ElvisNews.com: James Burton Quiz

James Burton Quiz

You can now win tickets for the show by Mufkin Tass and James Burton in The Hague, The Netherlands on November 23! Just click the banner on our homepage and enter!

Updated: Oct 1, 2012

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paisley (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 5, 2012report abuse

I had the pleasure to see you and JB in concert in Verviers, Belgium, some years ago. And I must admit it was a FANTASTIC concert, because James had the opportunity to play many songs which are not related to Elvis. My impression was that he really let loose on many songs and had the chance to present the whole spectrum of his breath-taking guitar playing! He put a lot of energy and musicality in those songs. It was amazing to hear JB´s playing sound with a very different, almost "jazzy" feel. From a musical point of view, I was very thankful to hear different songs (as much as I love the Elvis songs)! Besides, the band was really great and gave the songs a very fresh approach!

Jerome (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 5, 2012report abuse

Let him play Johnny B Good.. Otherwise Unchained melody on the piano..

Mark S. (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

Don’t get me wrong: I love both “Suspicious Minds” and “Polk Salad Annie”! But James plays those songs every time he comes over. I personally would prefer to hear him do something different. I’m not very fond of the way Elvis treated his own classics in the seventies, so Jailhouse Rock wouldn’t be one of the tracks I’d choose to play with James.

Natha (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

Mark S., I love Suspicious Minds but have to admit I don't like it as much when others perform it. Basically as the end is always hopeless (that sing-along, yuck). And yes, Polk Salad Annie is one of my favorites, apart from practically all of Fifties Legacy (Jailhouse Rock on top).

Mark S. (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

Commoneverybody, I think that’s a problem every session player faces: in the end they’ll be known for the most famous artist they worked with. For JB that is Elvis, not…say…John Denver (for whom he worked longer). And, like I previously stated, at the time there were plenty of “Elvis” shows that featured James. In fact, whenever James is in Europe, 9 out of 10 times it’s for an Elvis-related event. As a musician, I took preference to the material he isn’t that well-known for and basically show there’s more to James than just Elvis. The band’ll start rehearsals this month. I’d love it if a song like “For Ole Times Sake” (with a beautiful acoustic guitar solo) will make the final cut. But in the end, a lot of Elvis fans (most?) want him to play “Suspicious Minds”…. The song we got the most requests for was “Polk Salad Annie” by the way…jeez...

commoneverybody (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

Ofcourse Mark, James did his thing with Ricky, and lots of others, but these days, besidse the Elvis-world, not a lot of people in Holland ( or Europe ) know who James Burton is . His name is attached with Elvis' .

Mark S. (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

We'll be doing more stuff this time around though :-)

Mark S. (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

The list on the poster is alphabetical folks. And the reason why we didn’t do any Elvis songs (well…we did Johnny B. and Gentle On My Mind every night and on one occasion Blue Suede Shoes (in Vlissingen) and You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (in Leeuwarden), but those were at the drop of a hat), was that our tour was crammed between an “Elvis The Concert”-tour and two TCB band shows with Bouke. There was enough Elvis going around at the time. And I don't think James became most famous for playing with Elvis. It may seem that way to us Elvis-fans, but James was already a star in his own right with Ricky Nelson.

Natha (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

Indeed, commoneverybody, you're quite right. And on the list ELVIS is at the bottom!

commoneverybody (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 2, 2012report abuse

I also saw the concert 2 years ago. The house was not packed, but the biggest dissapointmend was that James only played 1 (!!!) Elvis song.....as an encore. Despite the fact that many Elvis fans were in crowd. Vey strange. I know James played with many famous artists and groups, but he should have known that he became most famous because of Elvis, and nobody else.

Natha (profile/ contact) wrote on Oct 1, 2012report abuse

I was there when he was visiting the Northern part of The Netherlands. The whole program before his apprearance was terribly bleak. Hopelessly bad, so to speak. I at one point regretted to have spent the money or at least had come only at the point where James Burton stepped in. Because, yes, the very moment he jumped the stage and started to play it was like a pitch dark night without even a single distant star changed in a bright and sunny day. The youngster who joined me was flabbergasted! Now that was real music! I could not get this quiz started, yet if I have the time I will attend. Just to see and hear James Burton and his fabulous guitar pickin'.