Biopic - Sonny Burgess, Bobby Crafford and The Legendary Pacers (Arkansas, USA): "They play the music of the 50's the best because they helped invent it!" (http://www.angelfire.com/music3/legendarypacers/bio_page1.htm). "Burgess was rockabilly's real wild child -- hootin' and hollerin' and flat-out screaming, pouncing off the stage in mid performance with the Pacers to lead the audience in Indian war dances and human pyramid-building, then jumping back on the bandstand and tearing up the fretboard. Which makes him a hero if you're into any kind of wild-ass rock and roll" (http://www.rockabilly.net/articles/burgess.shtml). It would seem, not much has changed, as Bobby Crafford's wife says, "My husband's in his 70s, but when he's on that bandstand he thinks he's in his 20s". In 1999 Sonny Burgess was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of Europe. The group were inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in Jackson, Tennessee in 2002; the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in 2007; and the Arkansas Walk of Fame in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2007.

Rock'n'Roll, as an era, began around 1955. Bobby first heard Rock'n'Roll on the radio. He lived in a small town where there was no live entertainment. When he was around 14, or 15 years old, he worked at a movie house, where he also saw "Rock Around the Clock". "That was the first time I heard white people play that sort of music". Late at night they had "an all black show" where you could see Rhythm and Blues artists, and dancing. One night Bobby stopped in front of a local black nightclub and listened to Louis Jordan ("Caldonia", "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie") and BB King ("Let the Good Times Roll"). These artists had a profound influence on Bobby, "most of what I sing is Rhythm and Blues".

Bobby Crafford from "Sonny Burgess and the Legendary Pacers at the International Rockabilly Festival 2008 in Jackson Tennessee

When Rock'n'Roll first started, "a lot of people were against the music. It wasn't until the late 50s that that went away. Most liked their music soft and easy. Maybe people didn't like it because it brought whites and blacks together, and there was still a lot of discrimination at that time".

In those days, there weren't the variety of radio stations you have now, and most were very local. Radio stations only played music for a few hours a day, and they generally went off air at 6pm. Then you had to tune in on your car radio, to Memphis or Nashville. These stations played till midnight, or 2am. The radio stations didn't just play music, there were all sorts of shows, even daily soap operas. It was easier to get stuff played on radio then, but "recording companies didn't promote their artists in the South, because there were so many small cities and local radio stations. After we cut a record at Sun [Studios], two of us would head South, and two North, to visit the DJs. You needed to go round in person, and impress them, if you wanted to get your record air time. There was a local Top 40 then, and one TV station in Memphis, and one in Arkansas".

Photo from Rickey Copeland

In the 50s you heard live music in nightclubs, and high school and college parties. "Every little town had a nightclub, and everyone would go. There was no TV and people were looking for something to do. It was routine to go to your local club". Once you had a record you may get to play in a theatre. Theatres often had bands on a Saturday afternoon. Bobby has a poster from a show at the time with Elvis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. The entry charge was $1.25.

"When we started out, we had a little PA you could fit in the trunk of a car, a small amp and microphone which we stuck in back of the piano, and a guitar amp. You had to go to a large city to find anything. The high schools had drums. I bought my first set from a high school. Drum sets were small in those days. We had a metal box made out of stainless steel  mounted on top of our green Cadillac to carry the drums and double base.  As the music got popular it was easier to buy equipment".

Bobby joined Sonny Burgess and The Pacers in August of 1957. They went on the road right away. In January they went to Canada. "Canada was the big place for Southern musicians. They had clubs you could play six nights a week, and get paid good money". In "1957 I got educated, because we started doing shows with Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison". They toured with Johnny Cash, Elvis (four times), Billy Lee Riley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. "The Sun [Studios] artists stuck together. The band had a big Cadillac and Roy Orbison would travel with us". They played to packed houses. In Birmingham Alabama, with Johnny Cash, they played to an audience of 25,000 people. "It was an eye-opener".

Bobby Crafford - video clip

Why do think Sonny Burgess and The Pacers 'made it'? What was different, or special, that others who failed to 'make it', lacked?

Two things helped us, the way we dressed. We always dressed sharp, and put on a show. They liked the music, but they also liked the show. There were not many bands then, so you had a good chance of 'making it', but you had 'to be at the right place at the right time', and prepared to take advantage of opportunities. At one time, Carl Perkins couldn't perform. He had a wreck, and they were laid-up. The Pacers got a call asking if we were ready to go. We were on another tour at the time, but we gave it up and joined Johnny Cash. It was a case of 'the right place, at the right time'. Also you've got to be playing what the people want to hear. You need to have personality, and you have to enjoy what you do, if you don't you're in the wrong business.

What was it like recording at Sun Studios?

I recorded with Sonny there, and at Phillips [Sam C Phillips Recording Studio, in Memphis, Tennessee]. The first time I saw a studio, was when we were recording. It was a shock. I was amazed at the equipment. It was so different, I didn't realize what was going on. It was a crazy feeling. We only did two or three takes. We played in a studio just like on a bandstand. A lot of people tighten-up when recording, but we don't like to be separated for recording. We do it all together like we're on a bandstand.

Signed photograph from Netolicky Collection

Biopic: Albert Austin "Sonny" Burgess (born May 28, 1931, on a farm near Newport, Arkansas) is a guitarist and singer of classic rockabilly music. 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 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 record was "We Wanna Boogie" in 1956 for Sun Records, in Memphis, about 60 miles east 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."^[1] Their onstage antics in performance were similarly described. Burgess disbanded the group in 1971 but later found a new audience in Europe.^[2]  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. It recorded Still Rockin' and Rollin' in 2000, voted the best new album in the country and roots field in Europe.^[3]. The group was inducted in 2002 into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Jackson, Tennessee. Sonny Burgess and The Legendary Pacers performed at the 2006 National Folk Festival in Richmond, Virginia to large, enthusiastic audiences. Sonny 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 on 91.9FM KASU in Jonesboro, Arkansas.
Extracted from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Burgess

Sonny Burgess grew up listening to Country Music[1] and Rhythm and Blues. In those days Rhythm and Blues was called "Race Music". It was played by black musicians. At the time, there wasn't much opportunity to hear live Rhythm and Blues in Newport, Arkansas[2]. 

"1955, when Elvis came along, everything changed, then there was Bill Haley and Blackboard Jungle with 'Rock Around the Clock', that started the Rock'n'roll craze". "I like fast music. Elvis' music really turned us on, so we wanted to get on Sun [Records]". "When we first got released on Sun Records we thought we'd reached the top of the world. Our first record with Sun was 'Red Headed Woman' and 'We Wanna Boogie' ".

"Sun Records didn't last too long, seven or eight years. It was like a shooting star, it burned bright for a short time. When Sam left, the magic went. Everyone tried to get on Sun, but Sam always wanted something different".

Sonny and Cecilia at the International Rockabilly Festival Jackson, Tennessee 2008

"At Sun we'd just go in. They'd say, 'what you got for us?' We played what we played in clubs that went well. We played like we had an audience. With 'Red Headed Woman' we only did three or four takes. That was it. Jerry Lee said, 'if I don't get it in the first two tries we go on to something else". They liked the music to have the feeling of playing live, "not over worked, when it's really clicking and feels good".

"My favourite record was 'Restless'. We recorded this when I started whistling. Sam Phillips thought, for about two months, it would be bigger than 'Blue Suede Shoes', but it went up, then stalled".

"Most of the people who recorded for Sam came from farms. People ask, why so many good musicians came from round Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee. It's not the water, we live a more laid back life. There was little radio, and no TV, and you didn't listen to radio much because your battery ran down".

It's great, "Sun Records has kept us playing for 50 years".

Sonny Burgess and The Legendary Pacers playing "Red Headed Woman" at the International Rockabilly Festival Jackson, Tennessee 2008

What do you see as the difference between early Rock'n'roll, and Rockabilly, music?

What I think of now as Rockabilly is a three or four piece band. Billy Lee Riley and my band were six piece bands. We  really weren't Rockabilly, we were Rock'n'roll. I remember Carl Perkins saying, "where did 'Rockabilly' come from?"

How would you describe the early Rock'n'roll sound? What made it different to other contemporary music genre?

Most of the music that came out the South was fast music, with drums, a little heavier beat, and a lot more energy. Country artists playing at the Grande Ole Opry weren't allowed to use drums at first. They didn't use brass instruments either. That came from Rhythm and Blues. Most of the black artists had big bands. The music made you feel good, like you want to dance. Elvis brought it all together, but Carl Perkins always had more of a black music sound than Elvis.

What was it like touring in the 50s and early 60s?

We wound up buying a green Cadillac stretch limo. It was fun. We got to meet all different people. I don't like travelling, but I love the playing.

Why do you think you guys "made it" where others couldn't get their careers off the ground?

We were a little different. Everybody had a sax player then. Jack Nance was a music major. He had an old trumpet. We had a trumpet, not a sax. That gave us a different sound.

Would you ever have expected to still be playing Rock'n'roll to such large audiences, and to still be in demand, this far down the track?

I never expected to be playing this long, and I need something to do.

Is the interest in Rock'n'roll and Rockabilly music growing, or diminishing, in the South?

There are young people getting into it. Not as many as in Europe, Japan and Australia. Here there's more Rap and some Blues and Country. But there're plenty of good young musicians here.

What do you see in the future for Rock'n'Roll music in the South?

I hope it doesn't die out. There's going to be a change. The first big change came out of the 40s with the Big Band era, then Rhythm and Blues, then Elvis came along and changed the whole face of music, then The Beatles then Michael Jackson. No one changed things as much as Elvis. Now it's repeats, no real change, but something's coming. Rockabilly will be like Blues. There'll be revivals.

Sonny Burgess and The Legendary Pacers with Travis Wammack playing "Tear it Up" at The International Rockabilly Festival in Jackson, Tennessee 2008.