The first time I heard this song I was knocked out by that guitar sound. Not just the playing, but that incredible slapback echo that seems to jump right out of the speakers. You can buy countless pedals and plugins today that promise the same effect, but to my ears, nothing quite captures what they were doing in the 1950s. There is just something alive about it. I get all nerdy over this sound but I can’t help it.
The Johnny Burnette Trio was one of the wildest rockabilly bands of the era. They were formed by brothers Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, along with guitarist Paul Burlison; they blended country, rhythm and blues, and early rock into a raw sound. This song, recorded in 1956, became one of their signature recordings. It wasn’t a major hit at the time, but it became one of the defining records of rockabilly. Burlison’s guitar playing, along with Johnny Burnette’s vocal, gave the record an excitement that still comes across nearly seventy years later.
Paul Burlison always maintained that part of his distorted guitar sound happened because a tube in his amplifier had become loose during a rough drive to a studio. Rather than fixing it, he liked the gritty sound and kept playing. Whether every detail of that story is exactly as remembered has been debated over the years, but it’s one of rockabilly’s great legends. It helped point the way toward the distorted guitar sounds that became common in rock music years later.
I’m going to get a little technical on this subject…see nerdy again. One of the secrets behind that sound was the recording itself. In the 1950s, there were no digital effects and very few electronic echo units. Engineers often created an echo by using two tape machines. The signal was recorded on one machine and immediately played back on a second machine a fraction of a second later. By mixing the original signal with that of the delayed playback, they created the famous slapback echo that became a trademark of rockabilly. Studios also used echo chambers, actual rooms with a speaker at one end and a microphone at the other. The natural reflections inside the room produced reverb that sounded warm and real because it actually was. Every studio had its own sound, which is one reason records from that era have so much personality. You can tell if it’s a Stax or Motown by the sound in the sixties as well.
This song reminds me that sometimes limitations create the greatest music. The musicians couldn’t rely on technology to make a recording exciting. They had to play with energy, and the engineers had to invent ways to capture it. The result is a record that still sounds fresh today. If you want to hear rockabilly at its finest, with one of the greatest guitar sounds ever put on tape, this is a train well worth climbing aboard.
Below in the live cut, Johnny Black is on bass, filling in for Dorsey Burnette.
Lonesome Train
Lonesome train, on a lonesome track
I am goin’ away, ain’t comin’ back
I am goin’ somewhere far from my baby
On a lonesome train, on a lonesome track
A lonesome train, on a lonesome track
Got all my troubles in one big pack
My baby left me, so sad and lonely
On a lonesome train, on a lonesome track
Lonesome train, on a lonesome track
My girl don’t love me and that’s a fact
No use in livin’, no use in dyin’
On a lonesome train, on a lonesome track
On a lonesome train, on a lonesome track
I want my baby, I want her back
Don’t want to go on forever travelin’
On a lonesome train, on a lonesome track
