The Rock and Roll Trio - The Rock and Roll Trio

It was at this time that the Burnettes and Burlison formally adopted the name of The Rock and Roll Trio. This was something of a compromise, which was reached after Johnny’s suggestion of the “Burnette Brothers” had been countered by Burlison’s suggestion of the ”Burlison Brothers”. They had already rejected the name, "the Rock and Roll Boys from Memphis”. Jerome also set up a corporation called Pajad (PA-ul, J-ohnny A-nd D-orsey) Enterprises in which the proceeds of their earnings were to be split equally for five years. Jerome placed the boys on salary and he would later cut himself in for composer’s royalties on some of the tunes, working under the pseudonym of “Al Mortimer”.

After signing with Coral, The Rock and Roll Trio were placed with A & R director Bob Thiele, who took them to the Pythian Temple in New York City for their first recording session. The Pythian Temple was a big, barn-like building with great echo, which was the perfect vehicle for a rockabilly sound. It was here that Bill Haley & His Comets had cut "Rock Around The Clock." It was said at the time that the ghosts of Perry Como, Vic Damone, Al Hibbler and others were etched in the building.

The first session was held on 7 May 1956, and before the session began, Johnny, Dorsey and Paul were surprised to find the 32-piece Dick Jacobs Orchestra sitting in the studio. They were to be paid the union scale of $41.25 each to sit and watch The Rock and Roll Trio perform their original rockabilly tunes. Only the drummer, Eddie Gray, who had his own little group called Eddie Gray and the Commanders, was used on the sessions. The session began with "Shattered Dreams", which was a George Motola tune. The Rock and Roll Trio didn't feel comfortable with it, and the results were considered unsuitable for commercial release. Bob Thiele had, however, listened to the early Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley recordings, and he talked to the boys about creating their own sound. He had decided that a sound awash in “treble” would be the key to success. He told Burlison to turn up the treble on the amp, which created a pinched, stinging tone to Paul's lead guitar. The rest of the session produced four songs, “Midnight Train”, "Tear It Up”, “Oh Baby Babe” and a reprise of the old Von cut “You’re Undecided”.

On May 26, 1956, Coral released the Trio’s first single "Tear It Up" backed with "You're Undecided" (Coral 61651), and they jumped into Dorsey's 1955 Ford for appearances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, Steve Allen's Tonight Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall. They were on their way as a touring act and ready to bring rockabilly into American homes. The record sold strongly in many markets, becoming a hit in Boston and Baltimore, but it failed to make the national charts. With only one single left in the can, Coral rushed Johnny, Paul and Dorsey back into the studio, but this time it was to be in Owen Bradley’s Studio at 804 16th Avenue South, Nashville, Tennessee, from July 2-5th 1956 and teamed up with Buddy Harman on drums for the full session and the great Grady Martin on guitar for July 5.

These sessions were judged to have been enormously successful, and on August 4, 1956, Coral released a second single: "Midnight Train" backed with "Oh, Baby Babe" (Coral 61675). This again failed to make the national charts, and without a hit record, the trio needed to play live dates in order to promote themselves and more particularly to earn money. During the summer of 1956, they toured with Ted Mack’s Touring show and with Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent. On September 9, 1956, they appeared on the final of the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour at Madison Square Garden, where amongst other songs, they played “Tear It Up” and “Hound Dog". As a result of this appearance, on October 13, 1956, Coral issued their third single, "The Train Kept A-Rollin’" backed with "Honey Hush" (Coral 616719), but again, it failed make the national charts.

Having used a drummer on their Nashville recording sessions, it was decided to add a drummer to their lineup. When the Trio told Carl Perkins that they were looking for a drummer, Perkins recommended his cousin Tony Austin, who had played a few dates with him around their hometown of Jackson, Tennessee before he had recruited W. S. Holland. Following Perkins’ recommendation, the Burnettes swung through to pick him up, and Austin became part of the group.

After Austin was hired, Henry Jerome started billing the group as Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio on live dates. This name was used on their first two singles, and on their third single they were known as The Johnny Burnette Trio. Dorsey was incensed by this as he had taken the lead on a few songs, including "Sweet Love On My Mind", "My Love You´re A Stranger" and "Blues Stay Away From Me". He wanted to retain the more democratic name “Rock and Roll Trio” despite the fact that the group was now a quartet. The band was constantly on the road, completing what seemed to be an endless stream of one night stands in order to cover their living expenses. This exhausting regime led to squabbles, which were exacerbated by lack of chart success. These squabbles finally came to a head at a gig in Niagara Falls in the Fall of 1956, where, after a fight, Dorsey quit the group and handed back his band uniform. This happened a week before the Trio were due to appear in Alan Freed’s movie Rock, Rock, Rock.