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JUKEBOX CLIP
 1956 |
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1953 – 1957
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| LEFT: After going nowhere on the Memphis club circuit and being turned down by Sun Records, Johnny Burnette, brother Dorsey and Paul Burlison — the Rock 'n' Roll Trio — tried their luck on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour television show in the spring of 1956 and scored bigtime. Placing first on three consecutive contests put them on a package tour sponsored by the program. CENTER: Their sudden popularity resulted in a recording contract with Coral in 1956 that produced minor hits such as Train Kept A-Rollin' and Tear It Up but was unable to produce a commercial hit with their raw, energetic sound. RIGHT: Without a hit, success was short-lived and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio, now called the Johnny Burnette Trio, disbanded in 1957. The Burnette brothers started writing songs for others,including Ricky Nelson (Believe What You Say / Waitin' In School / Just A Little Too Much / It's Late). Johnny enjoyed the spotlight as a solo act with hits like Dreamin' and You're Sixteen until his untimely death in 1964. Dorsey briefly enjoyed the spotlight with (There Was A) Tall Oak Tree and Hey Little One. Dorsey died in 1979. Paul Burlison retired from the music business until the Rockabilly resurgence in the 1980s when he did some recording and touring.He died in 2003 and is remembered for his pioneering Rockabilly guitar work. Although the Rock 'n' Roll Trio never basked in the national spotlight, its pioneering sound was an early beacon on the road to Rockabilly. | ||
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"Back in the early days of Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins,
there was only one band that was tearing it up, and that was the Burnette trio out of Memphis — what they were playing was the absolute roots of rock 'n' roll." |
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RONNIE HAWKINS, 1982
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