Billy Burnette

Billy Burnette, born Dorsey William Burnette III, May 8th 1953 in Memphis, Tennessee is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1987 to 1995. He also had a brief career in acting. Burnette comes from a musical family, his father Dorsey was bassist and his uncle Johnny singer/guitarist in the Rock n Roll Trio. His cousin Rocky, also a musician, opened for Fleetwood Mac on their Tusk tour in 1979/80. Their names were combined to form the term 'rockabilly'.

Before Fleetwood Mac[]

Burnette's first live appearance was with Ricky Nelson at the age of seven. In his early adult life he played guitar on tour with the likes of Brenda Lee and Roger Miller. He released his first self-titled album in 1972 but did not begin releasing material regularly until 1979. He did however write for other artists including Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison. By 1986 he had released seven solo albums with various different labels and enjoyed two minor hit singles.

Early Mac connections[]

Burnette appeared on Mick Fleetwood's 1983 spin-off album I'm Not Me for, which he provided the title track, playing guitar and sharing lead vocals with other band members. The band, credited as Mick Fleetwood's Zoo, had also backed Lindsey Buckingham on an edition of Saturday Night Live in 1982.

The connection with Mac was solidified further when Burnette appeared on Christine McVie's self-titled 1984 album as a co-writer on the song So Excited. She and Mick Fleetwood both appeared on Burnette's 1985 album Try Me (which featured his own recording of the song I'm Not Me). He also recorded a duet with Stevie Nicks for her album Rock a Little (1985) of the song Are You Mine by Red Sovine but this was not included on the final cut.

Fleetwood Mac[]

With all this in view, Burnette was an obvious choice to join Fleetwood Mac after the departure of Lindsey Buckingham in 1987. He and lead guitarist Rick Vito were recruited just in time for the Shake the Cage tour, promoting the band's recent Tango in the Night album. Although Burnette had not yet recorded anything with the group he sang lead vocal on their live standards, Oh Well, Blue Letter and Go Your Own Way as well as singing Buckingham's parts on The Chain and World Turning.

The first recordings featuring Burnette (and Vito) to see release were the two new tracks on the 1988 Greatest Hits album. Their first full album with the group was Behind the Mask (1990) on which Burnette co-wrote five tracks: In the Back of My Mind, Hard Feelings and When It Comes To Love with outside writers, Do You Know with Christine McVie and When the Sun Goes Down with Rick Vito. The group seemed to go into flux as Nicks and Vito left at the end of the supporting tour and Christine McVie expressed a desire to leave although she was persuaded back albeit for studio purposes only. Burnette played on her songs Love Shines and Heart of Stone on the 1992 compilation 25 Years: The Chain. He also contributed guitar and songwriting to John McVie's spin-off project John McVie's Gotta Band with Lola Thomas the same year. In 1993 he released another solo album Coming Home.

In 1994 Fleetwood Mac played the opening concert for the 1994 World Cup along with new members Dave Mason (formerly of Traffic) and Bekka Bramlett (daughter of Delaney and Bonnie). Christine McVie did not participate in this or the subsequent Another Link in the Chain tour (1994-5) on which members found themselves having to sing old Mac material rather more than their own although Dreamin' the Dream, a Bramlett/Burnette co-write which also featured on the resulting album Time (1995).

Time saw Burnette play less of a role in the creative process. Besides, Dreamin' the Dream, he only contributed two compositions to the album, both written with outside writers and both sung in harmony with Bramlett. The commercial failure of the album saw Burnette, Bramlett and Mason handed their cards and the classic Fleetwood Mac line-up with Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks reformed in 1997.

Burnette and Bramlett continued for a short while as a duo releasing the album Bekka & Billy in 1997. This collaboration did not last long, although the pair remained friends and Burnette returned to his solo career shortly afterwards.

Burnette co-wrote the song Givin' it Back for Christine McVie's 2004 album In the Meantime. The first a lot of people knew of Lindsey Buckingham's dismissal from Fleetwood Mac in 2018 was when Burnette tweeted "Fleetwood Mac: Lindsey's out but I'm not in." The tweet was quickly deleted but sure enough a few weeks later, the new line-up of the band was announced with Neil Finn of Crowded House in Burnette's former rhythm guitar/vocals role.