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In mid-November, 1997, Rocky Burnette left his Southern California home for the flight to his birthcity of Memphis, Tennessee. He always loved every opportunity to return there. His cousin Billy has lived in Nashville now for over 10 years now. As Rocky looked out the airplane window he realized he was about to join his father's guitarist on his most extensive concert tour since those legendary days of the Johnny Burnette Rock 'n Roll Trio. His mind drifted off to thoughts of the Trio, Elvis Presley and others performing in their prime back in the 1950s, as a soundtrack automatically enlivened itself in his head. What fun it must have been. What fun this American tour with Paul would be . Then his thoughts touched upon something else he loved about Memphis, Bar-B-Q. He was met at Memphis International Airport by Paul Burlison, and the first thing they did was stop at Corky's for that Memphis Tennessee Woodpit Bar-B-Q pork sandwich with the cole slaw right in it with sauce ~ always his first stop in town. At Paul's home, Rocky was soon rockin' in rehearsals with two of his Holland bandmates (Robert Van Dristen & Marcel Verbass), Tim Sullivan and Paul. Then a week later they were on the road in Sweetfish Records' 28 foot motorhome to the November 27th opening of the tour's first leg in Minneapolis. Jack Knife & The Sharps were the first of the hot contemporary rockabilly bands to open for them on this tour, which also included Jack Smith, Josie Kreuzer & 209, and Kim Lenz & The Jaguars opening other bills. Although limited mostly to the smaller, more intimate crowds of nightclubs, they were soon blowing out the walls to the screaming, whistling cheers of enthusiastic audiences, and critical reviewers alike. "This class act opened with "Tear It Up" ...and the one hour and twenty minute set offered up by Burlison and band did just that. With Paul on his Telecaster and Rocky Burnette (Johnny's son) on vocals, we had the honor of reliving the "Rock 'N Roll Trio" experience once again. We listened in awe, as we heard classic rockabilly tunes performed exactly as they were recorded in the late 1950s. You could feel the energy in the air as Rocky respectfully performed several songs that his father had made famous," wrote Bob & Sonja Timmers on their ROCKABILLY HALL OF FAME Internet site after catching the show in Greenbay. It was a rare American opportunity that had Beatle Bob dancing the night away in St. Louis, while other musicians like Eric J. Kinsey quickly spread the word, "We just played with Paul Burlison in Indianapolis on Friday and guess what? He SMOKES! his band consists of Rocky Burnette, Two Dutch cats from a band called the Powerdogs and a singer from Arkansas Tim Sullivan. They were just great!!! I've seen my share of original RAB legends but Mr. Burlison takes the cake for sure. Rocky sounds amazingly like his dad on several tunes especially the mid-tempo stuff. Freakin' great! I even got to sing Johnny B. Good with them, though I was so nervous I forgot the words. If you get the chance, don't miss these guys... they were so on the money I can't even imagine what's gonna happen when they get to a really big city. Do yourself a favor. Yee-haww!!" In addition to some memorable jams, there were, of course, some now-amusing roadtrip horror stories. Leaving Greenbay, for example, Paul absent-mindedly filled the Cummings diesel engine Invader motorhome with gasoline. They got on the freeway and traveled about ten or fifteen minutes until the engine began sputtering and acting up. "We pulled over to what would have been the last exit for 20 to 30, maybe 40 miles. If we had missed that exit we could have been stuck in the middle of nowhere during a snowstorm," recalls Rocky. "Paul had just pulled up to the stop sign when the engine stalled. It wouldn't restart. Then Paul realized his mistake and said he might have put gasoline in instead of the diesel fuel. It was obvious he was embarrassed but wasn't trying to show it, so none of us said anything about it. We just sat there watching the snow fall for maybe up to an hour. We had no idea where the nearest phone was, but lucky for us a tow truck just happened by." "Paul and I went with the tow truck to the diesel company while the rest of band was left off at a diner. So I found myself there in the cold smelling diesel fumes for up to 5 hours, waiting for them to siphon the gasoline from all the lines before refilling it with diesel fuel. I ended up getting sicker than a dog. That also cost about four hundred dollars. But none of us had said anything about it yet to Paul," smiled Rocky, as he paused before continuing. "About an hour back on the road I was thinking about this when I remembered how a year before Dorsey's death, Uncle Dorsey, Billy and I were sitting on the porch at Paul's Mississippi farm, just across the street from Elvis' horse ranch, just watching fireflies when Paul broke the silence by saying 'Too rough for the cauliflower.' Dorsey laughed, but Billy and I didn't know what he was talking about until Paul told us the story about how each of the Rock 'n Roll Trio had to answer a question from Ted Mack on the three weeks they were winners on the show." "The first week my dad had answered how it was their first time in New York City and how much fun they were having. The second week Paul answered about how they missed their mothers' cooking. On the third week Ted Mack said he'd ask Dorsey if they'd ever return to boxing. Dorsey was going to say no because it was 'too rough on the ears and snout.' But instead Dorsey said it was 'too rough on the cauliflower' then got flustered and didn't say anything else as the audience laughed." "My dad, Paul and no one else said anything about it to Dorsey because it was obvious he was embarrassed. But when they got to their hotel, Paul broke a silence by asking, 'Too rough on the cauliflower?' Dorsey put him into a headlock and laughed, 'I knew you wouldn't let me get away with that!'" "So," Rocky concluded, "I decided to break the silence by just saying something like 'gas into the diesel tank' and we all laughed."
Sweetfish Records, a small independent with heart, did everything it could to promote both Paul's CD and that by Elvis' original bandmates, Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana, "All The King's Men." Along the tour, in-store promotions were scheduled with Rocky, Paul and the band making appearances at record stores. This could have also helped Rocky with sales of his "Tear It Up" CD except for Core Records' bankruptcy had stopped its distribution just after it had gotten two national picks. As the New York City date drew close, there was talk of an appearance on NBC TV's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" show, as well as an outside chance of an appearance on "Saturday Night Live." But despite some great action with "bullets" on Gavin's Americana radio charts, radio penetration was not what was desired. Philadelphia was one of the few major cities were "Train Kept A-Rollin'" also got radio play on the more mainstream "Alternative," and "Classic Rock" formats. Yet despite hitting Number 1 on WVLS and the Allegheny Mountain Radio Network, as well as Top Ten on the Americana radio station in Seattle and other communities, it was maybe too hard a rocker to break on more "Americana" radio stations, never allowing it to break into Gavin's national Top Ten action. Program Directors and DJs at more "mainstream" West Coast rock stations, such as KLOS in Los Angeles, told me they loved the remake, but they were just "waiting for a breakout" on conventional rock stations elsewhere. Sweetfish Records decided to wait till after the Holiday Season, then release "Lonesome Tears In My Eyes," featuring David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas and Conrad Rozano of Los Lobos, as a single from the CD. This was another Johnny Burnette Rock 'n Roll Trio original which even The Beatles had performed and recorded. It was a number which had a wider crossover "hit" appeal. So, with great optimism, the first leg finished with Rocky enjoying a triumphant return to Memphis just prior to Christmas. But, the second leg of the tour did not go as planned. Having left their gear at Paul's Memphis home, Robert and Marcel found themselves being deported back to Holland when they arrived at Memphis International Airport for the second half of the tour. This resulted with the cancellation of the New Orleans show, but luckily those were the only fans to be disappointed. Rocky was able to line-up Ronnie Dawson's rhythm section for the gig in Dallas, Texas, two days later. When a rainstorm damaged their electronic equipment four dates later in San Diego, Lee Rocker (Stray Cats), who was sharing the bill with them, was kind enough to let them use his band gear. And whereas it eventually became apparent that Sweetfish's legal eagles wouldn't be able to get the immigration mess straightened out in time for Robert and Marcel to rejoin the tour which would close with a "live" Mountain Stage radio concert taping at the Capitol Music Hall in West Virginia, Rocky was able to recruit the necessary musicians to provide him, Paul and Tim Sullivan with a solid rhythm section. The "Lonesome Tears In My Eyes" plans and the discussed NBC TV appearances, which soon even included the "Tonight" show with Jay Leno, did not materialize when it was realized that the obligations for Los Lobos prevented them from being available to help promote a single release.
Still both the CD and the American tour have provided some great times for many. By Hank Zevallos, Copyright (c) 1999
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After the initial round of considerations for the 1998 Grammy Awards, the "Train Kept A-Rollin'" CD was a serious contender for a Grammy nomination. But perhaps because of its limited radio exposure, more so than artistic merit, it fell short of getting the necessary votes.
