Johnny Burnette
| Johnny Burnette | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Joseph Burnette |
| Born |
March 25, 1934 Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | August 14, 1964 (aged 30) Clear Lake, California, United States |
| Genres | Rockabilly, Rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 1952 - 1964 |
| Labels | Capitol, Charly, Sahara, Liberty |
John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer-songwriter rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette and friend Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of the Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.
Johnny Burnette was born to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr. in Memphis, Tennessee. (The 'e’ at the end of the 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.
Early press reports, dating back to 1956, claimed that Johnny attended Humes High School with Elvis Presley, which was not true. Johnny went initially to the Blessed Sacrament Parochial School and after graduating from the eighth grade he moved on to the Catholic High School in Memphis. Here he showed an aptitude for sports, being on the school baseball team and playing as linebacker on the school's football team. Both he and Dorsey were also keen amateur boxers and were to become 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 the ring. He went to work on the barges traversing the Mississippi River, where Dorsey Burnette also worked. Johnny worked mainly as a deck hand while Dorsey worked as an oiler. After work they would go back to Memphis, where they would perform songs at local bars, with a varying array of sidemen, including another former Golden Gloves champion named Paul Burlison, whom Dorsey had met at an amateur boxing tournament in Memphis in 1949.
In 1952, the Burnette brothers and Burlison formed a group called the Rhythm Rangers. Johnny Burnette sang the vocals and played acoustic guitar, Dorsey played bass and Paul Burlison played lead guitar. For economic reasons, the three young men moved to New York in 1956 and managed to get an audition with the Ted Mack 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 officially became the Rock and Roll Trio. They also gained a manager, bandleader Henry Jerome, and a drummer, Tony Austin, a cousin of Carl Perkins.
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