KNOW THEM

When it comes to rockabilly, there's that first tier. A lot of Sun Records acts there. Elvis (at the beginning), Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Billy Lee Riley and so on. Come to think of it, Riley's more of a second tier in terms of recognition. And that's not saying that recognition equals quality. It rarely does in music. The wild shit doesn't get noticed by the masses. Ask most fiends of any particular genre, the first tier is littered with "safe" musicians, in the mold bank-able acts (Jerry Lee Lewis being an exception in regards to "safe"). So, there is the second tier, where Riley resides. But he's in good wild company. A few second tier acts would include Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps (the first three LPs anyway) Eddie Cochran and Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio. And Burnette's what tonight is about. Someone you should know.

Class act: The trio with Gene Vincent (second from right)

Burnette and trio had some minor hits but none big enough to keep in print, not for a few decades. It wasn't until the late seventies that their stuff started to get reissued, Bear Records out of Germany if I remember correctly. For anyone into rockabilly enough, who had a bunch of Charly's Sun reissues, and the French reissues of Gene Vincent's, the Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio reissue was a revelation, the first inkling that all the first tier and second tier stuff might be just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, I'm speaking of rockabilly fans, not the hard hardcore rockabilly freaks. They likely had valued copies of the originals, rolling their eyes right into their fucking pompadours. They had third tier stuff, Mac Curtis, Ray Campi, Ronnie Self. Fourth tier stuff and so on. The rest of the iceberg.

I well remember when the Johnny Burnette virus crept through the people I knew. It was essential stuff. It still is. Rather than sit here even longer I'll just leave these here. If you know nothing about Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio, for crying out loud, you can find a lot if you look. I'm tapped out for the night. Just remember: Essential.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~ 

Listen:

Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - Train Kept A-Rollin' mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - Tear It Up mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - Honey Hush mp3 at Rockn Dog
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - Rockabilly Boogie mp3 at Rocky 52
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - All By Myself mp3 at Internet Archive
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n' Roll Trio - Oh Baby Babe mp3 at Internet Archive