James Burton

ONE OF THE GREAT rock'n'roll guitarists of the 1950s, but a man who remained virtually unknown to all but the cognoscenti until comparatively recently, is James Burton. His series of scintillating solos on Ricky Nelson's late '50s and early '60s hits must have resulted in many potential guitarists throwing in the towel when they heard the speed and the flow achieved by Burton, whose solos were never long, but perfectly concise and in complete serendipity with the requirements of each record.