Tear It Up (Johnny Burnette song)
| Johnny Burnette | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Joseph Burnette |
| Born |
March 25, 1934 Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Died | August 14, 1964 (aged 30) Clear Lake, California, United States |
| Genres | Rockabilly, rock and roll |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 1952–1964 |
| Labels | Capitol, Charly, Sahara, Liberty |
John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer-songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, he and his older brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their friend Paul Burlison formed the band that later was known as the Rock and Roll Trio.
He is the father of the 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.
Johnny Burnette was born to Willie May and Dorsey Burnett Sr. in Memphis, Tennessee. (The "e" at the end of his name was added later.) Johnny grew up with his parents and Dorsey Jr. in a public housing project in the Lauderdale Courts area of Memphis, which from 1948 until 1954 was also the home of Gladys and Vernon Presley and their son, Elvis.
Johnny attended the Blessed Sacrament Parochial School, and after graduating from the eighth grade he went to Catholic High School, in Memphis. (Early press reports, dating back to 1956, stated erroneously that Johnny attended Humes High School with Presley.) He showed an aptitude for sports, being on the school baseball team and playing linebacker on the football team. Both he and Dorsey were also keen amateur boxers and later became Golden Gloves champions. After leaving high school, Burnette tried his hand at becoming a professional boxer, but after one fight with a sixty-dollar purse and a broken nose or an encounter with Norris Ray, a top paycheck of $150, he decided to quit boxing. He went to work on barges traversing the Mississippi River, where Dorsey also worked. Johnny worked mainly as a deck hand; Dorsey worked as an oiler. After work they would go back to Memphis and perform songs in local bars with a varying array of sidemen, including another former Golden Gloves champion, Paul Burlison, whom Dorsey had met at an amateur boxing tournament in Memphis in 1949.
In 1952, the Burnette brothers and Burlison formed a group called the Rhythm Rangers. Johnny sang and played acoustic guitar, Dorsey played bass and Paul Burlison played lead guitar. For economic reasons, the three moved to New York in 1956 and managed to get an audition for Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. Winning the competition three times in a row gained them a place in the finals and a recording contract with Coral Records, and they renamed themselves the Rock and Roll Trio. They also gained a manager, the bandleader Henry Jerome, and a drummer, Tony Austin (a cousin of Carl Perkins).
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