Razorback R-120 | |||
| 1966 | School Days / Lonely Hours | Razorback R-126 | |||
| 1967 | St. Louis Blues / Bamboo | Razorback R-130 | |||
| 1967 | Don't Let Me Hand Around / Restless | Razorback R-132 | |||
| 1967 | Odessa / Fraulein | Razorback R-136 | |||
| 1968 | 500 Miles / Tuesday, Tomorrow and Forever | Rolando | |||
| 1968 | Blues Stay Away From Me / Fraulein | ARA 222 | |||
| 1976 | Honey Hush / Matchbox ' | Black Jack (Belgium) | |||
| Unpublished titles | |||||
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acetate | ||||
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Sun (unpublished) | ||||
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Sun (unpublished) | ||||
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Sun Records (unreleased) | ||||
Albums (selection)
- 1969: The Old Gang
- 1969: Country Rock
- 1985: We Wanna Boogie
- 1985: Sonny Burgess and the Pacers
- 1986: Raw Deal
- 1986: Spellbound
- 1992: We Wanna Boogie
- 1992: Tennessee Border (with Dave Alvin ) (Hightone)
- 1994: Classic Recordings 1956 - 1959 ( Bear Family Records work edition)
- 1996: Sonny Burgess
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rocker and Newport native Sonny Burgess dead at 86 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ For the recordings by Burgess for Sun Records see: Colin Escott, Martin Hawkins: Good Rockin 'Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . St. Martin's Press, New York 1991, pp. 184-186, ISBN 0-312-05439-4 .
Web links
- Sonny Burgess & the Legendary Pacers
- Entry into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
- Discography with audio samples
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Burgess, Sonny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Burgess, Albert (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 28, 1931 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newport , Arkansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | 18th August 2017 |
| Place of death | Little Rock , Arkansas |