Johnny Burnette and the Rock ‘n Roll Trio: The Train Kept a-Rollin'

Singer Johnny Burnette was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1934, and was a boyhood friend of Elvis Presley. Burnette and the Rock ‘n Roll Trio is often credited as the “pioneers” of rockabilly music.

The legendary album, “Rock and Roll Trio” (1988), is one of the finest collections of early rock and roll. The album collects the early singles of Burnette and the Trio and contains at least three masterpieces, “The Train Kept a-Rollin’,” “Honey Hush,” and “Lonesome Train.” The title of the song, “Rock Billy Boogie,” is believed to be the origin of the name given to this style of music, “rockabilly.”

Burnette scored pop hits in the Sixties without the Rock and Roll Trio, including “You’re Sixteen,” in 1960, but his best work was during the birth of rock and roll about five years earlier. Burnette died in a boating accident in 1964, at the age of 30.

Isaac Hayes: Hot Buttered Soul

Isaac Hayes had a long career as a soul songwriter and session musician prior to the launch of his own solo career in the early Seventies. Hayes was born in Covington, Tennessee, in 1942.

Hayes began his professional career as part of the Stax Records songwriting team of David Porter and Isaac Hayes that produced soul hits for Stax Records’ legendary roster of singers. The songs that Hayes and Porter produced for Stax include, “B-A-B-Y” by Carla Thomas, “I've Got to Love Somebody’s Baby” by Johnnie Taylor, and “Hold On! I'm Coming!” “You Got Me Hummin’,” “Soul Man,” and “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” by Sam and Dave.

Hayes recorded his first solo album, “Presenting Isaac Hayes,” in 1967. The album contained pleasant soul numbers, but it was a tame effort compared to what was to come. When Atlantic Records bought out the Stax Records catalogue in 1968, Hayes was under pressure to write and record new material to replace what had been lost. He hurled himself into the task and while producing material for other artists, he also came up with the material for his brilliant sophomore album, “Hot Buttered Soul,” one of the greatest soul albums ever recorded.

The album contained four superb tracks-all of which clocked in at least five minutes. Covers of Burt Bacharach’s “Walk on By” and Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I get to Phoenix” ran at 12 minutes and 18 and a half minutes, respectively. Hayes’ extended takes on these songs transcended the originals with their dreamy instrumental passages.

Hayes recorded two more fine albums in 1970, “The Isaac Hayes Movement” and “…To Be Continued.” Hayes’ excellent soundtrack for the film, “Shaft,” would appear in 1971 with the title track becoming a hit. Another quality Hayes album, “Black Moses,” would be released in 1971, featuring lush string accompaniments to soulful songs such as a cover of another Bacharach song, “Close to You,” and a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s “Man’s Temptation.”

Hayes would continue to record throughout the Seventies and sporadically in the Eighties with lesser results. Hayes died in 2008 having achieved the status of a master among soul music figures.

The man in chains

Roy Orbison: In Dreams

Roy Orbison was one of the early greats of rock and roll music who is now best remembered for his hit song, “Pretty Woman.” In the Fifties and early Sixties, however, Orbison had a slew of hits and was one of the most successful of the early rockers.

Orbison was born in Vernon, Texas, in 1936. By the late Fifties, Orbison had become a member of Sun Records’ legendary roster of musicians which included Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins. Sun Records had just recently lost Elvis Presley. Like Cash and Perkins, Orbison was a rockabilly performer in his earliest incarnation, recording the rockabilly classics, “Ooby Dooby,” “Trying to Get to You,” and “Go! Go! Go!”

By the Sixties, Orbison was recording for Monument and added pop ballads to his repertoire with the hits, “Only the Lonely,” “Running Scared,” and “Crying.” In 1964, Orbison would record his biggest hit, “Pretty Woman.”

Orbison would continue to record singles for the remainder of the Sixties and Seventies, but would not score another major hit. Orbison would become a member of The Traveling Willburys in the early Eighties along with Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Tom Petty.

Orbison’s best albums include, “Crying” (1962), “In Dreams” (1963), “Orbisongs” (1965), “Cry Softly Lonely One” (1967), “Roy Orbison’s Many Moods” (1969), and “Mystery Girl” (1989).