Dorsey William Burnette III (born May 8, 1953 in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, United States) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was part of the band

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

from 1987 to 1995. Burnette also had a brief career in acting.

Family background

The son of Dorsey Burnette and Alberta Burnette, Billy Burnette was born into a musical family. His father and his uncle

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny and his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison formed the band that became ...

(singer of the 1960 hits "Dreamin'" and " You're Sixteen") were two of the members of the 1950s band

The Rock and Roll Trio The Rock and Roll Trio were an American rockabilly group formed in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1950s. They were also known as "Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio" and the "Johnny Burnette Trio". The members of the Trio were Dorsey Bur ...

, which also included Paul Burlison. Johnny had a son named

Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burges ...

, born around the time as Billy, who also became a musician.

Music career

First recording

In the late 1950s, the Burnette family moved to Los Angeles, where his father and uncle worked with

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

. Nelson had hit songs with "

Believe What You Say "Believe What You Say" is a song written by Dorsey Burnette and Johnny Burnette and performed by Ricky Nelson. The song reached #4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, #6 on the R&B chart, and #10 on the country chart in 1958. The song appeared on his ...

", written by Dorsey Burnette and

, and " It's Late", written by Dorsey. Billy Burnette made his first recording when he was seven, appearing with Ricky Nelson on the song "Hey Daddy (I'm Gonna Tell Santa On You)" ( Dot, 1960). He toured with

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

while teaching himself to play guitar. After graduating from high school in 1969, his father took him to Memphis to meet record producer

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums li ...

, who had recently finished recording Presley's songs "

Suspicious Minds "Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was cut by Elvis Presley with producer Chips Moman, becoming a No. 1 song in 1969, and one of the most ...

" and " In the Ghetto". He went with Moman to Atlanta before going to Nashville in 1971 and collaborating with Larry Henley. In addition to songwriting, Burnette spent three years on the road as

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits " King of the Road", " Dang Me", and "Eng ...

's rhythm guitarist.

Early albums to 1980s

In 1972, Burnette signed with Entrance Records and recorded his debut album, ''Billy Burnette''. In 1979, he switched to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

and released his second album, again titled ''Billy Burnette''. His third album, ''Between Friends'' (Polydor, 1979), contained "What's a Little Love Between Friends", which charted briefly on the low end of the ''Billboard'' country chart. The album also had a cover version of "

(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was recorded by Redding twice in 1967, including once just three days before his death in a plane crash on December 10, 1967. Th ...

" by Otis Redding. After he signed with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

, he issued the third album to be called ''Billy Burnette'' (Columbia, 1980), his fourth album overall. The song "Don't Say No" reached No. 68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. " Honey Hush" and "Tear It Up" were performed by his father and uncle. "

One Night One Night or 1 Night may refer to: Film * ''One Night'' (2002 film), a film produced by Winchester Films * ''One Night'' (2005 film), an Iranian film directed by Niki Karimi * ''One Night'' (2007 film), a film featuring Christian Campbell and ...

" was a cover of an

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

song. Videos were made for the tracks "Don't Say No" and "In Just a Heartbeat". The album ''Gimme You'' followed in 1981. In 1985, Eddy Raven (" She's Gonna Win Your Heart") and

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

("Do I Ever Cross Your Mind") reached the charts with songs written by Burnette. Other artists who have sung his songs include

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

, the Everly Brothers,

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman ...

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

Charlie Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and professional baseball player. His greatest musical success came in the early to mid-1970s, when he was the best-selling performer for RCA Rec ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, " Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature in ...

, and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

. In 1986, Burnette released ''Soldier of Love''. The title track peaked at No. 54 and remained on the charts for seven weeks. He was nominated for Best New Male Vocalist by the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...

. In 1987, he wrote "(All I Can Do Is) Dream You" for

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

. Curb released its final Billy Burnette album, ''Brother to Brother'', a compilation with the title song added from the film '' Gleaming the Cube''.

Solo career, 1990s–present

In 1992, Burnette signed with

Capricorn Records Capricorn Records was an independent record label founded by Phil Walden and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia. Capricorn Records is often credited by music historians as creating the southern rock genre. History Label and studio foun ...

, which issued ''Coming Home''. Although "Nothing to Do (and All Night to Do It)" was not on the album, it reached the ''Billboard'' country chart. Many of the songs from ''Coming Home'' were featured in Burnette's acting debut in the film ''Saturday Night Special''. Between 1994 and 1998, he appeared in the films ''Not Like Us'', '' Carnosaur 3: Primal Species'', ''

Casper Meets Wendy ''Casper Meets Wendy'' is a 1998 American fantasy comedy film based on the Harvey Comics cartoon characters Casper the Friendly Ghost and Wendy the Good Little Witch. The film is a sequel to '' Casper: A Spirited Beginning'', and is the second ...

'', ''

Addams Family Reunion ''Addams Family Reunion'' is a 1998 American comedy horror film based on the characters from the cartoon created by cartoonist Charles Addams. Directed by Dave Payne, the film was intended to serve as a pilot for a new proposed television serie ...

'', and '' Richie Rich's Christmas Wish''. In 1999, he signed with Grand Avenue Records and released ''All Night Long''. ''Are You With Me Baby'', a rockabilly album, followed on the Free Falls Entertainment label. The album had one cover, "

". Between 2001 and 2005, he covered " Copperhead Road" by

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music ...

and "

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring ...

" by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

. He toured as a member of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's backup band and in 2005 became a member of

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was the lead s ...

's band. After a hiatus from solo albums, he released ''Memphis in Manhattan'' (2006), which was recorded live by

Chesky Records Chesky Records is a record company and label founded in 1978 by brothers David and Norman Chesky. The company produces high-definition recordings of music in a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, R&B, folk and world/ethnic. Ch ...

at St. Peter's Church in New York City. The album included cover versions of "

Everything Is Broken "Everything is Broken" is an uptempo rock song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, and released as the first single from his 1989 album ''Oh Mercy'', where it appears as the third track. It was later anthologized on the ...

" by Bob Dylan, " Oh Well by Fleetwood Mac, "Big Hunk of Love" by Elvis Presley, "It's Late" and "Tear It Up" by Rick Nelson, and " Bye Bye Love" by

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 193 ...

. In 2007, Burnett and Shawn Camp released a bluegrass tribute to Elvis Presley. The album featured thirteen songs previously recorded by Elvis, onto which Camp and Burnette added their vocals.

With Fleetwood Mac

Burnette met

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

during a taping of

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

's anniversary special. A few months later, Fleetwood invited him to join the band The Zoo. For the Zoo's album ''I'm Not Me'' (

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, 1983) Burnette sang lead vocals on "I'm Not Me"; "Angel Come Home", a Beach Boys song; "Gimme You", a cover of his own song; and "Tear It Up", written by his father. In 1982, the Zoo performed on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' as the backing band for

Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

, guitarist and singer for Fleetwood Mac. In 1984, Burnette co-wrote the song "So Excited" with Christine McVie, who sang and played keyboards in Fleetwood Mac. The song appeared on McVie's solo album, and Burnette appeared with her on MTV for ''Christine McVie: The Video Album''. He sang on the song "Are You Mine" with

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

, another Fleetwood Mac vocalist. The song was intended for Nicks's album ''Rock a Little'' but was not included. McVie and Fleetwood performed on Burnette's album ''Try Me'' ( Curb, 1985). Two songs cracked the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "Try Me" and "Ain't It Just Like Love" When Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac parted ways in 1987, Burnette and guitarist

Rick Vito Richard Francis (Rick) Vito (born October 13, 1949, in Darby, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American guitarist and singer. He was part of Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991. Vito took over as lead guitarist after Lindsey Buckingham left t ...

were asked to join the band. After the Shakin' the Cage tour, Fleetwood Mac released a ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album (1988), featuring two new songs with Burnette and Vito: " As Long as You Follow" and "No Questions Asked". For their next album, '' Behind the Mask'', Burnette wrote "Hard Feelings" and "When It Comes to Love" and co-wrote "In the Back of My Mind", "Do You Know", and "When the Sun Goes Down". Vito and Nicks left Fleetwood Mac at the end of 1991 and Christine McVie decided to retire from touring. Burnette helped Fleetwood Mac bassist

John McVie John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fle ...

with his first solo album. Burnette left Fleetwood Mac in early 1993 to pursue a solo and acting career. In 1994, Burnette reunited with Fleetwood Mac. The band featured two new members, vocalist

Bekka Bramlett Rebekka Ruth Lazone Bramlett (born April 19, 1968) is an American singer and session background singer. She is the daughter of Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, of the music duo Delaney & Bonnie. She has been a member of Mick Fleetwood's band the Z ...

and guitarist

Dave Mason David Thomas Mason (born 10 May 1946) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic. Over the course of his career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable pop and rock mu ...

. The band toured in 1994 and 1995, and then released the album ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' (1995) on October 10, 1995. Burnette wrote "Talkin' to My Heart" and "I Got It in for You" with

Deborah Allen Deborah Allen (born Deborah Lynn Thurmond on September 30, 1953) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Since 1976, Allen has issued 12 albums and charted 14 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart. She recorded the 1 ...

. With Bramlett he wrote "Dreamin' the Dream". After Fleetwood Mac went on hiatus in 1995, Burnette and Bramlett formed the country duo

Bekka & Billy Bekka & Billy was an American country music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Bekka Bramlett and Billy Burnette, who first worked together as members of Fleetwood Mac. Their eponymous debut album was released by Almo Sounds in April 1997. Whi ...

. They moved to Nashville and attracted the attention of producer

Garth Fundis Garth Fundis is an American country music record producer. Active since the 1970s, Fundis has produced albums for several country artists, including Alabama, Don Williams, Trisha Yearwood, Sugarland, and Keith Whitley. He has also served as a ...

. They released the album ''Bekka and Billy'' in 1997 but they broke up in 1998.

Discography

Albums

* ''Billy Burnette'' (Entrance, 1972) * ''Billy Burnette'' (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

, 1979) * ''Between Friends'' (Polydor, 1979) * ''Billy Burnette'' (

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, 1980) * ''Gimme You'' (Columbia, 1981) * ''Try Me'' ( Curb, 1985) * ''Soldier of Love'' (Curb, 1986) * ''Brother to Brother'' (Curb, 1988) * ''Coming Home'' ( Capricorn, 1993) * ''Bekka & Billy'' (

Almo Almo may refer to: * Almo (god), a river deity from Roman mythology * Almo, the ancient name for the River Almone near Rome (whence the name of the above deity) *Almo, Idaho, a town in the United States *Almo, Kentucky, a town in the United States ...

, 1997) (with

) * ''All Night Long'' (Grand Avenue, 1999) * ''Are You With Me Baby'' (Free Falls, 2000) * ''Memphis in Manhattan'' ( Chesky, 2006) * ''The Bluegrass Elvises, Volume 1'' (American Roots, 2007) (with Shawn Camp) * ''Rock & Roll With It'' (Rock & Roll With It, 2011) * ''Crazy Like Me'' (Rock & Roll With It, 2017) With Fleetwood Mac * ''

'' (WEA/Warner Bros., 1988) * '' Behind the Mask'' (WEA/Warner Bros, 1990) * ''25 Years: The Chain'' ( Warner Bros., 1992) * ''

'' (WEA/Warner Brothers, 1995) * ''

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac ''The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac'' is an enhanced compilation album released by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac in 2002 to promote their then-upcoming album '' Say You Will'' (2003). It was released as a double album in the US on 12 Oct ...

'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

, 2002) Other contributions * ''I'm Not Me'', Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, (

, 1984) * '' Just One of the Guys'' ( Elektra, 1985) * '' Summer School'' (

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

, 1986) * ''Homer and Eddie'' (Apache, 1989) * '' John McVie's "Gotta Band" with Lola Thomas'' (Warner Bros., 1992) * ''Bikers' Choice, Vol. 1'', Steel Cowboys (Intersound, 1999) * '' Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash'' (Dualtone, 2002) * '' In the Meantime'', Christine McVie (Koch, 2004)

Singles

Music videos

* "Don't Say No" (1980) * "In Just a Heartbeat" (1980) * "As Long As You Follow" (with Fleetwood Mac) (1988) * "In the Back of My Mind" (with Fleetwood Mac) (1990) * "Save Me" (with Fleetwood Mac) (1990) * "Skies the Limit" (with Fleetwood Mac) (1990) * "Love Shines" (with Fleetwood Mac) (1992) * "Nothin' to Do (And All Night to Do It)" (1992) * "Tangled Up in Texas" (1993) * "The Bigger the Love (The Harder the Fall)" (1993) * "Better Days" (as Bekka and Billy) (1997)

Filmography

* ''Fleetwood Mac – Tango in the Night'' (1987) as himself * ''Saturday Night Special'' (1994) as Travis * ''Not Like Us'' (1995) as Jody * '' Carnosaur 3: Primal Species'' (1995) as Furguson * ''

'' (1998) as a chef * ''

'' (1998) as a ballroom waiter * '' Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' (1998) as Nigel * ''John Fogerty – The Long Road Home in Concert'' (2006) as himself * ''John Fogerty – Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' (2008) as himself

References

External links

Rock-a-Billy Hall of Fame Biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnette, Billy 1953 births Living people Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Fleetwood Mac members American rock guitarists Rhythm guitarists American rockabilly guitarists American male guitarists American country rock singers American country singer-songwriters Resonator guitarists American male singer-songwriters American country guitarists Chesky Records artists Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists Singer-songwriters from Tennessee