Early life and career Burton was born in Dubberly in south
Webster Parish near
Minden, Louisiana, to Guy M. Burton (1909–2001) and the former Lola Poland (1914–2011), a native of rural Fryeburg in
Bienville Parish. She was the daughter of James and Althius Poland. Burton's wife is Louise Burton. Self-taught, Burton began playing guitar during childhood. He was hired to be part of the staff band for the popular
Louisiana Hayride radio show in Shreveport. While he was still a teenager, Burton left Shreveport for
Los Angeles, where he joined
Ricky Nelson's band. There, he made numerous recordings as a
session musician. Burton created and played the guitar riff on
Dale Hawkins 1957 hit song "
Susie Q", a record that would become one of
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. He had originally written the song as an instrumental before Hawkins wrote lyrics for it; Burton never received credit or royalties for his contributions to "Susie Q".
With Ricky Nelson, work as a session musician, and Shindig! Burton played guitar on the majority of
Ricky Nelson's songs recorded during the first 11 years of Nelson's career, beginning with his premiere at Master Recorders in Hollywood on November 18, 1957, for the classic "
Stood Up"/"
Waitin' in School" rockabilly single. At this time, Burton was relegated to rhythm as
Joe Maphis was still playing lead guitar for Nelson. In 1965 he started working on the television program
Shindig! which curtailed his touring with Nelson. The
Shindig! exposure led to recording session work with a variety of artists, mostly as an unattributed sideman. In 1966, he began focusing more on his work as a session guitarist. For the first season in Vegas in 1969, Burton played his red standard Telecaster. Shortly thereafter, he purchased the now familiar pink paisley custom Telecaster. Burton was not sure that Elvis would like it; however, since Elvis did, Burton used it for every show. While working with Elvis Presley, he also recorded a solo album,
The Guitar Sounds of James Burton, in 1971. He rejoined Denver in 1995 for the Wildlife Concert. When Denver died in 1997, Burton spoke at his memorial service in Aspen, Colorado.
Merle Haggard, In 1990, Burton moved back to his hometown of Shreveport permanently. Between 1998 and 2013, Burton played lead guitar in
Elvis: The Concert which reunited some of Presley's former TCB bandmates, background singers, and Presley's orchestral conductor Joe Guercio (mostly from the "concert years" 1969–1977) live on stage. In fall 2004, Burton recorded
Matt Lucas-Back in the Saddle Again, a sequel to the Matt Lucas album
The Chicago Sessions. The album features rockabilly and country music, and was released in May 2006 by Ten O Nine Records. In 2005, Burton started the annual James Burton International Guitar Festival to raise money for his charitable foundation. The festival is held in the Red River District of Shreveport. In 2007, he was inducted into the
Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in
Nashville, TN as a member of the L.A. session player group known as
The Wrecking Crew. In 2008, Burton was asked by
Brad Paisley to play on his upcoming album
Play: The Guitar Album. Burton was featured on an instrumental track called "Cluster Pluck", which also featured
Vince Gill,
Albert Lee,
Steve Wariner,
John Jorgenson,
Brent Mason, and
Redd Volkaert. At the
51st Grammy Awards in 2009, the song won Best Country Instrumental Performance. On July 15, 2010,
Rolling Stone Magazine announced that Eric Clapton and James Burton would provide guitars on the track "You Can Have Her" for Jerry Lee Lewis' album
Mean Old Man, scheduled for release in fall 2010. Burton also joined Jerry Lee Lewis on "Swinging Doors" on the same album. In 2011, Burton was named one of "Five Living Legends of Shreveport" by Danny Fox of
KWKH radio. however, no further tours with the TCB Band members were booked after this point. In March 2020, it was announced that Burton and producer
T-Bone Burnett were collaborating with
Jerry Lee Lewis and recording a new album of gospel covers. It was the first time Lewis had entered a recording studio following his stroke. , it is unknown how much progress was made with this gospel album, or if it was ever completed, as nothing from these sessions has been released; Lewis later recorded another gospel album with his cousin Jimmy Swaggart that was unrelated to the 2020 project with Burnett and Burton. In 2022 and early 2023, Burton was sidelined due to contracting the
coronavirus, being diagnosed with kidney cancer, and breaking his hip. In June 2023, Burton led an all-star group of guest musicians at the
London Palladium for a concert event named "James Burton & Friends: One Night Only". The event featured Burton joined by Sir
Brian May of
Queen,
Albert Lee,
Van Morrison,
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter,
Ronnie Wood, and Elvis Costello. In January 2024, Burton participated in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, riding on a Louisiana-themed float. Also in 2024, Burton was
inducted into the
Country Music Hall of Fame. ==Equipment and playing style==