Sonny Burns (September 19, 1930 – October21, 1992) was an unsung hero of honky tonk, a country singer who recorded a handful of outstanding sides but whose personal and professional peccadilloes prevented him from enjoying lasting success.
Sonny was born Clyde Burns Jr. in Lufkin, Texas, and his family relocated to Nacogdoches for several years before settling in Houston. Burns began playing guitar in his early teens, and by age 19 he was a regular on a local radio show hosted by Sleepy Bob Everson. Burns became a sideman for Texas country stars Eddie Noack and R.D. Hendon, but he put his career on hold to serve in the Air Force. After returning to civilian life, in 1953 Burns cut some demos accompanied by Noack that first led to a regional release on HJA Records, and then a record deal with the Beaumont, Texas-based label Starday Records. Burns' second release for Starday, "Too Hot to Handle," became a major hit in Texas upon its release in late 1953, and Burns soon released a follow-up single, "A Place for Girls Like You."
However, Burns' version of the song quickly fell off the charts when Faron Young cut a version that rose to the country Top Ten. Burns was a frequent guest on the Houston Hometown Jamboree show on KNUZ-AM, where he often shared the stage with George Jones,
Burns and Jones were said to have struck up a fast friendship, but Burns shared Jones' well-documented enthusiasm for alcohol, and also had a reputation as a womanizer; he became known for missing dates and frequently delivering sloppy performances, and after cutting a second single with Jones in the fall of 1954,
failed to show up for the recording session, so Jones cut the song without him, and "Why Baby Why" became his first chart success, and as Jones' star rose, Burns' began to sink.
Burns continued to cut fine sides for Starday, but he and the label parted ways in 1956, and it wasn't until 1959 that Burns recorded again, releasing a single on the tiny TNT label. In 1961, Burns re-emerged on United Artists, cutting seven singles for the label over the course of three years, but none were hits, and after recording some sessions for MGM in 1968 that were never released, Burns retired from music.
The hell-raising drinker and ladies' man had become a born-again Christian, and he returned to Nacogdoches, where he became a pastor at a local church and supported himself as a hair stylist. He died on October 21, 1992.
After his passing, his work was rediscovered by collectors of classic country sounds, and in 2010, Righteous Records released a collection of his Starday material, Satan's A Waitin'. A year later, the respected German reissue label Bear Family issued A Real Cool Cat: The Starday Recordings, which collected Burns' complete Starday repertoire including a number of unreleased recordings.
(Edited from AllMusic)
For “Sonny Burns - A Real Cool Cat - The Starday Recordings (Bear Family 2011)” go here:
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1 Powder And Paint 2:31
2 Too Hot To Handle 2:19
3 Tho' You're In My Arms 2:24
4 Blue, Blue Rain 2:27
5 Close Your Eyes 2:43
6 Another Woman Looking For A Man 2:12
7 I Ain't Long For This World 2:43
8 Just A Token 2:52
9 Think Again 2:29
10 You'll Look A Long, Long Time 2:24
11 It's Easier Said Than Done 2:36
12 A Real Cool Cat 2:05
13 Satan's A-Waitin' 2:35
14 Frown On The Moon 2:31
15 A Girl Of The Streets 2:38
16 Let's Change Sweethearts 2:08
17 Six Feet Of Earth 2:53
18 If You See My Baby 2:19
19 Invitations (To Your Wedding) 2:39
20 Heartbroken Me (with George Jones) 2:37
21 Waltzing With Sin 2:38
22 Tell Her 2:36
23 A Place For Girls Like You 2:43
24 Heart Like A Dollar Sign 2:37
25 It's So Easy To Love (But So Hard To Forget) 2:39
26 God Knows I Tried 2:30
27 Won't You Leave Him Alone 2:41
28 Wrong About You (with George Jones) 2:30
29 Remember And Regret 2:28
30 Tell Her 2:37
31 Another Woman Looking For A Man 2:17
This Bear Family release gathers together for the first time the complete Starday recordings of Sonny Burns - all ten original singles, plus eight unissued songs and alternate takes. Most have been transferred from the original master tapes, resulting in the finest sound quality ever for these recordings. Having been unfairly relegated to footnote status in the George Jones Story in all previous treatments, this CD proves that Sonny Burns had a formidable voice all his own.
For “Sonny Burns – The Devil's Disciple (Bear Family 2015)” go here:
https://krakenfiles.com/view/l7f8xo9rjE/file.html
1 I Sat Down On A Bear Trap 2:07
2 I Left One On The Bar 3:01
3 Leave The Leaving Up To Me 3:14
4 Spread My Wings And Fly 2:55
5 Bottom Of The Bottle 2:13
6 Leave The Door Open 2:09
7 Patches On My Heart 2:13
8 Blue House Painted White 2:43
9 Where No One Else Is Allowed 2:31
10 And Then Some 2:32
11 Take A Good Look 2:40
12 Bricks And Mortar 2:36
13 Devil's Disciple 2:32
14 I Just Slipped Your Mind 2:43
15 I'm Losing My Mind 2:46
16 Never, Never Land 2:17
17 Penny Love 2:34
18 Must I Leave It There 2:40
19 Room Next To Mine 2:39
20 Little Car Draggin' The Shoes 2:36
21 Leave The Leaving Up To Me (Alt) 3:51
Devil’s Disciple' begins in 1959, three years after Sonny's last Starday session, when, having in his own assessment hit rock bottom, Burns began to claw his way back onto the scene with a single for the San Antonio-based independent label TNT. Following from that record, this collections traces Burns' comeback through his 1961-63 recordings for United Artists and his final 1968 session for MGM, which was left unreleased at the time and finally sees the light of day here. Included are classic tracks like Blue House Painted White and Burns' telling recording of the title track, Johnny Bush's Devil's Disciple. Among the unissued MGM tracks from 1968 are two great Burns performances of songs written by the elusive East Tennessee country songster Jim Fagan, I Sat Down On A Bear Trap and I Left One On The Bar.
thank you so much for the Sonny Burns born
ReplyDeleteThank you for another unknown (to me) classic Country artist.
ReplyDeleteMark
Many thanks for Sonny Burns - A Real Cool Cat
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to checking this out over the weekend, thanks so much!
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