Johnny Burnette

John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. His career was cut short on August 14, 1964, when he drowned following a boat accident, aged 30.

He is the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.

Early life Johnny Burnette was born to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr. in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Despite this activity, the three singles this rock and roll trio had released over this period failed to reach any national hit parade. This might be due to a result of Elvis Presley who appeared on a CBS television program that was broadcast live from Los Angeles, CA at exactly the same time that this Burnette trio had performed on ABC televised "Original Amateur Hour" in New York. Furthermore, the CBS show that had broadcast Elvis in Los Angeles, had garnered an 82.6% share, or 60,710,000 viewers, whereas the ABC and NBC networks had garnered less than 5 million viewers each. Their persistence worked, and Nelson was sufficiently impressed with their work that he eventually recorded several of their songs, including "Believe What You Say", "It's Late", "Waitin' in School", and "Just a Little Too Much", amongst others.

His fourth Liberty single, "You're Sixteen" (written by the Sherman Brothers) backed with "I Beg Your Pardon" (Liberty F-55285), released on October 5, 1960, did even better, reaching number 8 on the Hot 100 and number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, When he received 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 is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Legacy Burnette gained renewed prominence in 1973 thanks to Ringo Starr's version of "You're Sixteen". In addition, Burnette's original song was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. One of his songs, "Train Kept A-Rollin'" by Tiny Bradshaw, would later be recorded by the Yardbirds, Aerosmith and Motörhead. Early British rock and roll power trio and proto punk garage band Johnny Kidd and the Pirates and psychobilly band The Meteors both covered "Lonesome Train."

The Cramps covered his song "Tear it Up", Poison Ivy was heavily influenced by Burnette's raw guitar style and Lux Interior borrowing Burnette's vocal approach, and fellow rockabilly band Tav Falco's Panther Burns did a cover of "You're Undecided", both songs from Burnette's first album and again, heavily indebted to Burnette's quivering, emotional vocal delivery.

The Beatles, with John Lennon on vocal, performed "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes" at the BBC on July 10, 1963, for broadcast airing on July 23, 1963. During the airing Lennon introduced the song, originally recorded by Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio on July 3, 1956, and released in March 1957, joking, "This is a Dorsey Burnette number, brother of Johnny Burnette, called 'Lonesome Tears in My Eyes', recorded on their very first LP in 1822!" The song also influenced a later Beatles song, "The Ballad of John and Yoko" in that the outro guitar riff to that song was inspired by the corresponding intro guitar riff on "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes". This live in-studio recording of "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes" (including Lennon's spoken intro) was later included on the Beatles' 1994 two-CD set, Live at the BBC.

Quotation

NME, February 1961

Discography

Studio albums Year Album Record label

Compilation Year Album Record label 2004 The Complete Recordings 1955–1964 Bear Family Records

Singles Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio Year Title Peak chart positions Record label B-side US UK 1956 "Tear It Up" – – Coral Records "You're Undecided"Tear It Up The Johnny Burnette Trio Year Title Peak chart positions Record label B-side Album US UK 1956 "Oh Baby Babe" – – Coral Records "Midnight Train" "The Train Kept a-Rollin'" – – "Honey Hush" Rock 'n Roll Trio 1957 "Lonesome Train (On a Lonesome Track)" – – "I Just Found Out" Johnny Burnette

– –

"Go Mule Go"

– –

"Touch Me"

– – "Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Drinking Wine"

– – "If You Want It Enough"

– –

"I'm Restless"

– – "Gumbo"

– – "Sweet Baby Doll"

– –

"Kentucky Waltz"

– – "Don't Do It"

11 5 "Cincinnati Fireball"

8 3 "I Beg Your Pardon"

17 12 "(I Go) Down to the River"

58 – "Ballad of the One Eyed Jacks"

109 37 "I've Got a Lot of Things to Do"

– – "Honestly I Do"

18 – "Honestly I Do"

113 35 "The Way I Am"

113 – "The Poorest Boy in Town"

117 –

"The Giant"

– –

"Lonesome Waters"

– –

"Party Girl"

– – "Time is Not Enough"

– –

"(Wish It Were Saturday Night) All Week Long"

– – "The Opposite"

– – "Walkin', Talkin' Doll"

– –

"Fountain of Love"

– –

"Less Than a Heartbeat"