Search - Johnny Burnette :: Best of Johnny Burnette

This One is Not "about" Rockabilly; Great Solo Hits

Eclectic Revisited | Arizona | 11/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, Mr. Mathena, Johnny Burnette and his bro were rockabilly pioneers but the Johnny Burnette Trio had no national hits and are best remembered only by rockabilly fans and music scholars. It is likely more money was made for them from royalties from later more successful groups who respected the "roots" of RNR and who did cover records of the Trio's work and moved on to other things. The Burnettes moved on too, to solo careers (except as a later largely unsuccessful duo). There's something in this package for everybody but for most of us the Johnny Burnette singles from 1960-61, "Dreamin'", "You're Sixteen", "Little Boy Sad", "Big Big World" and to a lesser degree, "I've Got a Lot of Things To Do". Teenage stuff but it made him a star. He'd also written teen stuff for Ricky Nelson ("It's Late" to name one). 1963 and 1964 produced no major hits for him and tragically he was killed in a boating accident in 1964 near Memphis, just as the British Invasion was going into full force. His singles were memorable and by the time they came along, he and others had all but abandoned rockabilly, excluding some failed rockabilly fanatics who worship the old Trio. Thumbs up."