John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music.
[1] In 1952, Johnny, his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became known as the Rock and Roll Trio.
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.
[1] 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, he decided to quit boxing.
For economic reasons, the three moved to New York in 1956 and managed to get an audition for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour.
They also gained a manager, the bandleader Henry Jerome, and a drummer, Tony Austin (a cousin of Carl Perkins).
[2] 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 on the Original Amateur Hour at Madison Square Garden, singing "Hound Dog".
[3] Despite this activity, the three singles this rock and roll trio had released over this period failed to reach any national hit parade.
[2] 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.
With their past differences forgotten, the brothers attempted to resurrect the Rock and Roll Trio and sent for Paul Burlison.
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.
"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.
In Britain, the upbeat side, "Girls", was promoted as the topside and reached number 23 in the UK chart 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.
Burnette moved to Chancellor Records, which had had success with teen idols like Fabian Forte and Frankie Avalon.
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".
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".
[2] On August 14, 1964, Burnette's unlit fishing boat was struck by an unaware cabin cruiser in Clear Lake, California.
[5] When he received the news, Dorsey Burnette called Paul Burlison, who flew out to comfort him and attend Johnny's funeral.