Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
NOTABLE ARKANSANS
He was born in Newport in 1929 with the name Albert, but was known by a family nickname his whole life. Two years after graduating from Newport High School in 1948, he and three friends formed a boogie-woogie band called the Rocky Road Ramblers, playing in different clubs in the Newport area, until he left to serve a two-year stint in the Army. He returned to Newport and re-formed the band, this time as a three-piece group (piano, upright “slap” bass, and his vocals and guitar), under the name the Moonlighters, and played honky-tonk music in local bars and clubs.
They opened a few times for a young up-and-coming singer named Elvis Presley, who sent them, in 1955, to Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis. Phillips listened to them and told them to add a few more players and come back with a fuller, more dynamic rockabilly sound. They completely rebranded themselves: adding another guitar, drums, and a trumpet, and renaming the band after a single-engine airplane, the Piper Pacer. After returning to Sun Records, they recorded “We Wanna Boogie,” with “Red Headed Woman” on the flip side. Both songs were immediate hits. The band developed a frenetic stage act, known for its energy, gyrating antics and daring acrobatics.
“We would sometimes play one song full blast for an hour, near the end of the night,” he said. They toured the country and had several appearances on “Steve’s Show,” a Little Rock dance party TV show hosted by Steve Stephens.
In 1972, they dissolved the band and he began working “a real job and playing a little music on the side.” But in 1986, he was invited to put a group together and appear on a show in Washington. His signature rockabilly style was a big hit. They took to the road, traveling the world and became a sensation in Europe.
A “legendary” version of his original Pacers was formed in 1998, for a Smithsonian Institution video called “Rockin’ on the River.” In 2014, he received the Delta Cultural Center’s Sonny Payne Award for Blues Excellence. In 2002 he was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and was presented the Folklife Award by the Arkansas Arts Council in 2016.
Who was this talented musician, who was granted an honorary Doctorate of Music from Arkansas State University in 2011?
Who was this talented musician, who was granted an honorary Doctorate of Music from Arkansas State University in 2011?
Albert “Sonny” Burgess