The Rock and Roll Trio were an American rockabilly group formed in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1950s. They were also known as “Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio” and the “Johnny Burnette Trio”. The members of the Trio were Dorsey Burnette, his younger brother Johnny, and a friend Paul Burlison. Dorsey and Johnny Burnette were both natives of Memphis, having been born there in 1932 and 1934 respectively. Paul Burlison was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, in 1929, but moved to Memphis with his family in 1937. (More from Wikipedia)
“Train Kept A-Rollin’” is a jump blues song that was originally recorded by Tiny Bradshaw in 1951; the 1956 rockabilly recording of “Train Kept A-Rollin’” by the Johnny Burnette Trio is said to be the first rock and roll record to deliberately use distorted guitar. (The trio is also known as the Rock and Roll Trio but are not to be confused with the Johnny Johnson Trio, where Chuck Berry started out). This song even predates Link Wray’s “Rumble” in this regard (that instrumental came out in 1958), though Wray is still the man credited with bringing power chords to rock guitar.
(July 2013)
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To my mind, the musical form that became psychedelic rock was built on the growing availability of gimmicks and gizmos that could greatly affect the sound of musical instruments and vocals. I have already written of the 1956 rockabilly recording of “Train Kept A-Rollin’” by the Johnny Burnette Trio and the 1958 instrumental “Rumble” by Link Wray and His Ray Men that both used distortion to great effect.
(July 2015)
