Six-string brothers: Louisiana guitar slinger James Burton champions the timeless allure of Rick Nelson

Elvis Presley’s TCB Band guitarist James Burton thoroughly examines a lesser-known aspect of his illustrious career — supporting Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Rick Nelson onstage and in the recording studio from 1957–1968. Here a 24-year-old Nelson has all the girls swooning on the single 45 cover of “Mean Old World” b/w “When the Chips Are Down,” which criminally stalled at No. 96 POP when dropped during the onslaught of the British Invasion in March 1965. Image Credit: 45Cat user Okun69 / Universal Music Group

“Run over me, Ricky! Please, please, I love you, I love you!” During the height of Rick Nelson hysteria in the late ’50s and early ’60s, teenyboppers regularly screamed their intense, definitely ill-advised desires while the legendary singer-songwriter performed in cities across America and abroad. In an unprecedentedly wide-ranging interview, Master of Telecaster James Burton relives those heady days spent on the road and just about everywhere else with his longtime guitar compadre.

Achieving a staggering 26 Top 20 hits on the pop charts during a six-year period — more came later — Nelson is one of the best-loved purveyors of the archetypal rock ’n’ roll era, regularly scoring with ballads and rockabilly nuggets alike including “Believe What You Say”, “Lonesome Town”, “It’s Late”, “Hello Mary Lou”, “It’s Up to You”, and “Fools Rush In.”

Fellow luminaries John Fogerty, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Keith Richards sing the praises of the “Garden Party” songwriter’s effortlessly cool records ably supported by the distinctive string bending of Burton. In fact, the venerable Rolling Stone once famously uttered, “I didn’t buy Ricky Nelson records — I bought James Burton records.”