THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

869-Hank C. Burnette-Spinning Rock Boogie.

1971- It didn’t chart in the UK until 1976, when it reached Number 21.

Best Bit-At 2.12. The song could only ever have been an instrumental, as no one could ever sing fast enough to keep up with the beat.

Hank C. Burnette was born Sven-Åke Kenneth Högberg, on December 12th, 1944, in Sveg, Sweden. His stage name came about in the early 1960’s when he, and his manager Larry Stevens chose, ‘Hank,’ in tribute to the American singer/songwriter ‘Hank Williams,’ (1923-1953) (see also best songs 555) the ‘C’ is in honour of the American Country Music singer ‘Chet Atkins,’ (1924-2001) and ‘Burnette,’ is an acknowledgement of the American ‘Rockabilly’ singer/songwriter ‘Johnny Burnette’ (1934-1964.)

It was seeing Elvis Presley (1935-1977) (see also best songs 954-664-442 and 194) perform on television that sealed a life in music for the young Sven-Ake Högberg, he has explained,’It was like a full blown tornado had hit me. This mean-eyed rebellious looking cat, with a sneer grin on his upper lip, dark greasy pompadour hairdo and sharp sideburns, accompanied by a big, boxy ‘Gibson J-200’ loosely slung over his right hip, really looked like…something, to put it mildly, and with a name like Elvis Presley, where the hell did he come from…outer space? And his music was, of course, nothing less than a cultural shock to me He, right there and then, totally changed my way of thinking, my way of performing, my way of playing and gave me my first genuine insight into what real down-to-earth, red hot rootsy ‘Rock Music’ was all about. And from then on it was goodbye nice boy crew cut manners and trifling accordion waste-o-rama, and hello greasy, mean eyed real gone red hot down to earth ‘Rock’N’Roll’ music that mattered and nothing else.’ Following the ‘revelation’ of seeing ‘Elvis,’ he formed his own five piece band, calling themselves ‘Teddy &The Teddy Bears,’ after the 1957 American Billboard Number 1, and UK Number 3 single ‘Teddy Bear,’ which had been recorded by Presley, ‘Teddy &The Teddy Bears,’ remained active until January 1960.

‘Spinning Rock Boogie’ was originally written by Hank C. Burnette in 1971, but it didn’t become a hit until 1976, when it was edited from it’s original four minutes plus, to just under three minutes, and heavily promoted by the ‘Sonet’ record label in Europe. It is said that over his career Hank C. Burnette has recorded well over 1000 songs, releasing many of them on Albums, compilation Albums, singles, and EP’s. He is best known for musically working in the ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll,’ and ‘Rockabilly’ genres, where he has been a leading figure. At the time of writing ‘Spinning Rock Boogie,’ remains his only charting single in the UK.

‘Rockabilly’ is an early style of ‘Rock’N’Roll’ music, that dates back to the early 1950’s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles, such as Country, with that of ‘Rhythm & Blues,’ leading to what is considered ‘classic’ ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll.’ Some have also described it as a blend of ‘Bluegrass’ with ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll.’ The term ‘Rockabilly’ itself is a blend of ‘Rock’ (from ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll”) and ‘Hillbilly,’ the latter is a reference to Country Music, which was often called ‘Hillbilly Music’ in the 1940’s and 1950’s that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on ‘Rockabilly’ include Western Swing, Boogie-Woogie, Jump Blues, and Electric Blues. One of the first written uses of the term ‘Rockabilly’ was in a press release describing Gene Vincent’s (1935-1971) ‘Be-Bop-A-Lula.’ (see also best songs 757.) Three weeks later, it was also used in a June 23rd, 1956, Billboard review of Ruckus Tyler’s “Rock Town Rock.’ The first record to contain the word ‘Rockabilly’ in a song title was ‘Rock a Billy Gal,’ by Haydon Thompson, which was released in November 1956. Johnny Burnette with the ‘Rock and Roll Trio’ had been playing a song called ‘Rock Billy Boogie’ since 1953, but they did not release it until 1957.

‘Can’t stop, a keep Rockin’ kid.’