Dorsey Burnette - Move To California

Move To California

Colin Escott of Showtime Magazine states that during or after his stint with his own trio, Dorsey recorded a demo session with Fabor Robinson (owner of Fabor Records, co-owner of Abbott Records and sometime manager of Johnny Horton and Jim Reeves among others). French researchers Giles Vignal and Marc Alesina place the demo session at the Sun Records Studio in November 1956 and they have Dorsey being backed by Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison. "Let's Fall In Love" and four other tracks were cut, but all are believed to be lost. On November 24, 1956, Dorsey went to a session at the Fabor Studio in Malibu, California, where he cut four tracks, "The Devil Queen", "Let's Fall In Love", "At A Distance" and "Jungle Magic". These tracks were released as two singles, "Let's Fall in Love/The Devil's Queen" (Abbott 188-45) on November 24, 1956 and "Jungle Magic/At a Distance" (Abbott 190-45) on February 23, 1957. Fabor Robinson offered to place Dorsey on either the Louisiana Hayride or the Town Hall Party (the West Coast's leading country music showcase).

After moving to California, Dorsey found work as an electrician to make ends meet and began writing songs in his spare time. Once he had settled down, Dorsey sent for his family. By the fall of 1957, Johnny Burnette was now unemployed and he decided to try his luck on the West Coast. With a friend, Joe Campbell, he hitched a ride in a railroad boxcar out to Los Angeles, where they joined Dorsey. With their past differences forgotten, the brothers attempted to resurrect The Rock and Roll Trio by sending for Paul Burlison. He joined them briefly, but decided to return to Memphis and concentrate on his electrical business. Dorsey continued with his day job as an electrician to pay the family expenses, while he and Johnny continued with their song writing activities in their spare time.