We encountered this well-coiffured scion earlier in my fathoms-deep dive into the discography of the late great Christine McVie.
Billy Burnette — son of Dorsey, nephew of Johnny, heir to their rockabilly bona fides since he was a child star touring with Brenda Lee — first entered the Macverse back in ’83 as a creature in Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo. For the oft-overlooked detour ‘I’m Not Me’ (see previous post) he provided plenty of fretwork and sang four numbers: the title track, a Beach Boys obscurity, his dad’s ditty ‘Tear It Up’ and his own tune, ‘Gimme You.’
That last one was originally on his second effort of the same name for Columbia Records in ’81, by which time Burnette had already put out four other albums — three of them self-titled! If only that were intentional à la Peter Gabriel’s initial solo stretch. Each was intended as another introduction to a career that couldn’t seem to achieve liftoff.
Apparently all he needed was a little Fleetwood Mac magic to rub off on him.
Playing in the Zoo, which also included a Christine cameo, led to backing Lindsey Buckingham on Saturday Night Live … that camaraderie spread to co-writing ‘So Excited’ with McVie for her eponymous ’84 LP and singing with Stevie Nicks (albeit on a song that got shelved) … and by ’85 he’d earned yet another contract, this time with MCA’s burgeoning country label Curb.
Try Me arrived about the same time Burnette scored songwriting success with hits for Ray Charles and Eddy Raven. Once ‘Soldier of Love’ dropped in ’86, he’d curried enough favor to snag an ACM nom for (oh the irony) best new male vocalist.
No wonder the rest of Mac turned to him as a Lindsey replacement after Buckingham split following Tango in the Night in ’87. I suspect Mick was the ultimate decision-maker, but Burnette couldn’t have had a more enthusiastic cheerleader than Christine McVie.
She’s in the Try Me mix repeatedly — but most notably on ‘It Ain’t Over,’ heartbroken denial wrapped in mellow gold. Would’ve made an intriguing B-side to Christine’s ‘Got a Hold on Me.’