Died On This Date (August 14, 1964) Johnny Burnette / Rockabilly Pioneer

Johnny Burnette
March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964

Johnny Burnette was one of the originators of what would later be called rockabilly. Along with his brother, Dorsey Burnette and friend Paul Burlison, Burnette formed The Rock and Roll Trio who would cause a bit of a stir from a remarkable amount of promotional appearances for a band in such infancy. They were lucky enough to appear on American Bandstand, Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour, the Tonight Show and Kraft Music Hall. Unfortunately, the night they appeared in the finals of Ted Mack, Elvis Presley made his debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. But even with all of this great exposure, their records failed to catch on, leading the the end of the group in the fall of 1957. It should be noted that for about six years of his childhood, Dorsey and his family lived in the same Memphis housing project as Gladys, Vernon and Elvis Presley. Both Burnettes also spent their early days as amateur boxers, culminating in Golden Gloves championships for each. Johnny took a shot at turning professional, but after only earning $60 and a broken nose in his first bout, he decided to change careers. By the late ’50s, the Burnette brothers were living in Los Angeles where they would work with and have their songs recorded by Rick Nelson, among others. Johnny would soon go “solo” and record several hits for Liberty Records and later, Chancellor and Capitol Records. But tragedy would strike in August of 1964. While boating one night in a lake north of San Francisco, Burnette’s tiny unlit fishing boat was hit by a much larger cruiser, the impact throwing him into the water to his death.

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Johnny Burnette

Died On This Date (September 27, 2003) Paul Burlison / Rockabilly Pioneer

Paul Burlison
February 4, 1929 – September 27, 2003

burlisonPaul Burlison was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio, a rockabilly band who would heavily influence rock ‘n roll bands for generations to come.  He formed the band with brothers, Dorsey Burnette and Johnny Burnette in the early ’50s, and by 1956, they were in New York City recording for the Coral label.  And although their records were never quite hits, they became popular and thus influential due to many television appearances during their short run.  They appeared on American Bandstand, Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour, The Tonight Show and Kraft Music Hall, but despite the remarkable promotional blitz, it never resulted in many record sales.  The band called it quits in 1957 and Burlison all but retired from the music business, only to make a comeback during the rockabilly revival of the ’80s.  It wasn’t until 1997 that Burlison made his first solo album, Train Kept A-Rollin’.  Guests on the album included Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Cesar Rojas, David Hidalgo, Mavis Staples, and the second generation of Burnettes, Rocky Burnette and Billy Burnette.  Paul Burlison died of cancer at the age of 74.