A native of Minden, Lousiana, who grew up in the larger city of Shreveport, Burton was still a teenager when he began amazing listeners with his single-note melodies. A backup musician on the #Louisiana Hayride, he played guitar on Dale Hawkins' swamp-rock classic, Suzie Q. After briefly playing with Bob Luman, he moved to southern California, where he quickly hooked up with Nelson, with whom he worked until 1969.
Assembling a band for Elvis Presley in 1969, Burton worked with Presley until 1977. At the same time, he became a member of Gram Parsons' band, in the early-1970s, and continued to work with Parsons' girlfriend/vocalist Emmylou Harris and her Hot Band, after Parsons's death in 1973.
A highly demanded session player, Burton has appeared on albums by such artists as Randy Newman, Buffalo Springfield, Hoyt Axton and Judy Collins. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi