James Burton (born on this day) is still alive. He turns 85 today. He’s in every music Hall of Fame there is (just a couple months ago he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame). His style is so distinct you can tell it’s him even if you don’t know it’s him. He never really did anything else. He was a teenage kid when he started playing with the Louisiana Hayride house band. (See above pic). Things moved fast for him. Let’s discuss the fact that he wrote an instrumental song – which then had lyrics added to it – which was then recorded by a kid named Dale Hawkins, a little song called “Susie Q”. “Susie Q” didn’t take Dale Hawkins to the top, although the song is now recognized as one of the most important and influential tracks of the 1950s … mostly because of James Burton’s guitar lick. James Burton was 17 years old. It was the first time he ever recorded anything. Astonishing.
Burton never received credit for “Susie Q” OR royalties. Song construction is often a collaboration, and collaboration often means someone gets screwed.
Burton started so young. He left Louisiana and moved to Los Angeles, and he already had a great reputation among those who know about such things. He was 17, 18 years old. But if you heard “Susie Q”, the first thing you wanted to know was: “Who the hell is that on guitar?” Once in Los Angeles, he hooked up with THE teen idol of the moment, Ricky Nelson. He ended up playing with Ricky Nelson for over a decade. Nelson’s voice is so beautiful – perfect, really – and Burton’s guitar gave the songs a chug-chug urgency, unmistakable once you know Burton’s work. Like this, from 1958:
He was always at Ricky Nelson’s side, in concert and on The Ozzie and Harriet Show.
The solo in question really is a banger:
“I never bought a Ricky Nelson record. I bought a James Burton record.” — Keith Richards
Burton was also a busy studio musician, part of the legendary Wrecking Crew, and in this capacity he played with everyone. The Beach Boys. Glen Campbell. Judy Collins. The Monkees. Harry Nilsson. The Everly Brothers, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis … (in a career spanning 70 years, he also played with Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Tina Turner, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris … the list goes on and on.)
Burton is probably most well-known for his work with Elvis. He headed up Elvis’ “TCB” band in Elvis’ Vegas shows, starting in 1969 and lasting until Elvis’ death. Burton is always there, at Elvis’ side, grounding Elvis’ sound, digging into the dirt (“Polk Salad Annie”), but also providing lift-off. His sound is exhilarating. Elvis’ live performances are punctuated by the command: “Play it, James!”
I love shit like this: from the YouTube “reactor” community: a British guitarist “reacts” to James Burton. Art is eternal. It’s there for all of us, always. Don’t let the tech lords create memory holes, where we lose continuity with the past. We can learn from the past and appreciate it.
Burton plays (and has always played) a Fender Telecaster. Here’s a good article / interview with Burton (it’s old: thank goodness these things still live on the internet somewhere).
Keith Richards, scratching himself like he’s got fleas – it’s hilarious – inducts Johnnie Johnson and James Burton into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. “Two of the most incredible sidemen of all time … ”
There’s a lot of footage out there of Burton playing with different people, so it’s there if you want to go down the rabbit hole. I tripped over this clip, and was captivated:
And the following clip is pure BLISS. In 1987, Roy Orbison played The Coconut Grove club, and the lineup is insane. It’s basically Elvis’ Vegas band: Ronnie Tutt, Jerry Scheff, Glen Hardin and James Burton. Also on stage: Bruce Springsteen, and he and James Burton go back and forth, a round-robin of guitar “licks”. The sound is superb, just so rich and full and exciting. Testosterone-squared.
Back in 2013, I went to go see James Burton play (“Play it, James!”) at the Iridium in Manhattan. The night was absolutely magic: we were surrounded by the powerful friendly ghosts of the past, all the legends Burton played with, their fans packing the audience (and it wasn’t just a white-haired crowd. Obviously. I was there. The age range was like 20 to 80. LOVE THAT). The legends are even more present in their absence. You could FEEL them. There are some YouTube clips out there from that show. Here’s one: they’re playing “Milk Cow Blues Boggie”! (Wrote a massive piece about the different versions of this song.)
Charlie and I were right there, 10 feet from the stage.
These people aren’t going to be around forever. See them live while you still can. Burton got Covid, and also broke his hip. He’s in his mid-80s now. He’s still touring (when health allows). There was a London tribute concert last year – “James Burton and Friends”, where Burton was joined by Brian May, Ronnie Wood, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello and etc. Here they all play “Susie Q”, back to the genesis of it all.
If you see James Burton is playing at a club near you, even if it’s an hour away, GO. What the hell ELSE are you doing with your life? History lives in James Burton and every time he plays he passes it on.
