Rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess dead

Rockabilly icon Sonny Burgess has died, aged 88.
The singer and guitarist passed away on Friday (18Aug17) in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Burgess and his band the Pacers were huge in the 1950s, when they released hits like Red-Headed Woman on Sam Phillips’ Sun Records.
The guitarist performed at a Sam Phillips tribute concert at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee in 2015.
Phillips’ son Jerry paid tribute to the rockabilly star over the weekend, telling the Commercial Appeal in Memphis, “I always heard my dad say that Sonny was one of the outstanding guys he worked with.
“Sonny had a little bit of Howlin’ Wolf in his singing, and my dad really liked that. But Sonny was one of those guys who travelled the world, had a great long life, and had people who loved him all over the place. He’s going to be missed.”
Albert ‘Sonny’ Burgess was born in Newport, Arkansas, in May, 1929. He was a top baseball prospect in his youth but found early fame with dance band the Moonlighters after a stint in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
After performing with his future Sun Records labelmates Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley in the early 1950s, Burgess got serious about his music dreams and rechristened his band the Pacers.
The group performed into the 1960s and Burgess also hit the road as a member of country star Conway Twitty’s band.
By 1970, Burgess had had enough of the music business and he became a travelling salesman, occasionally performing with Sun Records stalwarts D.J. Fontana and Stan Kesler as the Sun Rhythm Section.
He recorded well-received new solo albums in the 1990s before reuniting the Pacers and touring the world.
Burgess and the Pacers are members of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of Europe.