Billy Joe Burnette

Billy Joe Burnette (born Billy Barnette; June 21, 1941-December 29, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for co-writing Red Sovine's 1976 hit single "Teddy Bear". He also owned the BJB and Teddy Bear record labels, recorded a tribute album to Elvis Presley, and charted the single "Three Flags" in 1990.

Early years Billy Barnette was born June 21, 1941 in Richmond, Virginia.

Musical career Barnette began recording rockabilly music for Parkway Records, a Philadelphia-based record label, in the early 1960s. One of his releases for Parkway, the 1961 single "Marlene", was played during the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand after release. Due to the decline in the popularity of rockabilly, he moved to Hollywood soon afterward and continued to perform as a musician.

By 1965, he altered the last name of his spelling to Burnette and began performing at various nightclubs in California. He released the singles "Blue Misery" and "Huma La La La", both credited to Billy Joe Burnette and the Stingers, that same year. "Huma La La La" was also recorded by Belgian rock group the Pebbles. A year later, he transferred to Nashville, Tennessee-based Gold Standard Records, where he issued "Lust for Life". In 1967, he appeared as a guest on The Dating Game and The Joey Bishop Show. He also issued a rendition of the country standard "Born to Lose". An uncredited column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch stated in 1969 that Burnette's singles at the time, such as the "Born to Lose" cover, marked a shift from rockabilly to country music, and that many of his singles were played by country radio stations in Virginia.

In mid-1970, he founded his own record label in Hollywood, known as BJB Records. He moved back to Roanoke in 1974, where he continued to work in a recording studio. Burnette also assembled a local country music revue which he called "Direct from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry". Hal Durham, who managed the Grand Ole Opry at the time, asked Burnette to change the name of the show as "Opry" was a registered trademark at the time and could not be used in revues unless at least three-quarters of the performers involved were members of the institution. At the time, Stonewall Jackson was the only artist at Burnette's performances who was a member, although others had performed at the Grand Ole Opry House without formally becoming members.

By the mid-1970s, Burnette had begun working in Nashville as a song promoter for the publishing company Cedarwood Music. Sovine's rendition of the song was a number-one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in 1976, in addition to reaching top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. He also became a deputy sheriff in Nashville at this point. In 1990, Burnette made his only appearance on the Billboard country charts as a singer, peaking at number 90 with "Three Flags" on Badger Records. Chart historian Joel Whitburn listed Burnette's date of death as December 29, 2016.