other songs together at local bars with a varying array of sidemen. Paul Burlison joined them after his discharge from the United States Armed Forces, and in 1952 or 1953, they formed a group, which may have been called The Rhythm Rangers at the time. Johnny Burnette sang the vocals and played acoustic guitar, Dorsey played bass, and Paul Burlison played lead guitar. The Rock and Roll Trio For economic reasons, in 1956, the three young men moved to New York City, where they got an audition with the Ted Mack on Original Amateur Hour. They won the competition three times in a row, which gained them a place in the finals and a recording contract with Coral Records and they officially became The Rock and Roll Trio. Promotional appearances were arranged on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, Steve Allen's Tonight Show and Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall, together with a summer tour with Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent. On September 9, 1956, they appeared as finalists in the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour at Madison Square Garden. Despite all of this activity, however, the three singles released over this period failed to make the national charts. To cover their living expenses, the Trio was forced to go on the road. This exhausting regime led to squabbles, which were exacerbated in Dorsey's case by Jerome's use of the name Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio on records and live dates. Things finally came to a head at a gig in Niagara Falls in the fall of 1956, when as a result of a fight, Dorsey quit the group a week before they were to appear in Alan Freed's film Rock, Rock, Rock. Johnny Burnette and Paul Burlison recruited Johnny Black, the brother of Elvis Presley's bassist Bill Black, to fill Dorsey's place, and the Trio completed their spot in the film. Despite the film appearance and three more single releases and one LP release, the group failed to achieve any chart success, and the Trio officially disbanded in the fall of 1957. 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). French researchers Giles Vignal and Marc Alesina place the demo session at the