Like a stick of dynamite with a short fuse, the Memphis-based Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio exploded in 1956. Fireworks on record were matched by brawls offstage between brothers Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, which blew up into the band’s demise.
The Complete Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio Recordings documents the band’s short but lively history. Working with producer Owen Bradley on 19 of the album’s 28 songs, Johnny (lead vocals, guitar), Dorsey (bass, vocals) and lead guitarist Paul Burlison performed with a passion to rival anything coming out of Sun Studios.
Their version of “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” stands as one of rockabilly’s epic achievements, thanks to Johnny’s go-for-broke vocal and Burlison’s distorted guitar imitating a locomotive. It’s a song that has influenced guitarists from Jeff Beck (who recorded it with the Yardbirds) to Dave Alvin (who incorporated it on his version of “Jubilee Train” on Interstate City).
“Tear It Up”, “Oh Baby Babe” and “Rock Therapy” established Johnny as rockabilly’s excitable boy with his exuberant vocals. The trio lowered the volume with “Lonesome Tears In My Eyes”, a ballad enlivened by Burlison’s Latin-like guitar fills. “Blues Stay Away From Me”, a cover of the Delmore Brothers hit, is a rare but effective example of the brothers’ harmonizing.
That harmony would be short-lived, as the band broke up shortly after the recordings were made. The Burnettes would have better luck as songwriters for Ricky Nelson (“Believe What You Say” and “It’s Late”) and as solo artists (“You’re Sixteen” for Johnny and “Tall Oak Tree” for Dorsey), but the Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio provided the foundation for those later successes.
