Rockabilly Boogie

In the mid-50's, something different was happening in popular music for Baby-Boomer kids reaching record-buying age. Sam Phillips had found a white boy who could sing black for Sun Records, a young fellow who worked for Crown Electric named Elvis Presley.

But there were a couple of other guys who worked for Crown Electric -- Paul Burlison and Dorsey Burnette, and one of them had a brother, Johnny Burnette. They put together a band that worked the regional hillbilly circuit while they tried to get their big break. Sam may have had his hands full with Elvis, so the members of what would become The Rock and Roll Trio moved to New York City. Paul and Dorsey found work as electricians, and Johnny worked in the garment district, until they got a chance to appear on the precursor to American Idol, the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour. After three straight wins, they went on tour, got a record contract, and appeared in a movie. Enough yakkin', take a peep:



The group is best remembered for their rocked-up version of Tiny Bradshaw's "Train Kept A Rollin'," revived by the Yardbirds and again by Aerosmith, which featured an amazing fuzzy guitar tone which has echoed down through the years. I was at an outdoor music festival in downtown Memphis one night some years back and found myself standing next to a tall fellow. I asked his name, and he said "Paul Burlison." Wow. So I asked him how he got that guitar tone, was it a split speaker cone? If I recall correctly, he said he dropped his amp one night and it started sounding like that. He later discovered that a tube had been knocked loose and had become microphonic.

It wasn't long after that that I read he had passed away. I drove down to his funeral just across the state line in Mississippi, at which Smoochie Smith of the Mar-Keys played the most incredible blend of gospel, blues, and rockabilly piano that I have ever heard. I hope the family recorded the proceedings. I would love to post that piano solo. After the services, I dutifully drove back to Memphis to Shawn Lane's wake, held that same day, a very sad day.

But we still have the music; and it still makes us feel good. Here are a couple more mid-50's performers the youngsters may not have heard: Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent. The two of them toured England together and were seriously hurt in a taxi crash. Eddie died in that wreck. We can't revive these artists, but we can revive their music. They would so appreciate that. Click on....

I'll put Eddie up first with his most covered song, "Summertime Blues":



Here's Gene with my favorite of his, "Be-Bop-A-Lula":



Yes, there are more to herald. One from the Sun 50's era is still alive and a heck of a nice guy too, Billy Lee Riley. Here's a modern-day video of him doing his famous cover of Billy "The Kid" Emerson's "Red Hot." Watch, he can still do it. We get to hear him live several times a year here in Memphis. If you get a chance, you should too.