Paul Burlison (February 4, 1929 – September 27, 2003) was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

guitarist and a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. Burlison was born in Brownsville,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, where he was exposed to music at an early age. After a stint in the

United States Military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

, Burlison teamed up with

Johnny Johnny is an English language personal name. It is usually an affectionate diminutive of the masculine given name John (given name), John, but from the 16th century it has sometimes been a given name in its own right for males and, less commonly ...

and

Dorsey Burnette Dorsey William Burnett Jr. (December 28, 1932 – August 19, 1979) was an American early rockabilly singer. With his younger brother Johnny Burnette and a friend named Paul Burlison, he was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He is ...

to form The Rock and Roll Trio. The band released several singles, but failed to attain chart success. Paul is sometimes credited with being the first guitarist to intentionally record with a distorted electric guitar on the 1956 recordings, "Lonesome Train on a Lonesome Track" and "Honey Hush." The trio disbanded in the fall of 1957 and Burlison moved back to Tennessee to start a family. There he started his own electrical subcontracting business which he ran faithfully for twenty years, taking a break when the trio reunited in the early 1980s. He released his only solo album in 1997, which received positive reviews. Burlison remained active in the music scene until his death in 2003. Burlison and his family lived in Brownsville until 1937. During the floods of that year, miserable economic conditions prompted the Burlison family to move to Memphis,

. In 1938, his brother-in-law, Earl Brooks began to teach him to play the guitar. As well as learning Brooks'

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

influenced techniques, he also drew inspiration from watching Jesse Lee and Juanita Denson perform. Later, he would frequent the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

joints along

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, ...

. While he was still in high school, he would travel to the outskirts of West Memphis,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, to watch Chester Burnett ("

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

") play. Burlison also developed an interest in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and began training at the Dave Wells Community Center under the instruction of trainer, Jim Denson. He was to win the local welterweight championship, and was runner-up in the All-Navy Tournament 1947-48. Whilst competing in the 1949

Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves of America is an organization that promotes annual competitions of amateur boxing in the United States, in which winners are awarded a belt and a ring, and the title of national champion. The organization currently owns 30 fr ...

tournament, Denson introduced him to another young boxer,

would become a Golden Gloves welterweight champion. He had a younger brother,

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, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...

, who was a Golden Gloves lightweight champion fighter. Both brothers had a deep interest in music and it was through their mutual interest in both music and boxing that the three were to become close friends. Toward the end of the World War II, Paul Burlison was enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

(1946). He was only 17 years of age at the time and received an honorable discharge in 1949.

Formation of the trio

After his discharge, Burlison returned to Memphis, where he would subsequently begin a daytime job at Crown Electric Company as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

. Crown Electric would also employ

as a journeyman/electrician and a young man named

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

as a truck driver. Burlison did not lose his interest in music and he began picking up blues session work at a pre-Elvis

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

, where he recorded with various black artists, most notably

. He also found work playing with Clyde Leoppard and the Snearly Ranch Boys and he was also heard on the radio with Don Paul. Later, he would join the Shelby Follin Band, with whom he would play until 1954. For a few months he and band-mate Smokey Joe Baugh also performed with

on radio KWEM in West Memphis,

. Burlison began or renewed his friendship with the Burnette Brothers, depending upon which discharge date is correct. All three had an interest in music and in 1952 or 1953 they formed a group, which may have been called "The Rhythm Rangers" at that time.

sang the vocals and played acoustic guitar,

played bass and Burlison played lead guitar. It was during the early fifties that the group would play in and around Memphis at the local honkytonks. These were the days of the

jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...

and bop, and to keep the honkytonk managers happy without the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

, and to keep the patrons on the dance floor, the group would play an upbeat version of blues and country called rockabilly. In 1956, the three young men moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where they managed to get a contract with Coral Records and record their rockabilly music under the name The Rock and Roll Trio. The trio had five recording sessions between May and July 1956; two single records were released, one in June and the other in July 1956. Despite promotional appearances on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

, Steve Allen's Tonight Show and

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety show, variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical- ...

, these singles failed to make the charts. The trio then went on a summer tour with

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

and Gene Vincent, picking up a drummer, Tony Austin, who was a cousin of Carl Perkins on the way. On September 9, 1956, they appeared in the final of the Ted Mack

Original Amateur Hour ''The Original Amateur Hour'' is an American radio and television program. The show was a continuation of '' Major Bowes Amateur Hour'', which had been a radio staple from 1934 to 1945. Major Edward Bowes, the originator of the program and its ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. A third single was released in October 1956, but it failed to chart. In the fall of 1956, at a gig at

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

a fight broke out and Dorsey Burnette quit the group. He was rapidly replaced by Johnny Black, the brother of Elvis's bassist

Bill Black William Patton Black Jr. (September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill ...

. The revised line-up appeared in

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

's movie '' Rock, Rock, Rock'', where they mimed to "Lonesome Train (On A Lonesome Track)". This was released as a single in January 1957, but it failed to produce any chart success.

Brief hiatus

After a brief trip to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to join the Burnette Brothers, Burlison returned to Memphis and retired from the music business to start a family. In 1960, he also started his own electrical subcontracting company, "Safety Electrical" devoting his time and energy to his business and to his family for the next twenty years. His company was successful and in subsequent years, he also operated a mail-order business specializing in rare recordings. The Burnette brothers moved to

and continued to have sporadic success in the music industry until the end of the decade. In 1960, Johnny Burnette had two major hits as a solo artist with " Dreamin'" and " You're Sixteen," and Dorsey Burnette had Top 30 and Top 50 hits, again as a solo artist, with "Tall Oak Tree" and "Hey Little One". After "Dreamin'" had become a hit, Johnny Burnette offered Burlison a spot in his road band, but Burlison rejected this idea. By 1963, Johnny's career was in a decline and in an effort to revive it, he wanted to reprise some of the old material. So Burlison joined Johnny on a short swing through the Mid South after his regular guitarist broke two of his fingers. They even planned to go to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

together, but Burlison fell ill and he went back to Memphis and his contracting business.

Rock and roll revival

Paul Burlison returned to the music scene in the 1980s, first with Johnny Black and Tony Austin in a recreation of the trio. He also launched his own Rock-A-Billy record label to release Johnny Burnette's Rock and Roll Trio and Their Rockin' Friends from Memphis, an all-star tribute to the memories of Johnny and Dorsey Burnette featuring local legends like Eddie Bond, Jim Dickinson and Charlie Feathers. In 1986, Burlison joined the Sun Rhythm Section, an oldies group, which included amongst others D J Fontana, Elvis's former drummer. In 1990, he signed on with Rocky Burnette's rockabilly revival band.

Solo album

In 1997, Burlison cut his first ever solo album ''Train Kept A-Rollin on Sweetfish Records as a tribute to the Rock and Roll Trio. The album contained eleven tracks, three of which, " Train Kept A-Rollin'", "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes", and "Lonesome Train (on a Lonesome Track)", had been featured on the Rock and Roll Trio's original 1956 album. The album featured such guest artists as Rocky Burnette (Johnny's son), Billy Burnette (Dorsey's son) of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

, Rick Danko and Levon Helm of

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas, and Conrad Lozano of Los Lobos, Mavis Staples of

The Staple Singers The Staple Singers were an American Gospel music, gospel, soul music, soul, and Rhythm and blues, R&B singing group. Pops Staples, Roebuck "Pops" Staples (December 28, 1914 – December 19, 2000), the patriarch of the family, formed the group w ...

, and Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Death and legacy

Burlison died on September 27, 2003, in Horn Lake,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, after a long battle with

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. He was interred in Hinds Chapel Cemetery, Lake Cormorant,

. Rocky and Billy Burnette helped eulogize their fathers' bandmate at the funeral. Many guitarists have claimed to have been influenced by Paul Burlison. These include

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

and

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

. Additionally,

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

have played cover versions of The Rock and Roll Trio's hits, often with special emphasis on Burlison's guitar riffs.

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

of the

punk band The Cramps was influenced by his style, covering his track,"Tear it Up", whilst

Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

garage band Tav Falco's Panther Burns played his song "You're Undecided." Lemmy of

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1975 by bassist and lead vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, guitarist Larry Wallis and drummer Lucas Fox. Kilmister was the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band a ...

played "Train Kept a Rollin.'" Burlison was also a mentor to the Rockabilly band The Dempseys (Brad Birkedahl, "Slick" Joe Fick and Ron Perrone Jr). The Dempseys have had modest success around the world for their rockabilly style, honed around Memphis and alongside a willing mentor in Burlison. They also played Elvis Presley's band in the Oscar-winning film ''Walk the Line''. Burlison played on their first album, a cassette album recorded at Sam Phillips' Studios in Memphis, TN. He also was pictured on their first CD album, ''Drinking Songs for Your Grandparents'' and provided an introductory track, playing on a few more. That cover also pictured Cordell Jackson. Burlison's pioneering contribution to

rock-and-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

has been recognized by the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The original Rockabilly Hall of Fame was an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville ...

Biography

*Official Paul Burlison Homepage - For general information including boxing, early years and later years * https://www.webcitation.org/5kn4LeDyh?url=http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Arena/6527/PaulBurlison.htm *Paul Burlison by Howard A Dewitt. - Early years, Rock and Roll Trio, US Navy/1949 discharge date. * http://www.rockabillyhall.com/PaulBurlison.html *Paul Burlison by Jason Ankeny - For general information, personnel changes in The Rock and Roll Trio, US Army/1951 discharge date, later years. * https://archive.today/20130209182335/http://launch.yahoo.com/ar-270126-bio--Paul-Burlison *Dorsey Burnette by Bruce Eder – For 1951 induction date into the US Army. * https://archive.today/20130106030028/http://launch.yahoo.com/ar-269076-bio--Dorsey-Burnette *Paul Burlison, Train Kept A-Rollin' by The Black Cat for details of 1997 LP "The Train Kept A-Rollin. * http://www.rockabilly.nl/artists/index.htm *Paul Burlison: Train Kept A Rollin' -- extracted from Guitar Shop, 1997 – For details of Paul Burlison - Train Kept A Rollin' - 1997 - Sweetfish Records * https://web.archive.org/web/20051125021601/http://theband.hiof.no/albums/train_kept_a_rollin.html *Johnny Burnette's Rock 'n' Roll Trio – For early years, 1963 tour with Johnny Burnette and service in US Navy. No discharge date given but the wording implies 1949. * http://www.history-of-rock.com/burnettes.htm *Rock Billy Boogie/Johnny Burnette Trio by Colin Escott (

Sleeve notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the progra ...

to Bear Family CD BCD 15474. AH) - For details of Johnny Black, Tony Austin, 1963 tour with Johnny Burnette and 1951 discharge date from US Armed Forces *The Johnny & Dorsey Burnette Discography website by Gilles Vignal and Marc Alesina – For the name Rhythm Rangers * http://www.burnettebrothers.user.fr *Johnny and Dorsey/The Burnette Brothers by Adam Komorowski (Sleeve Notes to Rockstar CD RSRCD 005) – For Paul Burlison's 1957/1958 trip to California.

External links

*Burlison, Paul. "Remembering Guitarist Paul Burlison." Interview by Terry Gross (Philadelphia, 1987). Fresh Air with Terry Gross, rebroadcast 3 October 2003. https://www.npr.org/2003/10/03/1454083/remembering-guitarist-paul-burlison
Paul Burlison at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burlison, Paul 1929 births 2003 deaths American rockabilly musicians Songwriters from Tennessee Deaths from cancer in Mississippi People from Brownsville, Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee Military personnel from Missouri 20th-century American songwriters