" LEGENDS OF ROCKABILLY/ROCK'N'ROLL" , JOHNNY BURNETTE!

Johnny Burnette was born to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr. in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]].  (The ‘e’ at the end of the name was added later.)  Johnny grew up with his parents and Dorsey in a public [[housing project]] in the Lauderdale Courts area of Memphis, which from 1948 until 1954 was also the home of Gladys and Vernon Presley and their son, Elvis. 

Early press reports, dating back to 1956, claimed that Johnny attended Humes High School with [[Elvis Presley]], which was not true. Johnny went initially to the Blessed Sacrament Parochial School and after graduating from the eighth grade he moved on to the Catholic High School in Memphis. Here he showed an aptitude for sports, being on the school baseball team and playing as linebacker on the school’s football team. In one famous incident, he was knocked out in a tackle by future singer Red West. Both he and Dorsey were also keen amateur boxers and were to become [[Golden Gloves]] Champions. After leaving high school, Johnny tried his hand at becoming a professional boxer, but after one fight with a sixty dollar purse and a broken nose or an encounter with Norris Ray, a top paycheck of $150 and a broken nose, he decided to quit the ring. He went to work on the barges traversing the [[Mississippi River]], where Dorsey Burnette also worked. Johnny worked mainly as a deck hand while Dorsey worked as an oiler. Both of the brothers worked separately, but they would take their guitars on board and write songs during their spare time, which consequently led to them becoming folk heroes. After work they would go back to Memphis, where they would perform those and other songs at local bars, with a varying array of sidemen, including another former Golden Gloves champion named [[Paul Burlison]], whom Dorsey had met at an amateur boxing tournament in Memphis in 1949. It is a well known rumour that they based their band name on the young boy 'Jonny Burnet

==The Rock and Roll Trio==
In 1952, the Burnette brothers and Burlison formed a group called The Rhythm Rangers. Johnny Burnette sang the vocals and played acoustic guitar, Dorsey played bass and Paul Burlison played lead guitar. For economic reasons, in 1956, the three young men moved to [[New York]], where they managed to get an audition with the [[Ted Mack]] [[Original Amateur Hour]]. They won the competition three times in a row, which gained them a place in the finals, a recording contract with [[Coral Records]] and they officially became [[The Rock and Roll Trio]]. They also gained a manager, band leader Henry Jerome, and a drummer, Tony Austin, who was a cousin of [[Carl Perkins]].

Promotional appearances were arranged on [[Dick Clark]]'s ''[[American Bandstand]]'', [[Steve Allen (comedian)|Steve Allen]]'s ''[[Tonight Show]]'' and [[Perry Como]]'s ''[[Kraft Music Hall]]'', together with a summer tour with [[Carl Perkins]] and [[Gene Vincent]]. On Sunday September 9, 1956, they appeared as finalists in the [[Ted Mack]] ''[[Original Amateur Hour]]'' at [[Madison Square Garden]]. Coincidentally, the same night the Trio was on the ''Amateur Hour'' (ABC-TV), Elvis made his debut appearance on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' on CBS. Despite all of this activity, however, the three singles which were released over this period failed to make the national charts. 

In order to cover their living expenses, the Trio was forced to go on the road, completing what seemed to be an endless stream of one night stands. This exhausting regime led to squabbles, which were exacerbated in Dorsey’s case by Jerome’s use of the name Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio on records and live dates. Things finally came to a head at a gig in [[Niagara Falls]] in autumn 1956, when, as a result of a fight, Dorsey quit the group a week before they were to appear in [[Alan Freed]]’s film ''Rock, Rock, Rock''.

Johnny Black, the brother of Elvis’ bassist [[Bill Black]], was rapidly recruited to fill Dorsey’s place. Despite the film appearance and three more single releases and one [[Gramophone record|LP]] release, the group failed to achieve any chart success. The Rock and Roll Trio officially disbanded in autumn 1957.
 ==Solo career==
===The Liberty years===
In the fall of 1958, Johnny obtained a recording contract as a solo artist with Freedom Records, which was an off-shoot of Liberty Records. He had three single releases on this label. The first single, "Kiss Me"/"I’m Restless" (44001), was released on September 11, 1958. This was followed by "Gumbo"/"Me And The Bear" (44011), which was released on March 6, 1959 and finally "Sweet Baby Doll"/"I’ll Never Love Again" (44017), which was released on June 24, 1959. None of these records were hits and of the six songs, "Sweet Baby Doll" was the only one not penned by Johnny. Some sources have suggested that [[Eddie Cochran]] played guitar on "Kiss Me" and "I’m Restless" but it has not been substantiated. 

In mid-1959, the Freedom Label was shut down and Johnny moved to the main Liberty Label under the direction of producer [[Snuff Garrett]]. Since Liberty had more promotional machinery than Freedom, Johnny’s Liberty singles stood a greater chance of succeeding. His first Liberty single, "Settin’ The Woods On Fire"/"Kentucky Waltz" (Liberty F-55222), was released on November 10, 1959 and his second Liberty single "Patrick Henry"/"Don’t Do It" (Liberty F-55243), was released on March 4, 1960. Both singles sold well regionally but failed to become national hits. His third single, "Dreamin’"/"Cincinnati Fireball" (Liberty F-55285), however, which was released on May 4, 1960, made him famous to millions who had never heard of The Rock and Roll Trio. It reached #11 on the [[Billboard Hot 100]] and it reached #5 in [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. Unlike his older Coral recordings, "Dreamin’" was overlaid with an orchestral backing. 

His fourth Liberty single "[[You’re Sixteen]]"/"I Beg Your Pardon" (Liberty F-55285), which was released on October 5, 1960, did even better, reaching #8 on the Hot 100 and #3 in Britain and earned him a gold record. Johnny went quickly back into the studio and under [[Snuff Garrett]]’s direction recorded "Little Boy Sad". This was released on January 3, 1961, backed with "(I Go) Down To The River" (Liberty F-55298). Shortly after its release, however, Johnny was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix, which was to keep him bedridden for several weeks. He was unable to undertake many personal appearances to promote the new record and it only reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #12 in Britain. Frustrated by this prolonged inactivity he tried to return to work too early and he promptly collapsed. This meant that his fifth Liberty single "Big Big World"/" Ballad Of The One Eyed Jacks" (Liberty F-55318), which was released on March 30, 1961, received no promotion at all, and struggled to reach #58 on the Hot 100.

His sixth Liberty single, "I’ve Got A Lot Of Things To Do"/"Girls" (Liberty F-55345), which was released June 14, 1961, was handled differently from his previous records. In Britain, the up-beat side, "Girls" was promoted as the topside and it reached #23 in the British charts in September 1961. In the US it was flipped over with "I’ve Got A Lot of Things to Do" as the topside, but despite heavy promotion, it failed to make the mark, peaking just outside the Hot 100 at #109. 

After recovering from his illness, Johnny returned to the road with a triumphant tour of the Northern cities, culminating in a season at the [[Brooklyn]] Paramount Theatre, after which he undertook a highly successful tour of [[Australia]] with [[Connie Francis]]. Back in the limelight, his next release was scheduled to be a [[Carl Perkins]]’ song "Fools Like Me"/"Honestly I Do" (Liberty 55377) but this was cancelled in favour of "God, Country and My Baby"/"Honestly I Do" (Liberty 55379), which was released on September 27, 1961. The patriotism of the song clicked predominantly with American record buyers and it reached #18 on the Hot 100. It was to be Johnny Burnette’s last major American hit. 

In 1962, Johnny toured Britain for the first time with [[Gary U.S. Bonds]] and [[Gene McDaniels]], where he made an appearance on the [[New Musical Express]] Poll Winners’ Concert and several TV appearances. His next single "Clown Shoes"/"The Way I Am" (Liberty 55416) was released on January 26, 1962, but it failed to make the US Hot 100 petering out at #113. It was more successful in Britain, possibly because of the tour, where it reached #35. The song "Clown Shoes" was written by a Texan named James Marcus Smith, who was to find fame in Britain as [[P. J. Proby]].

Johnny was to have two more single releases on Liberty Records. These were "The Fool Of The Year"/"The Poorest Boy In Town" (Liberty 55448), which was released on April 13, 1962 and "Damn The Defiant"/"Lonesome Waters" (Liberty 55489), which was released on July 30, 1962. Neither of these singles was a hit, but "Damn The Defiant", which was a [[Johnny Horton]]-style naval saga, was Johnny Burnette’s first self-penned A-side for Liberty as well as his last single for the label. It was probably inspired by the 1962 movie ''[[H.M.S. Defiant]]'' (known as ''Damn The Defiant'' in the USA), which starred [[Alec Guinness]] and [[Dirk Bogarde]].

===The Chancellor stint===
Johnny moved to [[Chancellor Records]], which had had success with [[teen idols]] like [[Fabian (entertainer)|Fabian]] and [[Frankie Avalon]]. He had three single released during 1962, namely "I Wanna Thank Your Folks"/"The Giant" (Chancellor C-1116), "Tag Along"/"Party Girl" (Chancellor C-1123) and "Remember Me (I’m The One Who Loves You)"/"Time is Not Enough" (Chancellor C-1129) but none of these singles were hits.

===The Capitol sessions===
Johnny moved on from Chancellor, briefly joining Dorsey on [[Reprise Records]] for one single "Hey Sue"/"It Don’t Take Much" (20153) before signing a one year contract with [[Capitol Records]] in the summer of 1963. Johnny’s first recording session was held on July 23, 1963 at the Capitol Tower with Jim Economides and Jimmie Haskell overseeing the proceedings. A number of tracks were recorded, namely, "It Isn’t There", "Wish It Were Saturday Night", "I’ll Give You Three Guesses", "All Week Long" and "Congratulations, You’ve Hurt Me Again". Of these "It Isn’t There"/"Wish It Were Saturday Night" (Capitol 5023) were issued on August 19, 1963 as his first American single. In Britain, the flipside was changed to "All Week Long", but neither single made the charts. On December 13, 1963, a second session was held, with the same two men in charge. Four more songs were recorded of which "The Opposite"/"You Taught Me the Way To Love You" (Capitol 5114) was selected for single release on January 20, 1964. Again it failed to find chart success. A third session was held on February 14, 1964, which produced four songs, "Aunt Marie", "Two Feet In Front of Me", "If I Were An Artist", and "And Her Name Is Scarlett". None of these songs, however, were deemed fit for release and remained in-the-can for thirty years. A fourth session was held on March 16, 1964, which was overseen by [[David Gates]], who was later to find fame with [[Bread (band)|Bread]]. This session produced "Sweet Suzie, I Think She Knows" and "It All Depends On Linda", which was written by [[Bobby Bare]]. Of these songs, "Sweet Suzie" backed with "Walkin’ Talkin’ Doll", which had been held back from the December 1963 session, were released as Capitol single (Capitol 5176) on April 5, 1964. This single again failed to make the charts.

===His own label===
When his Capitol contract ran out, Johnny decided to take charge of his own affairs on his own terms. He formed his own label Sahara and in July 1964 released the single "Fountain of Love"/"What A Summer Day" (Sahara 512). When he was informed that the name Sahara had already been taken, he renamed the label Magic Lamp and a different single "Bigger Man"/"Less Than A Heartbeat" (Magic Lamp 515) was quickly released.
    

Death

On August 1st, 1964, Burnette's unlit fishing boat was struck by an unaware cabin cruiser on Clear Lake, California. The impact threw him off the boat and he drowned. When he was given the news, Dorsey Burnette called Paul Burlison, who flew out to comfort him and attend Johnny's funeral. The two men were to keep in touch until Dorsey’s death of a heart attack in 1979. Johnny Burnette was interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

1955/Nov. or later (BMI est.)	Von (Miss.)  1006	You're Undecided — Johnny Burnette	A
		Go Mule Go — Johnny Burnette	B
1956/May 26 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61651	Tear It Up — Johnny Burnette And The Rock 'N Roll Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	45-89911+
		You're Undecided — Johnny Burnette And The Rock 'N Roll Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	45-89910
1956/Aug. 4 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61675	Oh Baby Babe — The Johnny Burnette Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	89922
		Midnight Train — The Johnny Burnette Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	89909+
1956/Oct. 13 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61719	The Train Kept A-Rollin' — The Johnny Burnette Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	100262+
		Honey Hush — The Johnny Burnette Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	100267
1957/Jan. 5 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61758	Lonesome Train (On A Lonesome Track) — The Johnny Burnette Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	45-100277
		I Just Found Out — The Johnny Burnette Trio (Johnny, Dorsey, And Paul)	45-100269+
1957/May 20 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61829	Eager Beaver Baby — Johnny Burnette	102127 [!!]
		Touch Me — Johnny Burnette	102,124+ [!!]
1957/Sept. 2 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61869	Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Drinking Wine — Johnny Burnette	100,265+
		Butterfingers — Johnny Burnette	102,126
1957/Dec. 16 Bb pop rev.	Coral (N.Y.) 9-61918	Rock Billy Boogie — Johnny Burnette	100,276+
		If You Want It Enough — Johnny Burnette	102,125
1958/Sept. 29 Bb pop rev.	Freedom (Calif.) F-44001	Kiss Me — Johnny Burnett	45-FR-103
		I'm Restless — Johnny Burnett	45-FR-102
1959/Apr. 13 Bb pop rev.	Freedom (Calif.) F-44011	Me And The Bear — Johnny Burnette	45-FR-118
		Gumbo — Johnny Burnette	45-FR-119
1959/July 20 Bb pop rev.	Freedom (Calif.) F-44017	Sweet Baby Doll — Johnny Burnette	45-FR-131
		I'll Never Love Again — Johnny Burnette	45-FR-130
1959/Nov. 30 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55222	Settin' The Woods On Fire — Johnny Burnette	45-LB-1021
		Kentucky Waltz — Johnny Burnette	45-LB-1022
1960/Mar. 21 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55243	Don't Do It — Johnny Burnette	LB-1063
		Patrick Henry — Johnny Burnette	LB-1062
1960/May 30 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55258	Cincinnati Fireball — Johnny Burnette	LB 1090
		Dreamin' — Johnny Burnette	LB 1091
1960/Oct. 17 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F55285	You're Sixteen — Johnny Burnette	LB-1146
		I Beg Your Pardon — Johnny Burnette	LB-1147
	Liberty (Calif.) LSX1004  Dreamin' [mono]	Dreamin' — Johnny Burnette	XP-0073
		Love Me — Johnny Burnette	XP-0073
		Settin' The Woods On Fire — Johnny Burnette
		Please Help Me I'm Falling — Johnny Burnette
1961/Jan. 23 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55298	Little Boy Sad — Johnny Burnette	LB-1173
		( I Go) Down To The River — Johnny Burnette	LB-1172
1961/Mar. (Bb est.)	Liberty (Calif.) F-55318	Big, Big World — Johnny Burnette	LB-1212
		Ballad Of The One Eyed Jacks — Johnny Burnette	LB-1213
1961/July (Bb est.)	Liberty (Calif.) F-55345 (pressed by Monarch)	I've Got A Lot Of Things To Do — Johnny Burnette With The Johnny Mann Singers	LB-1257 Δ39443-x
		Girls — Johnny Burnette With The Johnny Mann Singers	LB-1256 Δ39443
1961/Oct. (Bb est.)	Liberty (Calif.) F-55377	Fools Like Me — Johnny Burnette
		Honestly I Do — Johnny Burnette
1961/Oct. 2 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55379	God, Country And My Baby — Johnny Burnette With The Johnny Mann Singers	LB-1306
		Honestly I Do — Johnny Burnette With The Johnny Mann Singers	LB-1302
	Liberty (Calif.) LSX-1011  Johnny Burnette's Hits [mono]	Little Boy Sad — Johnny Burnette	XP-0087
		Don't Do It — Johnny Burnette	XP-0087
		You're Sixteen — Johnny Burnette	XP-0088
		( I Go) Down To The River — Johnny Burnette
1962/Feb. 10 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55416	Clown Shoes — Johnny Burnette With The Johnny Mann Singers	LB-1361
		The Way I Am — Johnny Burnette With The Johnny Mann Singers	LB-1362
1962/Apr. 28 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55448	The Fool Of The Year — Johnny Burnette	LB-1404
		The Poorest Boy In Town — Johnny Burnette	LB-1405
1962/Aug. 18 Bb pop rev.	Liberty (Calif.) F-55489	Damn The Defiant — Johnny Burnette	LB-1466
		Lonesome Waters — Johnny Burnette	LB-1467
1962/July 28 Bb pop rev.	Chancellor (Pa.) C-1116	I Wanna Thank Your Folks — Johnny Burnette	45-C-1116-A
		The Giant — Johnny Burnette	45-C-1116-B
1962/Oct. 20 Bb pop rev.	Chancellor (Pa.) C-1123	Tag-Along — Johnny Burnette	AMP C-1123 A
		Party Girl — Johnny Burnette	AMP C-1123 B
1962/Dec. 22 Bb pop rev.	Chancellor (Pa.) C-1129	Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You) — Johnny Burnette / Arranged And Conducted By Bill Justis	A
		Time Is Not Enough — Johnny Burnette / Arranged And Conducted By Bill Justis	B
1963/Aug. rel. no. code	Capitol (Calif.)  5023	It Isn't There — Johnny Burnette / Arranged And Conducted By Jimmie Haskell	45-50170
		( Wish It Were Saturday Night) All Week Long — Johnny Burnette / Arranged And Conducted By Jimmie Haskell	45-50169
1964/Jan. rel. no. code	Capitol (Calif.)  5114	The Opposite — Johnny Burnette	45-50995
		You Taught Me The Way To Love You — Johnny Burnette
1964/May 16 Bb hot rev.	Capitol (Calif.)  5176	Sweet Suzie — Johnny Burnette / Orchestra Conducted By Dave Gates	45-51683
		Walkin', Talkin' Doll — Johnny Burnette / Orchestra Conducted By Dave Gates	45-50993
1964/June mx series	Sahara (Calif.)  512 (pressed by Monarch)	Fountain Of Love — Johnny Burnette	S-9568 Δ53402X
		What A Summer Day — Johnny Burnette	S-9567 Δ53402
1964/Aug. 29 Bb c&w rev.	Magic Lamp (Calif.) ML515-S	Bigger Man — Johnny Burnette	M-9663
		Less Than A Heartbeat — Johnny Burnette	M-9664
Original LPs
	Coral (N.Y.) CRL57080  Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'N' Roll Trio [mono]