Johnny and Dorsey Burnette - Rock and roll tonight

The Johnny Burnette Rock'n'roll Trio with early outtakes. Amazing stuff!

1.Tear it up 2.Oh baby babe 3.Jungle magic 4.Let's fall in love 5.At a distance 6.The Devil's queen 7.Candle of love 8.Long legged Linda 9.I'm so lonely 10.Bertha Lou 11.'Till the law says stop 12.Green grass of Texas 13.Bloody river 14.One eyed Jacks 15.One eyed Jacks 16.You're cheatin' on me 17.Blue school days 18.Just keep on going 19.Just a memory 20.You're cheatin' on me 21.You're cheatin' on me 22.We're having a party 23.Rockin' Johnny home 24.Ole Reb 25.Bony Maronie 26.Hey Sue 27.It don't take much 28.What a Summer day 29.Bigger man 30.Less than a heartbeat 31.Going home

Johnny Burnette rock'n'roll trio

The real stuff! Lots of previously unissued recordings and even rehearsal material! It's amazing where this stuff comes from. If you're a fan of their early Rockabilly stuff, you'll want this. There's the live Rock'n'Roll trio on the Alan Freed show, tunes the trio recorded at 706 Union after they had broken up, and solo stuff by Dorsey and Johnny.

Johnny Burnette was born on March 28, 1934 in Memphis. He and his brother Dorsey got Gene Autry guitars at the age of five years. They were not much interested in making music. Their heads were in athletics. The brothers took up boxing on an amateur basis and took part in several Golden Glove championships. It was in 1949 that Dorsey met another boxer named Paul Burlison who was also a guitarist. Paul Burlison served the army and after discharge in 1951 he returned to Memphis doing radio shows with a hillbilly band led by singer Shelby Follin. Burlison soon renewed his acquaintance with the Burnette brothers. They played together or as part of another bands. Doing some demos for some local recordings it was also rumored that they were doing an audition for the Sun Record company. Paul Burlison doesn't remember this, but is also possible that the Burnette brothers were the only ones who came to Sun. Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison worked for the Crow Electric Company and Johnny Burnette was doing several jobs. They went to New York and after auditioning in the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, they won three straight appearances in 1956. During the appearances Henry Jerome, a bandleader at the Hotel Edison, told his friend, DJ Bill Randle about the trio. He managed to give them a contract with GAC and the Coral division of Decca Records. During the first recordings the sound was adapted to the early sound of Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins. The first release 'Tear it up' coupled with 'You're undecided' didn't chart. The group was called 'The Johnny Burnette Rock and Roll Trio'. The following releases were also rockabilly recordings with Johnny Burnette's shrieks and wild, declamatory style and Paul Burlison's guitar playing. It was rockabilly at its best. In 1957 the group split up due by lack of commercial success, but they left some classical rockabilly recordings which, long after the group disbanded, were recognised as one of the best rockabilly recordings of all time. Johnny Burnette went out to the West Coast and eventually reunited with Dorsey. Paul Burlison started his own electrical contracting business in Memphis.
Johnny and Dorsey Burnette recorded some country style songs in the late Fifties. In 1960, Johnny had a big hit with 'Dreamin', followed by 'You're sixteen', which was even bigger, attaining the 8th position in the US charts. The late hits were all ballads. On August 14th 1964 Johnny drowned in a boating accident. Dorsey Burnette had some country hits in the Sixties and died on August 19th 1979 of a heart attack.

Johnny Burnette Rock'n'roll Trio