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Biography
Albert Austin "Sonny" Burgess (born May 28, 1931, on a farm near Newport, Arkansas|Newport , Arkansas to Albert and Esta Burgess) is an United States|American rockabilly guitarist and singer .cite book | first= Paul | last= Du Noyer | year= 2003 | title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music | edition= 1st | publisher= Flame Tree Publishing | location= Fulham, London | isbn= 1-904041-96-5 | page= 18
In the early 1950s, Burgess played boogie woogie music in dance halls and bars around Newport. Burgess, Kern Kennedy, Johnny Ray Hubbard, and Gerald Jackson formed a boogie-woogie band they called the Rocky Road Ramblers. In 1954, following a stint in the United States Army|US Army (1951–53), Burgess re-formed the band, calling them the Moonlighters after the Silver Moon Club in Newport, where they performed regularly. After advice from record producer Sam Phillips , the group expanded to form the Pacers.
The band's first gramophone record|record was "We Wanna Boogie" in 1956 for Sun Records , in Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis , about 80 miles southeast of his birthplace. The flip side was "Red Headed Woman." Both were written by Burgess. The songs have been described as "among the most raucous, energy-filled recordings released during the first flowering of rock and roll." http://www.rockabillyhall.com/sonnyburgess.html "Sonny Burgess," Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Their onstage antics in performance were similarly described. Like other artists such as Ray Harris , Hayden Thompson, Billy Lee Riley and Warren Smith (singer)|Warren Smith , chart success largely eluded him.cite book | first= Paul | last= Du Noyer | year= 2003 | title= The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music | edition= 1st | publisher= Flame Tree Publishing | location= Fulham, London | isbn= 1-904041-96-5 | page= 19
Burgess disbanded the group in 1971 but later found a new audience in Europe . http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx? entryID=2491 "Sonny Burgess (1931–)", Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture .
Burgess was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of Europe in 1999. His group, now called The Legendary Pacers, was a hit that same year in a rockabilly concert in Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas , Nevada . It recorded Still Rockin’ and Rollin’ in 2000, voted the best new album in the country and roots field in Europe. http://www.angelfire.com/music3/legendarypacers/ "Sonny Burgess & The Legendary Pacers" The group was inducted in 2002 into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame .
Sonny Burgess & The Legendary Pacers performed at the 2006 National Folk Festival (USA)|National Folk Festival in Richmond, Virginia to large, enthusiastic audiences.
Burgess hosts a weekly radio program called We Wanna Boogie with co-host June Taylor. The program, named after his first record, airs Sunday nights from 5-7pm Central Time Zone (North America)|Central Time on KASU|91.9FM KASU in Jonesboro, Arkansas .
Personal life
Burgess graduated from Newport High School in 1948. Burgess has two brothers, and three sisters. Burgess was formerly married Joann Adams starting 1956, and they have two sons, Peyton and John. Between performances, Burgess lives in Newport.
The Razorback Rock & Roll Tapes (2003) (With Bobby Crafford)
Tear It Up! (2006)
Gijon Stomp! (2009)
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.sonnyburgess.com/homepage.html Official webpage
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html? res=9C07E7DA1239F934A1575BC0A960958260 Critical acclaim in 1996
http://www.wewannaboogie.org Radio program hosted by Sonny Burgess.
YouTube http://www.last.fm/music/Sonny+Burgess/+videos/+1-J24vrBYfmDk video of "We Wanna Boogie" with Sonny Burgess (and the Legendary Pacers? ) with pianist Kern Kennedy "playin at High Rockabilly 2005 (Spain)."
Persondata | NAME = Burgess, Sonny | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American rockabilly guitarist and singer | DATE OF BIRTH = May 28, 1931 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Newport, Arkansas|Newport , Arkansas , United States | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Sonny Category:1931 births Category:Living people Category:People from Jackson County, Arkansas Category:American country singers Category:American rock singers Category:Rockabilly musicians Category:Sun Records artists Category:Charly Records artists Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees
