Kenneth C. Burns
Encyclopedia
Kenneth C. Burns was an American country music
ian, comedian, and mandolin
player. He was better known by his stage name Jethro from his years with Henry D. Haynes
as part of the comedic musical duo Homer and Jethro
beginning in 1936.
on March 10, 1920. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
when he was three. In 1936, he auditioned for a talent contest at Knoxville
radio station WNOX
where he met Henry Haynes, also 16. The two formed a duo and WNOX program director Lowell Blanchard gave them the stage names Homer and Jethro after forgetting their names on the air.
Burns was drafted into the US Army and served in Europe during World War II
and reunited with Haynes, who had served in the Pacific, in Knoxville in 1945. By 1947, the duo moved to Cincinnati
, Ohio
and were working at WLW on the station's Midwestern Hayride
. They signed with King Records
, where they worked as a house band and recorded singles on their own, and two years later signed with RCA Records
. The pair were fired along with other stars by new management at WLW in 1948, and after a brief tour, they moved to Springfield, Missouri
and performed on KWTO
with Chet Atkins
, the Carter Family and Slim Wilson
.
In 1949, they moved to Chicago, Illinois and played at the Chicago Theatre
. Between shows, they would go to WLS
to appear live on National Barn Dance
. While performing on WLS, Burns met and married his wife, Lois Johnson, who he called Gussie. Her sister Leona was married to Atkins.
In 1959, they won a Grammy for the best comedy performance in 1959 for "The Battle of Kookamonga", a parody of Johnny Horton
's "Battle of New Orleans".
Burns was a highly-influential mandolin stylist, preferring clean single-note jazzy melodies and sophisticated chords over the dominant bluegrass
stylings of Bill Monroe
, and since he performed mostly in a country music
setting, introduced many country mandolinists to sophisticated jazz harmonies and improvisational techniques, as well as standards from the songbooks of Duke Ellington
, Django Reinhardt
and Cole Porter
.
By the 1970s, Burns' influence had spread to a younger generation of bluegrass and "new-acoustic" musicians, most notably New Grass Revival mandolinist Sam Bush
. His participation in Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns
, an independently released album produced by promoter Hank Deane, was reportedly at Bush's suggestion. During that same decade, Burns' acquaintance with erstwhile bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman
led to Burns' writing a number of music/humor columns in the Grisman-published journal Mandolin World News. Grisman also produced a 1978 duet album on Kaleidoscope Records, Back to Back, featuring Burns and Western swing electric mandolinist Tiny Moore
. Although Burns and Moore were approximately the same age and were among the few of their generation to make their reputations playing jazz and swing mandolin, the two had never met prior to the production of the album, its liner notes report.
After Haynes died in 1971, Burns's regular musical partner was guitarist Ken Eidson, with whom he co-authored an influential mandolin method tome (Mel Bay's Complete Jethro Burns Mandolin Book, still in print), and they continued to perform as Homer and Jethro. After the partnership ended, Burns continued to play, most notably with Chicago folk singer
Steve Goodman
. He appeared on several of Goodman's albums and also toured nationally with him. At times he appeared in the Million Dollar Band
on TV's Hee Haw
with Atkins and swing fiddler Johnny Gimble
. He also became a master teacher of mandolin jazz. He died in 1989 from prostate cancer
in Evanston, Illinois
.
In 2001, Burns and Haynes were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The two RCA Victor albums showcased Homer and Jethro as jazz musicians rather than comedy kings. They didn't have wide commercial appeal, so the studio gave them a free hand to select material, arrange and improvise.
The RCA Camden LP was a budget release by a studio group with Wade Ray (overdubbed fiddles), Sonny Osborne
(banjo) and Homer and Jethro. Burns played jazzy interpretations of old-time fiddle standards.
Back to Back paired Burns with Western swing giant Moore and an all-star jazz rhythm section with Ron Carter
und Shelly Manne
.
The two ACD were recorded by Burns after his cancer was advancing; he and Stiernberg worked in an intimate setting to put as many of Burns' musical ideas on high-quality recordings for future generations to enjoy and for aspiring swing mandolinists (and guitarists) to learn from.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
ian, comedian, and mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
player. He was better known by his stage name Jethro from his years with Henry D. Haynes
Henry D. Haynes
Henry Doyle Haynes was an American entertainer who gained fame on radio and television as Homer of the country music comedy duo Homer and Jethro with Kenneth C. Burns for 35 years beginning in 1936.-Biography:...
as part of the comedic musical duo Homer and Jethro
Homer and Jethro
Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. Haynes and Kenneth C. Burns , popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical versions of popular songs...
beginning in 1936.
Biography
Burns was born Conasauga, TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
on March 10, 1920. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
when he was three. In 1936, he auditioned for a talent contest at Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
radio station WNOX
WNOX
WNOX is a radio station in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. It broadcasts a news-talk format.WNOX operates a 100,000-watt transmitter, located on Cross Mountain north of Briceville, Tennessee...
where he met Henry Haynes, also 16. The two formed a duo and WNOX program director Lowell Blanchard gave them the stage names Homer and Jethro after forgetting their names on the air.
Burns was drafted into the US Army and served in Europe during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and reunited with Haynes, who had served in the Pacific, in Knoxville in 1945. By 1947, the duo moved to Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and were working at WLW on the station's Midwestern Hayride
Midwestern Hayride
Midwestern Hayride, sometimes known as Midwest Hayride, was an American country music show originating in the 1930s from WLW-AM and later from WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio. During the 1950s it was carried nationally by NBC and then ABC television...
. They signed with King Records
King Records (USA)
King Records is an American record label, started in 1943 by Syd Nathan and originally headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.-History:At first it specialized in country music, at the time still known as "hillbilly music." King advertised, "If it's a King, It's a Hillbilly -- If it's a Hillbilly, it's a...
, where they worked as a house band and recorded singles on their own, and two years later signed with RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
. The pair were fired along with other stars by new management at WLW in 1948, and after a brief tour, they moved to Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
and performed on KWTO
KWTO
KWTO refers to two radio stations in Springfield, Missouri, USA. On AM, KWTO can be found at 560 kHz, where it airs a news-talk format. On FM, KWTO operates at 98.7 MHz and carries a sports talk format....
with Chet Atkins
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, the Carter Family and Slim Wilson
Slim Wilson
Clyde Carol Wilson , better known as Slim Wilson, was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and radio and TV personality who was a cornerstone of country music in the Ozarks for more than 50 years beginning in the 1930s; both in his own right, and as a member of The Goodwill Family and The...
.
In 1949, they moved to Chicago, Illinois and played at the Chicago Theatre
Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother...
. Between shows, they would go to WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
to appear live on National Barn Dance
National Barn Dance
National Barn Dance, broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the Grand Ole Opry...
. While performing on WLS, Burns met and married his wife, Lois Johnson, who he called Gussie. Her sister Leona was married to Atkins.
In 1959, they won a Grammy for the best comedy performance in 1959 for "The Battle of Kookamonga", a parody of Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton
John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
's "Battle of New Orleans".
Burns was a highly-influential mandolin stylist, preferring clean single-note jazzy melodies and sophisticated chords over the dominant bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
stylings of Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
, and since he performed mostly in a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
setting, introduced many country mandolinists to sophisticated jazz harmonies and improvisational techniques, as well as standards from the songbooks of Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
and Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
.
By the 1970s, Burns' influence had spread to a younger generation of bluegrass and "new-acoustic" musicians, most notably New Grass Revival mandolinist Sam Bush
Sam Bush
Sam Bush is an American bluegrass mandolin player considered an originator of the Newgrass style.- History :...
. His participation in Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns
Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns
Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns is a studio album recorded by American musicians Norman Blake, Tut Taylor, Sam Bush, Butch Robins, Vassar Clements, David Holland, and Jethro Burns. It was released in 1975.From Hank Deane's original liner...
, an independently released album produced by promoter Hank Deane, was reportedly at Bush's suggestion. During that same decade, Burns' acquaintance with erstwhile bluegrass mandolinist David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
led to Burns' writing a number of music/humor columns in the Grisman-published journal Mandolin World News. Grisman also produced a 1978 duet album on Kaleidoscope Records, Back to Back, featuring Burns and Western swing electric mandolinist Tiny Moore
Tiny Moore
Billie "Tiny" Moore was a Western swing musician who played the electric mandolin and fiddle with Western swing legend Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s....
. Although Burns and Moore were approximately the same age and were among the few of their generation to make their reputations playing jazz and swing mandolin, the two had never met prior to the production of the album, its liner notes report.
After Haynes died in 1971, Burns's regular musical partner was guitarist Ken Eidson, with whom he co-authored an influential mandolin method tome (Mel Bay's Complete Jethro Burns Mandolin Book, still in print), and they continued to perform as Homer and Jethro. After the partnership ended, Burns continued to play, most notably with Chicago folk singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
Steve Goodman
Steve Goodman
Steve Goodman was an American folk music singer-songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. The writer of "City of New Orleans", made popular by Arlo Guthrie, Goodman won two Grammy Awards.-Personal life:...
. He appeared on several of Goodman's albums and also toured nationally with him. At times he appeared in the Million Dollar Band
Million Dollar Band (country music group)
The Million Dollar Band was an all-star group of popular country musicians which often performed on the Hee Haw television variety show from August 1980 through November 1988....
on TV's Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
with Atkins and swing fiddler Johnny Gimble
Johnny Gimble
John Paul Gimble , better known as Johnny Gimble, is an American country musician associated with Western swing. He is an award-winning fiddle player and considered one of the most impressive fiddlers in the genre's history....
. He also became a master teacher of mandolin jazz. He died in 1989 from prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
.
In 2001, Burns and Haynes were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Recordings
Some of Burns' most influential recordings (in order of recording):- Bear Family BCD-15728AH Jazz From the HillsJazz From the HillsJazz From the Hills is an album by American guitarist Chet Atkins and The Country All-Stars. It is a reissue of sessions from 1952-1956.-History:...
, Country All Stars (reissue of sessions from 1952–1955); with Jerry ByrdJerry ByrdGerald Lester "Jerry" Byrd was an American musician who played Lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music.-Career:...
, Chet AtkinsChet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
, Henry D. Haynes, Dale Potter - RCA Victor Playing It Straight (1962), Homer and Jethro; reissued on CD by RCA Japan
- RCA Victor It Ain't Necessarily Square (1965?), Homer and Jethro; reissued on CD by RCA Japan
- RCA Camden Down Yonder and Other Old-Time Favorites (1967) by Wade Ray and the Country Fiddlers.
- FRC-653-CD "The Puritan Sessions" with swing fiddler Keith Coleman; cut originally for Puritan label in 1975, but not issued until 1998
- Flying Fish Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro BurnsNorman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro BurnsNorman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns is a studio album recorded by American musicians Norman Blake, Tut Taylor, Sam Bush, Butch Robins, Vassar Clements, David Holland, and Jethro Burns. It was released in 1975.From Hank Deane's original liner...
(1975) - Acoustic Disc ACD-60 Back to Back (originally 1979 on Kaleidescope), with Tiny Moore, Eldon Shamblin, Shelly Manne, Ray Browne
- Acoustic Disc ACD-15 Swing Low Sweet Mandolin (1987); with Don Stiernberg
- Acoustic Disc ACD-29 Bye Bye Blues (1987); with Don Stiernberg
The two RCA Victor albums showcased Homer and Jethro as jazz musicians rather than comedy kings. They didn't have wide commercial appeal, so the studio gave them a free hand to select material, arrange and improvise.
The RCA Camden LP was a budget release by a studio group with Wade Ray (overdubbed fiddles), Sonny Osborne
Sonny Osborne
Sonny Osborne is a bluegrass singer and five-string banjo player. A master of the style developed by Earl Scruggs, called the "Scruggs style", he is best known for his collaboration with his brother Bobby Osborne as the Osborne Brothers.-Biography:Sonny Osborne began playing the banjo at the age...
(banjo) and Homer and Jethro. Burns played jazzy interpretations of old-time fiddle standards.
Back to Back paired Burns with Western swing giant Moore and an all-star jazz rhythm section with Ron Carter
Ron Carter
Ron Carter is an American jazz double-bassist. His appearances on over 2,500 albums make him one of the most-recorded bassists in jazz history, along with Milt Hinton, Ray Brown and Leroy Vinnegar. Carter is also an acclaimed cellist who has recorded numerous times on that...
und Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne
Shelly Manne , born Sheldon Manne in New York City, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing...
.
The two ACD were recorded by Burns after his cancer was advancing; he and Stiernberg worked in an intimate setting to put as many of Burns' musical ideas on high-quality recordings for future generations to enjoy and for aspiring swing mandolinists (and guitarists) to learn from.