James Burton Interview: Master of the Telecaster

by Dr. Matthew Warnock

First publication: July 10, 2009

To say that guitarist James Burton is busy would be a gross understatement. With his 70th birthday right around the corner, the Louisiana native shows no sign of slowing down. After a highly successful career as both a leader and a sideman spanning more than 50 years, most guitarists would be looking forward to hanging up the axe and enjoying some time off, but not Burton.

Having recently returned from performing in Holland with the TCB band, he’s busy preparing for the upcoming James Burton International Guitar Festival that takes place in Shreveport, Louisiana, August 21 – 23. The annual festival, which began in 2005, helps support Burton’s charity effort, The James Burton Foundation, and features a Who’s Who of the guitar world and a special concert by the “Wild Man of the Telecaster” himself on Saturday night.

This year’s fest will feature added excitement as Burton and company hope to break the world record for the most guitarists playing the same song at the same time. While breaking the record will be an enjoyable experience for both Burton and those participating, it will more importantly bring nationwide attention to the wonderful work he and his foundation are doing.

As of this interview, more than 4,000 children have received free guitars and instruction through the work of Burton’s charity. Anyone who would like to participate in this year’s world record attempt, to find the festival’s concert listings or to learn more about the foundation can visit Burton’s website.

With the list of guest performers for this year’s James Burton International Guitar Festival growing every day and the official lineup scheduled to be released in a matter of weeks, Burton is hitting his stride as he prepares for a busy summer of touring, running his foundation, preparing for the upcoming world record attempt and enjoying the rewards of one of the most successful guitar careers of all time.

******

Matt Warnock: How did you come up with the idea for the James Burton International Guitar Festival and when did it begin?

James Burton: I’ve always wanted to do a show called James and Friends. After being able to work with so many great artists over the years, I though it would be great to put on a show and invite a bunch of my friends to come play. This is how the idea came about and the first year we were able to put it together was back in 2005.

Matt: Is the concert connected to your charitable foundation and the work you do there as well?

James: Yes. I also wanted to use the concert as a way of giving back to the kids, as they’re going to be our future more sooner than later. I wanted to try and combine the two ideas, the concert and the kids, to put on a great event. They’ve been taking music out of the schools a lot more lately, especially guitar, so with my foundation I’ve been able to work with school boards to get guitars back into the hands of these kids who would otherwise not have had that opportunity.

Since that first year the foundation has now been able to give out over 4,000 guitars to kids and schools, and we’re still growing. We’ve also given guitars to kids at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Shriners and even been able to get guitars into the hands of some veterans, which was a really great thing for us to be able to do.

Matt: Was there a particular moment in your life that inspired you to take up this great charitable cause or was it something that you had always wanted to do and recently had the opportunity to act on?

James: I just think it’s such a wonderful thing to be able to help out the children. It gives them great discipline, learning the guitar, and a fun reason to go to school everyday. It’s also a good reason to not be on the streets and keeps them away from drug and alcohol situations, which can be really detrimental to many young peoples’ lives. I wanted to give them something that they could work on as an investment in their future and being able to play an instrument was the perfect choice for this.

Matt: Since the festival began in 2005 you’ve had all-star lineups every year.

James: I’ve been really lucky to have players such as Brad Paisley, Dr. John, Steven Seagal, Phil Keaggy, Muriel Anderson, Delbert McClinton, Jim Messina, Mark Farner, Brent Mason, Jeff Berlin, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Eric Johnson, Chris Isaac and many more perform over the years. Our headliner last year was Emmylou Harris and John Goodman was our M.C. and I just found out he’ll be back this year as well.

Matt: It seems like you try to provide a wide variety of guitarists who play a number of different musical genres.

James: We go for variety because I like all kinds of music and I think the public does too. It keeps things interested for the musicians and the audience. I like to bring in different artists each year because I’m planning on doing an upcoming reunion show that’s going to be a really great time.

Matt: Alongside the concerts at the festival this year you’re planning on breaking the world record for the most guitarists playing the same song at the same time in one place. What was the inspiration behind setting up this attempt?

James: My wife came up with the idea one day. I think at the time the record was somewhere around 1,803 people and my wife said, “Why don’t we try and break that record?” Over the years I’ve been blessed to work with so many great guitar players, and then with the charity stuff I’ve been doing lately I thought that it would be great to bring these kids and players together all in one place. And this seems like a great chance to do it and break the record at the same time.

Matt: Have you chosen a song yet for the world record attempt?

James: Well, this year is the 40th anniversary of the ’69 Elvis band and so I figured let’s pay tribute to the King and play something like “That’s All Right Mama” or “Hound Dog.” Something with three chords that would be easy for the kids to play and that everyone knows and loves. For those folks that want to come down and play at the world record attempt, they can get all of that information on my website or on the festival’s website.

Matt: It’s going to take place during the festival this year, is that correct?

James: It’s actually going to be on August 22, the day of the big show that weekend. My birthday is on the 21st, which is why I like to do the festival in August so we can all have a party that night to celebrate and then have the main show the following evening. This year, around 2 p.m. on the 22nd is when I believe we’re going to attempt the world record.

Then after we beat the record there’s going to be a V.I.P. party for everyone so that the kids and folks who came to play with us can meet and shake hands with all these wonderful players who are playing at the festival that night.

Matt: Switching gears a bit, you’ve always been known as the “Wild Man of the Telecaster” because of your love for that guitar over the years. What Tele are you playing these days, or do you have a number of different ones that you like to use on gigs?

James: I began talking with Fender about a signature Tele back in the ’70s and I believe the first one came out in the late ’70s or early ’80s. I was working with a great guy at Fender named Dan Smith, who’s retired now, but he really helped get that guitar together and make it happen like it did. Nowadays I’m playing the new version of that same signature Tele, the one with flames on it.

It’s got a five-way switch with three pickups and a push button boost in two different positions. The guitar also has the same neck as the pink paisley model I used in Elvis’ band. I just love that neck so we put it on the new signature model I use now. The neck on this guitar is a satin neck, it’s really nice and fast, with a blonde fretboard which I really like for the smoothness it provides.

I don’t really like rosewood, especially in the studio, because I want bends to sound smooth and not scratchy like they can be with darker woods.

Matt: What drew you to the Tele in the first place at a time when other guys were playing Strats or Gibsons?

James: I was 12 or 13 years old and I walked past the local music store and there in the window was a beautiful blonde Telecaster. It just caught my eye, man, so I ran home and told my parents about it. My dad took me down the next day to try it out, and we picked it up for I think around $300, which was an awful lot of money back in those days. Ever since then it’s been my life.

The good Lord blessed me with talent and He was my teacher. I’m self taught. I never took lessons, and I was truly blessed through my life, career and family and to be able to work with so many great entertainers over the years. It still blows me away. I think about sitting in the studio with Nat King Cole or Ray Charles or the Monkees, the Beach Boys or whoever. I just feel so blessed to have been able to play with these great musicians over the years.

Matt: Did you ever feel nervous about working with such big names in the business such as Elvis or Ray Charles or were you too busy having fun playing with them that you didn’t even worry about it?

James: No, I was just loving it. Music is my life and I love playing my instrument. I think playing with all these great musicians really helped broaden my style and my technique. It’s such a great feeling to go on stage with Merle Haggard and then be up there with John Denver or Graham Parsons the next night. These were all great experiences that really helped me develop as a musician.

Matt: You’ve also released a few albums on your own over the years that were very successful as well as all of the sideman gigs you’ve done.

James: Yes. I did a couple of albums—one called Corn Pickin’ and Slick Slidin and another called The Guitar Sounds of James Burton. That’s the one with me on the cover standing on the train tracks in Los Angeles. When I first got on board with A&M Records, who released the album, I told the guy there, “I don’t want to do pictures on the train tracks like Johnny Cash,” and I’ll be damned if they didn’t bring me to the train tracks on the first day for the photo shoot! [Laughs]

Matt: Do you have a preference for being a band leader or being a sideman or do you enjoy both roles as a guitarist?

James: I really enjoy both. I just want to be up on stage or in the studio making things happen, and if I’m the band leader, that’s great. If I’m working with another musician’s group, that’s great too. It’s all about making great music as often as I can.

Matt: You have many great things going on in your life – there’s the guitar festival, the charity, the tours you’re doing and the world record attempt. What else do you have on the burner that people should know about?

James: One of the things I’m working on that people are really going to enjoy is my book. It’s in the makings, and as soon as I can get it together and get it out there it’ll be great. I don’t have a deadline yet but it’s in the works.

I’ll also be going back on the road next year for the Elvis Presley on the Big Screen show that we did back in the late ’90s – we’re bringing it back. We’ll be touring England and Europe with the original cast.

It’s a great show because it features the band and the background singers on stage singing along with Elvis’ vocal tracks, which people really enjoy. I also have a gospel album that I’m trying to release that I’m really proud of and that I think has a lot of great music on it. Other than that, I’m just going to keep working with the kids and moving forward with my foundation.