Rocky Burnette
b. Jonathan Rocky Burnette, 12 June 1953, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Burnette was the son of pioneering rock ‘n’ roll trio member Johnny Burnette and nephew of fellow member Dorsey Burnette. Dorsey's son Billy Burnette (later a solo performer and member of Fleetwood Mac) was born within a few weeks of Rocky and some sources like to claim that Johnny and Dorsey coined the term Rockabilly in their honour. This does seem to be unlikely, however. Like his father, Rocky was a keen fisherman who claimed that when his father died in 1964 (drowned in a boating accident) he went fishing himself rather than attend the funeral. He had also been a close friend of Elvis Presley until his father had fallen out with him over a publishing deal, and the family had moved to California. He started out in the music business around 1967 as a teenage songwriter, working for Acuff-Rose publishers. His songs were later recorded by the Osmonds and David Cassidy for whom he wrote on a production line basis. After graduating in 1971 he studied theatre, cinematography and the Bible at college, before returning to music to release his first solo album for Curb in the early '70s, which was only available in the US. His one solo hit was Tired Of Toein The Line’, written in less than 20 minutes and recorded at Rockfield studios in Wales. A surprise hit on both sides of the Atlantic, he nevertheless declined to provide a follow-up. He re-emerged in 1982 with HEART STOPPER before putting together his New Rock N Roll Trio, which consisted of Paul Burlinson (bass, the only surviving member of original trio) and Johnny Black (brother of original Presley bass player Bill Black), and Tony Austin, to record GET HOT OR GO HOME at Sun Studios, Memphis.