Sonny Burgess, Rockabilly Music Pioneer, Dies In Little Rock

LITTLE ROCK, AR — Albert "Sonny" Burgess, who was an early pioneer of rockabilly music and a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, died in his native Arkansas at 88 years old.

Burgess died Friday in Little Rock, said the Dillinger Funeral Home in Newport.

Burgess was among a group of singers in the mid-1950s who mixed rhythm and blues with country and western music. The sound became known as rockabilly and included Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. (For more information on Burgess and other Arkansas stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Burgess eventually signed with Sun Records in Memphis, where Presley, Cash and Lewis were among the artists under contract.

Burgess also is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Funeral arrangements are pending. His cause of death was not released.

Photo credit: Mike Wintroath/Associated Press