Warm and Fuzzy

Wild personalities are as common in rock ‘n’ roll as the electric guitar. You could fill a book with colorful stories and faces, from the bravado of Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard to the exhibitionism of Jim Morrison to the rage of the Sex Pistols and outrageous antics of gloomy goth-rocker Marilyn Manson.

Paul Burlison will have none of life in the fast lane. Defying rock ‘n’ roll convention, the veteran rockabilly and roots-rock guitarist is more than happy to be nothing more than a hard-working family man.

Yet, as a member of Johnny Burnette’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, Burlison was the guitarist who pioneered the distorted, fuzz-tone sound in 1956 when the group recorded Tiny Bradshaw’s jump-blues hit, “Train Kept A-Rollin’.” He developed the influential effect quite by accident: He simply dropped his amplifier and knocked loose one of its tubes.

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The Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio, which also featured singer-guitarist Johnny Burnette and his bassist brother, Dorsey, only released a few singles during its brief run from 1953-57; none was a national hit, but they are regarded as some of the most fiery performances from rock’s early years.

Rather than despair over his band’s brief tenure, Burlison, who performs with his own four-piece band Sunday at the Blue Cafe in Long Beach, happily reacquainted himself with his family and carved out another career.

“I love playing music, and I had a good time in the ‘50s while on the road with the Burnettes,” Burlison said by phone from a tour stop in Dallas. “But I also enjoyed being home with my family for the next 20 years.

“Man, whenever the band left for the road, my [five] kids would look at me and cry . . . and it would just tear my heart out,” he said. “So I decided to stay with them. Now, I’ve got 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.”

Before hooking up with the Burnettes, Burlison worked with the greatest rockabilly singer of all: Elvis Presley. But it wasn’t a musical collaboration. In 1953-54, both were employed by Crown Electric Co. in Memphis; Elvis as a truck driver and stock boy, Burlison as a contract electrician.

That was the trade Burlison returned to--forming his own electrical business after the Rock ‘N’ Roll Trio called it quits.

“I became a workaholic to make my business succeed,” said the Tennessee native, who now lives on 82 acres in Horn Lake, Miss., a few miles south of Memphis. “I started out by myself, but after 12 years, I had six trucks and 18 men. Then I went into the house-building business. In fact, I’m still in it. As the saying goes, I never quit my day job.”

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Burlison has no regrets about his decision to shelve his rock ‘n’ roll career. In fact, one of his neighbors--Grant Marshall, Johnny Cash’s longtime bass player--admires the path he took.

“Grant used to tell me, ‘You don’t know how lucky you really are. You’ve cut records and had a home life too.’ He said he was gone a lot, and his kids really grew up without him,” said Burlison, who returned to the recording studio last year.

With guest appearances by Mavis Staples, Presley’s longtime drummer D.J. Fontana, Fabulous Thunderbirds singer Kim Wilson, Rocky and Billy Burnette (Johnny and Dorsey’s sons), plus members of the Band and Los Lobos, Burlison recorded his first solo record, “Train Kept A-Rollin”’ for the small Sweetfish Records label.

The 11-song collection includes five tunes from the ‘50s along with new songs written by Wilson, Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos), Jim Weider (the Band), the younger Burnettes and Burlison himself. The ensemble playing is clean and crisp, and Burlison’s chops are anything but moldy.

So what inspired him to strap on his black-and-white ’52 Telecaster and make more sweet-sounding racket?

“Oh sure, I missed playing, but I really got back into it only because all my kids had grown up and started families of their own,” he said with a Southern drawl. “Plus, my wife died of cancer five years ago. So really, there was no one--and nothing--to hold me back.”

Burlison tested the musical waters about two years ago at a benefit concert in New York City. In the crowd that night was Dan Griffin, an executive at Sweetfish, a roots-oriented indie-label based in Argyle, N.Y. Griffin was so impressed that he asked whether Burlison was interested in making a new record.

After agreeing to cut an album, Burlison said, he found no shortage of talented players willing to lend their help.

“Everyone was so generous with their time, it was just incredible,” he said. “I knew most of the guys from the road, and here-and-there. But those guys in Los Lobos . . . we just hit it off one night. I had just finished a show in Pennsylvania, and I was sittin’ at this hotel bar. Cesar [Rosas] and David [Hidalgo] came up to me, and the next thing I know, we’re singing together until 2 that morning.”

Currently backed by a four-piece band--including vocalist Rocky Burnette--Burlison is on an 18-city tour of the Southwest and West Coast. He turned 69 last week but said he feels like a kid again.

“This rockabilly revival . . . it’s so exciting, it’s almost like it was at the start of the ‘50s,” he said. “A lot of the fans, both young and old, are jumping up and down, burning off all this energy. When they’re excited, we play harder. We feed off of their enthusiasm.

“I just can’t think of anything I’ve missed in life,” he added. “I’ve never regretted not reaching the star status that others have. If I had five gold records on my wall, I couldn’t be any happier than I am right now.”

* Paul Burlison plays Sunday at the Blue Cafe, 210 Promenade, Long Beach. 9:30 p.m. $5. (562) 983-7111.