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 Charlie Feathers, Johnny Burnette, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Wanda Jackson ...

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My Kind Of Music

 

VA • Rockabilly Rules The Essential Rockabilly Collection [3CDs]

 

Eddie Cochran, Billy Lee Riley, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Burnette, Roy Orbison, Carl Mann, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lee Lewis ...

 

 

 

VA • Rockabilly Forever - The Essential Rockabilly Collection

 

Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'N' Roll Trio • The Complete Coral Rock 'n Roll Trio Recordings

 

John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette (25 de marzo de 1934 –14 de agosto de 1964) fue un cantante y compositor de Rock and Roll , especialmente popular entre 1960 y 1964. Junto con su hermano mayor, Dorsey Burnette y su amigo Paul Burlison, fundaron el grupo The Rock and Roll Trio (1952). Sin embargo, el salto a la fama se dió cuando comenzó su carrera en solitario. Es considerado junto a otros grandes artistas, uno de los últimos "Teenage Idol" de este movimiento. Cultivó sobre todo el subgénero del Rockabilly y la balada melódica de los años sesenta. Es internacionalmente reconocido por canciones como "Dreamin'" (1960) y "You're Sixteen" (1960).

Biografía

Johnny nació en Memphis, Tennessee, hijo de Willie May y Dorsey Burnett (la e del final la añadiría más tarde). Creció con sus padre en Dorsey en unas viviendas de protección oficial del área de Lauderdale Courts en Memphis entre 1948 y 1954, lugar en el que también vivieron Gladys y Vernon Presley y su hijo, Elvis.

The Rock and Roll Trio

En 1952, a los 18 años, los hermanos Burnette y Paul Burlinson, formaron el grupo The Rhythm Rangers; Johnny cantaba y tocaba la guitarra acústica, Dorsey tocaba el bajo y Paul Burlinson la guitarra. Por razones económicas, el 1956, los tres se trasladaron a vivir a Nueva York, donde consiguieron una audición con Ted Mack en su programa Original Amateur Hour. Ganaron tres concursos seguidos y en una de las finales consiguieron como premio un contrato de grabación con Coral Records, convirtiéndose oficialmente en The Rock and Roll Trio

Unieron a su experiencia a Henry Jerome como manager y a Tony Austin (sobrino de Carl Perkins) como batería. Sus grabaciones más conocidas se las grabó la Coral Records con sesiones en las que había músicos del llamado Equipo A de Nashville: Grady Martin en la guitarra, Bob Moore en el bajo y Buddy Harman en la batería.

Hicieron apariciones en los programas de Dick Clark (American Bandstand), Steve Allen (Tonight Show) y Perry Como (Kraft Music Hall), así como giras de verano con Carl Perkins y Gene Vincent.

El 9 de septiembre de 1956 quedan finalistas en el concurso Original Amateur Hour de Ted Mack en el Madison Square Garden, retransmitido por la ABC-TV, coincidiendo en televisión la misma noche en la que Elvis hizo su debut en el programa The Ed Sullivan Show en la CBS.

A partir de ahí, el trío se vio obligado a hacer giras por todo Estados Unidos.

Muerte

El 14 de agosto de 1964, mientras Johnny pescaba en su pequeño bote en Clearlake (California), un yate chocó contra él dejándolo inconsciente en el agua, lo que provocó su ahogamiento. Fue enterrado en el Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery de Glendale, (California). Se considera que tras El día que murió la música, su trágica muerte suponía una pérdida más de las ya pocas figuras del Rock and Roll que aún quedaban vivas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Burnette 

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John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer-songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, he and his older brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their friend Paul Burlison formed the band that later was known as the Rock and Roll Trio.

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

Early life

Johnny Burnette was born to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr. in Memphis, Tennessee. (The "e" at the end of his name was added later.) Johnny grew up with his parents and Dorsey Jr. 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.[citation needed]

Johnny attended Blessed Sacrament Parochial School, and after graduating from the eighth grade he went to Catholic High School, in Memphis.[citation needed] (Early press reports, dating back to 1956, stated erroneously that Johnny attended Humes High School with Presley.[citation needed]) He showed an aptitude for sports, being on the school baseball team and playing linebacker on the football team. Both he and Dorsey were also keen amateur boxers and later became Golden Gloves champions. After leaving high school, Burnette 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, he decided to quit boxing. He went to work on barges traversing the Mississippi River, where Dorsey also worked. Johnny worked mainly as a deck hand; Dorsey worked as an oiler. After work they would go back to Memphis and perform songs in local bars with a varying array of sidemen, including another former Golden Gloves champion, Paul Burlison, whom Dorsey had met at an amateur boxing tournament in Memphis in 1949.

The Rock and Roll Trio

In 1952, the Burnette brothers and Burlison formed a group called the Rhythm Rangers. Johnny sang and played acoustic guitar, Dorsey played bass and Paul Burlison played lead guitar. For economic reasons, the three moved to New York in 1956 and managed to get an audition for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. Winning the competition three times in a row gained them a place in the finals and a recording contract with Coral Records, and they renamed themselves the Rock and Roll Trio. They also gained a manager, the bandleader Henry Jerome, and a drummer, Tony Austin (a cousin of Carl Perkins).

Promotional appearances were arranged on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, 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 Original Amateur Hour at Madison Square Garden. Despite this activity, the three singles they 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, for what seemed to be an endless stream of one-night stands.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

Johnny Black, the brother of Elvis's bassist Bill Black, was rapidly recruited to fill Dorsey's place. Despite the film appearance and three more single releases and one LP release, the group failed to achieve any chart success. The Rock and Roll Trio disbanded in autumn 1957.[citation needed]

Success in California with Ricky Nelson

Now unemployed in Memphis, Burnette decided to try his luck in California. He and a friend, Joe Campbell, hitchhiked to the West Coast, where they joined Dorsey. With their past differences forgotten, the brothers attempted to resurrect the Rock and Roll Trio and sent for Paul Burlison. He joined them briefly but decided to return to Memphis and concentrate on his electrical business. Dorsey and Johnny continued with their songwriting, but Dorsey kept his day job as an electrician to pay the family expenses.[citation needed]

The Burnettes' brashness got them their first success in the music business in California. On arriving in Los Angeles, Joe Campbell bought a copy of "A Map to the Stars", which showed the location of the house of the teen idol Ricky Nelson. In an effort to get their songs to him, the Burnettes and Campbell decided to sit on the steps of his house until they could get a meeting with him.[citation needed] 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. Other Imperial Records artists, such as Roy Brown, benefited from their songwriting. The success of his recording of the brothers' "Hip Shakin' Baby" led to a recording contract with Imperial Records as a duo. While in California, they met Doyle Holly, who played bass guitar for a short time with the band. Holly went on to become the bass player for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and to record as a solo artist.

As the Burnette Brothers, they released one single, for Imperial, "Warm Love" backed with "My Honey" (Imperial X5509), on May 5, 1958. It did not make the charts. After this failure, they continued to work together as songwriters but began to follow separate careers as performing artists. In 1961, however, Johnny and Dorsey released two instrumental singles, credited to the Texans, for two small labels, Infinity and Gothic: "Green Grass of Texas" backed with "Bloody River" (Infinity INX-001), released on February 20, 1961, and "Rockin' Johnny Home" backed with "Ole Reb" (Gothic GOX-001), released on May 29, 1961. Another instrumental, "Lonely Island" backed with"Green Hills" (Liberty 55460), credited to the Shamrocks, was released by Liberty Records on June 6, 1962. "Green Grass of Texas" and "Bloody River" were to be re-released in February 1965 on the Vee Jay label (VJ 658), again credited to the Texans.

Solo career

The Liberty years

In the fall of 1958, Johnny Burnette obtained a recording contract as a solo artist with Freedom Records, an offshoot of Liberty Records. He released three singles on this label: "Kiss Me" backed with "I'm Restless" (44001), released on September 11, 1958; "Gumbo" backed with "Me and the Bear" (44011), released on March 6, 1959; and "Sweet Baby Doll" backed with "I'll Never Love Again" (44017), released on June 24, 1959. All of these songs except "Sweet Baby Doll" were written by Burnette. None of these records were hits.

In mid-1959, the Freedom label was shut down, and Burnette moved to the parent Liberty label, under the direction of the producer Snuff Garrett. Liberty had better promotional capabilities than Freedom, so that Johnny's singles for Liberty stood a greater chance of succeeding. His first two singles for Liberty, "Settin' the Woods on Fire" backed with "Kentucky Waltz" (Liberty F-55222), released on November 10, 1959, and "Patrick Henry" backed with "Don't Do It" (Liberty F-55243), released on March 4, 1960, sold well regionally but were not national hits. However, his third single, "Dreamin'" backed with "Cincinnati Fireball" (Liberty F-55285), released on May 4, 1960, reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 5 in Britain. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.

His fourth Liberty single, "You're Sixteen" 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 Britain and earned him another gold record. Burnette went 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, Burnette was hospitalized with a ruptured appendix, which kept him bedridden for several weeks. He was unable to undertake many personal appearances to promote the new record, and it reached only number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 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" backed with "Ballad of the One Eyed Jacks" (Liberty F-55318), released on March 30, 1961, received no promotion at all and reached only number 58 on the Hot 100.

His sixth Liberty single, "I've Got a Lot of Things to Do" backed with "Girls" (Liberty F-55345), released June 14, 1961, was handled differently from his previous records. In Britain, the upbeat side, "Girls", was promoted as the topside and reached number 23 in the British charts in September 1961. In the United States it was flipped over with "I've Got a Lot of Things to Do" as the topside, but despite heavy promotion it failed to become a hit, peaking just outside the Hot 100 at number 109.

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

In 1962, Burnette 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" backed with "The Way I Am" (Liberty 55416) was released on January 26, 1962, but it failed to make the US Hot 100. It was more successful in Britain, where it reached number 35. "Clown Shoes" was written by P. J. Proby.

Burnette had two more single releases on Liberty Records. These were "The Fool of the Year" backed with "The Poorest Boy in Town" (Liberty 55448), which was released on April 13, 1962 and "Damn the Defiant" backed with "Lonesome Waters" (Liberty 55489), which was released on July 30, 1962. Neither of these singles was a hit, but "Damn the Defiant", a Johnny Horton–style naval saga, was Burnette's first self-penned A-side for Liberty, It was also his last single for the label.

The Chancellor stint

Burnette moved to Chancellor Records, which had had success with teen idols like Fabian Forte and Frankie Avalon. Chancellor released three singles by Burnette in 1962: "I Wanna Thank Your Folks" backed with "The Giant" (Chancellor C-1116), "Tag Along" backed with "Party Girl" (Chancellor C-1123) and "Remember Me (I'm the One Who Loves You)" backed with "Time Is Not Enough" (Chancellor C-1129). None of these singles were hits.

The Capitol sessions

Burnette moved on from Chancellor, briefly joining Dorsey on Reprise Records for one single, "Hey Sue" backed with "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: "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" backed with "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" backed with "You Taught Me the Way to Love You" (Capitol 5114) was released as a single 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 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 later went on to fame with the 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 also failed to make the charts.

Sahara and Magic Lamp labels

When his Capitol contract ran out, Burnette 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" backed with "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" backed with "Less Than a Heartbeat" (Magic Lamp 515) was released.

Death

On August 14, 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 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, near his brother and their parents in Ascension, Lot 8276, Space 4.

Legacy

Burnette gained prominence in 1973 both for the inclusion of "You're Sixteen" on the American Graffiti soundtrack and for Ringo Starr's version of the same song. In addition, Burnette's original song was recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.[10] One of his songs, "Train Kept A-Rollin'" by Tiny Bradshaw, would later be recorded by the Yardbirds, Motörhead and Aerosmith.

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!" 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.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Burnette 

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VA • Rockin' Bonesː Red Hot Rockabilly (75 Original Recordings) - Vol 2

 

VA • Rockabilly's Gravest Hits

 

Johnny Burnette, Elvis Presley, Charlie Feathers, Billy Lee Riley, Roy Hall, Roy Orbison, Mac Curtis, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, Johnny Cash, Eddie Cochran …

VA • Classic Rockabilly Vol 03 Swing Bop Boogie

 

There were certainly numerous musicians in the South experimenting with primitive rockabilly-like sounds by mid-1954. Sam Phillips and his Memphis record label, Sun Records, were chiefly responsible for honing the sound and capturing it on vinyl.

Often quoted as having said that he could make a fortune with a white singer who sounded black (though he has denied saying this in such explicit terms), he found the perfect vehicle for doing so with Elvis Presley, who recorded five singles for Sun between mid-1954 and the end of 1955. Supported by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill black, this was rockabilly, if not rock & roll, at its best and purest; as great as his subsequent achievements were, by critical consensus this handful of 45s ranks as Elvis' finest work. Presley didn't set off a mass wave of imitators right away; he was primarily a regional sensation until his contract was bought by RCA. Sam Phillips used the money from the sale to develop his own formidable stable of rockabilly performers. Carl Perkins's "Blue Suede Shoes" almost beat Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" to the top of the charts, and although Perkins was never able to duplicate the success, Sun generated a wealth of great rockabilly hits and misses over the next few years by Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess, Carl Mann, and Roy Orbison. The Sun Sound -- echo-chamber vocals, crisp electric guitar leads, and slap-back bass -- became the standard of rockabilly excellence, often imitated, never recaptured. Presleymania overran the country in 1956, setting off a wave of rockabilly recordings, nationally and (more often) regionally distributed, that was similar in some respects to the garage band explosion of a decade later. Hundreds of performers found their way into studios in Tennessee, Texas, California, and other locales, embracing the new sound with a hepped-up enthusiasm that often bordered on mania. The singles were usually crudely recorded and extremely basic and derivative, their not inconsiderable saving grace being their infectious energy. ------Richie Unterberger, AMG

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Ciertamente, a mediados de 1954 había numerosos músicos en el Sur que experimentaban con sonidos primitivos parecidos al rockabilly. Sam Phillips y su sello discográfico de Memphis, Sun Records, fueron los principales responsables de perfeccionar el sonido y capturarlo en vinilo.

A menudo se le cita diciendo que podía hacer una fortuna con un cantante blanco que sonaba negro (aunque ha negado haberlo dicho en términos tan explícitos), encontró el vehículo perfecto para hacerlo con Elvis Presley, que grabó cinco singles para Sun entre mediados de 1954 y finales de 1955. Apoyado por el guitarrista Scotty Moore y el bajista Bill Black, esto fue rockabilly, si no rock & roll, en su mejor y más puro; por muy grandes que fueran sus logros posteriores, por consenso de la crítica este puñado de 45s se clasifica como la mejor obra de Elvis. Presley no desencadenó una ola masiva de imitadores de inmediato; fue principalmente una sensación regional hasta que su contrato fue comprado por la RCA. Sam Phillips usó el dinero de la venta para desarrollar su propio y formidable grupo de artistas de rockabilly. El "Blue Suede Shoes" de Carl Perkins casi supera al "Heartbreak Hotel" de Elvis en la cima de las listas de éxitos, y aunque Perkins nunca pudo duplicar el éxito, Sun generó una gran cantidad de grandes éxitos y fracasos del rockabilly durante los siguientes años por parte de Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Lee Riley, Sonny Burgess, Carl Mann y Roy Orbison. El sonido de Sun - voces de cámara de eco, pistas de guitarra eléctrica nítidas, y un bajo de retroceso - se convirtió en el estándar de la excelencia del rockabilly, a menudo imitado, nunca recapturado. La presleymanía invadió el país en 1956, desencadenando una ola de grabaciones de rockabilly, distribuidas a nivel nacional y (más a menudo) regional, que fue similar en algunos aspectos a la explosión de la banda de garaje de una década más tarde. Cientos de intérpretes se abrieron camino en los estudios de Tennessee, Texas, California y otros lugares, abrazando el nuevo sonido con un entusiasmo que a menudo rayaba en la manía. Los singles solían ser grabados crudamente y extremadamente básicos y derivados, siendo su no despreciable gracia salvadora su energía infecciosa. ------Richie Unterberger, AMG

 

 

VA • Classic Rockabilly Vol 04 Oh Baby Babe!

 

While the Sun Sound was the pinnacle of rockabilly, several performers established legends of their own outside of Sam Phillips's studio. Gene Vincent's 1956 sides, featuring his breathy vocals and the speed-of-light guitar of Cliff Gallup from his backing band the Blue Caps, were usually brilliant. Eddie Cochran brought a sophisticated brand of teenage rebellion to his rockabilly hits, which helped pioneer the use of overdubbed guitars and vocals. Ricky Nelson recorded first-class rockabilly pop in Hollywood with the help of ace guitarist James Burton. Johnny Burnette and his trio recorded some of the raunchiest Elvis-derived rock & roll of the time, including the first rock version of "The Train Kept A-Rollin'." Dale Hawkins cut a crackling classic with "Suzy Q," and Wanda Jackson's raspy rockabilly sides rank as the finest rock & roll recorded by a female singer in the 1950s.

Rockabilly began to fade as a commercial force around 1958, not just because of fickle popular taste, but because of the rapid evolution of rock & roll itself. One of the greatest rockabilly singers, Buddy Holly, displayed a facility for melodic invention that branched into all forms of pop/rock, and had a far-reaching influence on all of pop that extended to the British Invasion. Along with the Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson, he began gravitating towards a more gentle, melodic sound that was not as structurally limited, if not as energetic, as pure rockabilly. Elvis himself was moving toward more straightforward rock material, and then toward pop after his hitch in the Army.

Those performers that stuck with the basic rockabilly sound faced diminishing returns. Some, like Gene Vincent, simply vanished from the charts, although they maintained loyal audiences, especially overseas. Roy Orbison, never comfortable as a rockabilly singer in the first place, reinvented himself as a masterful crooner of pop/rock ballads. Jerry Lee Lewis's career was crippled by scandal. Eventually he would find success in the country & western mainstream, a path followed by many other singers who had achieved limited success with rockabilly.

Rockabilly never returned to the charts in a significant way after the '50s, though several acts have scored big hits in the style, such as Billy Swan and the Stray Cats. A huge influence on the early Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and others, rockabilly was instrumental in establishing the focus of rock & roll on the electric guitar-bass-drums combination, with a simple joy and force that has helped inspire generations of musicians. --Richie Unterberger, AMG

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Mientras que el Sonido The Sun era la cima del rockabilly, varios artistas establecieron sus propias leyendas fuera del estudio de Sam Phillips. Los lados de Gene Vincent en 1956, con sus voces y la guitarra veloz de Cliff Gallup de su banda de respaldo, los Blue Caps, eran usualmente brillantes. Eddie Cochran aportó un sofisticado toque de rebelión adolescente a sus éxitos de rockabilly, lo que ayudó a ser pionero en el uso de guitarras y voces sobredimensionadas. Ricky Nelson grabó pop rockabilly de primera clase en Hollywood con la ayuda del guitarrista James Burton. Johnny Burnette y su trío grabaron algunos de los rock & roll más chillones derivados de Elvis de la época, incluyendo la primera versión rockera de "The Train Kept A-Rollin'". Dale Hawkins grabó un clásico chispeante con "Suzy Q", y el rockabilly de Wanda Jackson es el mejor rock & roll grabado por una cantante en los años 50.

El Rockabilly comenzó a desaparecer como fuerza comercial alrededor de 1958, no sólo por el inconstante gusto popular, sino por la rápida evolución del propio rock & roll. Uno de los más grandes cantantes de rockabilly, Buddy Holly, mostró una facilidad para la invención melódica que se ramificó en todas las formas de pop/rock, y tuvo una influencia de gran alcance en todo el pop que se extendió hasta la invasión británica. Junto con los Everly Brothers y Ricky Nelson, comenzó a gravitar hacia un sonido más suave y melódico que no era tan estructuralmente limitado, si no tan enérgico, como el rockabilly puro. El mismo Elvis se movía hacia un material de rock más directo, y luego hacia el pop después de su enganche en el ejército.

Los artistas que se mantuvieron en el sonido básico del rockabilly se enfrentaron a rendimientos decrecientes. Algunos, como Gene Vincent, simplemente desaparecieron de las listas de éxitos, aunque mantuvieron un público fiel, especialmente en el extranjero. Roy Orbison, que nunca se sintió cómodo como cantante de rockabilly, se reinventó a sí mismo como un maestro cantante de baladas pop/rock. La carrera de Jerry Lee Lewis se vio paralizada por el escándalo. Eventualmente encontraría el éxito en el country & western mainstream, un camino seguido por muchos otros cantantes que habían logrado un éxito limitado con el rockabilly.

El rockabilly nunca volvió a las listas de forma significativa después de los años 50, aunque varios actos han conseguido grandes éxitos en el estilo, como Billy Swan y los Stray Cats. Con una gran influencia en los primeros Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival y otros, el rockabilly fue fundamental para establecer el enfoque del rock & roll en la combinación de guitarra eléctrica, bajo y batería, con una simple alegría y fuerza que ha ayudado a inspirar a generaciones de músicos. --Richie Unterberger, AMG

 

VA - Essential Rockabilly • The Decca Story

 

Johnny Burnette - And The Rock 'N Roll Trio • Expanded Edition

 

Biography by Richie Unterberger
A contemporary of Elvis Presley in the Memphis scene of the mid-'50s, Johnny Burnette played a similar brand of fiery, spare wildman rockabilly. With his brother Dorsey (on bass) and guitarist Paul Burlison forming his Rock 'n' Roll Trio, he recorded a clutch of singles for Decca in 1956 and 1957 that achieved nothing more than regional success. Featuring the groundbreaking fuzzy tone of Burlison's guitar, Johnny's energetic vocals, and Dorsey's slapping bass, these recordings -- highlighted by the first rock & roll version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" -- compare well to the classic Sun rockabilly of the same era. The trio disbanded in 1957, and Johnny found pop success as a teen idol in the early '60s with hits like "You're Sixteen" and "Dreamin'." Burnette died in a boating accident in 1964. His brother Dorsey achieved modest success as a solo act in the early '60s, and Burlison resurfaced as a member of the Sun Rhythm Section.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-burnette-mn0000241813#biography

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Biografía de Richie Unterberger
Coetáneo de Elvis Presley en la escena de Memphis de mediados de los 50, Johnny Burnette tocaba un rockabilly similar, fogoso y salvaje. Con su hermano Dorsey (al bajo) y el guitarrista Paul Burlison formando su Rock 'n' Roll Trio, grabó un puñado de singles para Decca en 1956 y 1957 que no lograron más que un éxito regional. Con el innovador tono difuso de la guitarra de Burlison, la enérgica voz de Johnny y el bajo de Dorsey, estas grabaciones, en las que destaca la primera versión rock & roll de "Train Kept A-Rollin'", se comparan con el clásico rockabilly de Sun de la misma época. El trío se disolvió en 1957, y Johnny encontró el éxito pop como ídolo adolescente a principios de los 60 con éxitos como "You're Sixteen" y "Dreamin'". Burnette murió en un accidente de barco en 1964. Su hermano Dorsey logró un modesto éxito en solitario a principios de los 60, y Burlison resurgió como miembro de la Sun Rhythm Section.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnny-burnette-mn0000241813#biography

VA • Real Raw Rockabilly

 

 

Johnny Burnette, Eddie Boyd, Elvis Presley, Roy Hall, Carl Perkins, Charlie Feathers, Scotty Moore, Billy Lee Riley ...