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T Bone Burnett | |
|---|---|
 Burnett in 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Joseph Henry Burnett III (1948-01-14)January 14, 1948 (age 77) |
| Origin | Fort Worth,Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, bass |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Labels | |
Spouses | |
| Website | tboneburnett |
Joseph Henry "T Bone"Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an Americanrecord producer,guitarist, singer, andsongwriter.[1] He was a guitarist inBob Dylan's band during the 1970s. Burnett has won severalGrammy Awards for his work on film soundtracks, namelyO Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000),Cold Mountain (2004),Walk the Line (2005), andCrazy Heart (2010). He won another Grammy for producing the albumRaising Sand (2007), in which he united the contemporarybluegrass ofAlison Krauss with theblues rock ofLed Zeppelin lead vocalistRobert Plant.[2]
Burnett has been credited with early career mentorship of musical acts such asCounting Crows,Los Lobos,Sam Phillips, andGillian Welch, and with revitalizing the careers ofGregg Allman andRoy Orbison.[citation needed] He produced for television programs includingNashville andTrue Detective. He has released several solo studio albums as a producer, includingTooth of Crime (2008), which he wrote for a revival of thenamesake play bySam Shepard.
The only child of Joseph Henry Burnett Jr. and Hazel Perkins Burnett,[3] Burnett was born inSt. Louis,Missouri, in 1948, and raised inFort Worth,Texas.[4] His grandfather worked as secretary for theSouthern Baptist Convention. His father wanted to be a pro athlete and was courted by theBrooklyn Dodgers, but instead, he got a job in Fort Worth with theTandy Corporation. Burnett was brought up in theEpiscopal Church of his mother.
Burnett learned golf at an early age. When he was seven years old, he played at theTexas Christian University course. He idolized golf proBen Hogan, who was from Fort Worth. Burnett and the other boys occasionally watched him practice at thedriving range. Burnett was on the golf team atPaschal High School. In 2014 he participated in theprofessional tournament at Pebble Beach.[5]
Burnett discovered music through his parents' 78 RPMphonograph records ofLouis Armstrong,Count Basie,Duke Ellington,Ella Fitzgerald,Mahalia Jackson,Dinah Washington, and the songs ofCole Porter. He was drawn to music that took him to unconventional places, and he felt no compulsion to stick to one genre. He heardPeggy Lee,Hank Williams, andthe Beatles on the radio, was influenced byBuddy Holly, and reveredJohnny Cash. He was smitten by the music ofHowlin' Wolf,Skip James,the Stanley Brothers, andJimmy Reed.[5]
He also learned about music through his friend,Stephen Bruton. Bruton's father was a jazz drummer who owned a music store on theTexas Christian University campus, where the boys spent many weekends. Bruton, abanjoist, revealed his interest inbluegrass music andfield recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. Burnett was enamored with the live version of the song "Wrought Iron Rag" by theDixieland revival bandWilbur de Paris and His New New Orleans Jazz. The boys would sneak into clubs to hear bands.[5]: 12
At around the same age, Burnett picked up the guitar. Overwhelmed by seeing the Beatles onThe Ed Sullivan Show, he startedgarage bands with Bruton. After graduating from high school in 1965, they spent most of their time at Sound City, a recording studio in the basement of a radio station where Burnett became fascinated by recording. Forming the band The Loose Ends and adopting the stage name Jon T. Bone, Burnett wrote and recorded a 1966 single "Free Soul"/"He's A Nobody". The b-side briefly charted on local Fort Worth radio station KFJZ, and the single was picked up for national distribution byMala Records, though it made no national chart listings. A second Loose Ends single ("Dead End Kid"/"Verses") appeared onBell Records in 1967, but didn't chart regionally or nationally. This 1967 single was written and co-produced by Burnett (still using the alias "Jon T. Bone"), and was his first production credit. Still working as "Jon T. Bone", Burnett also produced or co-produced a handful of fairly obscure singles for other local acts in 1967/68.
Burnett's parents had divorced when he was in high school, and his father, with whom he was living, died in 1967. He attended Texas Christian University briefly, then dropped out to work as anartists and repertoire (A&R) agent.[5]: 13–15
Burnett (as J. Henry Burnett) produced and played drums on "Paralyzed", the novelty hit by theLegendary Stardust Cowboy.[6][5]: 16 He also worked as producer on other work by LSC as "Jay Burnett", and on an early single byJohn Nitzinger as "J. Burnett". As "Joseph Burnett", he then produced the only album by the pseudonymous group Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit, and Greenhill (The Unwritten Works of Geoffrey, Etc.). Though he was not a group member, Burnett contributed four songs to the album as a writer, and also appeared as a musician. (Uni, 1968).[7][5]: 17 Fairly consistently billed as J. Henry Burnett from mid-1968, he also continued to work as a producer for other local acts such as Crowd + 1 and The Third Avenue Blues Band.
Burnett moved to Los Angeles where he recorded and released (again as J. Henry Burnett)The B-52 Band & the Fabulous Skylarks (Uni, 1972), which had minimal commercial impact.[4][8] He continued producing the work of other artists, notablyDelbert McClinton. In 1975 and 1976, he toured with Bob Dylan'sRolling Thunder Revue.[4] By now, he was billed as T-Bone Burnett: the hyphen in T-Bone would be used though the 1970s into the mid-1980s, until Burnett decided on the spelling "T Bone".
When the Revue ended, Burnett and two other members of Dylan's band,David Mansfield andSteven Soles, formedThe Alpha Band,[4] which released three albums:The Alpha Band (1976),Spark in the Dark (1977), andThe Statue Makers of Hollywood (1978).[5]: 35–37
Burnett and singer-songwriterSam Phillips were married in 1989 and divorced in 2004. He produced many of her albums, includingMartinis & Bikinis andCruel Inventions.[3]
Burnett released several solo albums, although he did not score any major Hot 100 hits. In 1980, Burnett released his first post-Alpha Band solo album,Truth Decay, produced by Reggie Fisher, on theTakoma Records label.Truth Decay was aroots rock album described by theRolling Stone Record Guide as "mystic Christian blues". In 1982, hisTrap Door EP (also produced by Reggie Fisher), released onWarner Bros. Records, yielded the song "I Wish You Could Have Seen Her Dance". Burnett toured after the release ofTrap Door, opening several dates forThe Who, leading a band that featuredMick Ronson on guitar. His 1983 albumProof Through the Night,[1] whose song "When the Night Falls" got some FM airplay, and his 1987 albumThe Talking Animals were more in the vein of 1980snew wave music, while his self-titled 1986 album was an album of acousticcountry music. His 1992 albumThe Criminal Under My Own Hat tended towardadult album alternative music.
Proof Through the Night was reissued by Rhino Records' Handmade Music in a limited edition of 5,000 on May 29, 2007, in an expanded version. The double CD also included the EPsTrap Door andBehind the Trap Door.[9] In 2006, he released two albums.The True False Identity was his first album of new songs since 1992, andTwenty Twenty – The Essential T Bone Burnett was a 40-song career retrospective.
In 2019, he releasedThe Invisible Light: Acoustic Space withJay Bellerose andKeefus Ciancia, which was followed in 2022 byThe Invisible Light: Spells again with Bellerose and Ciancia, and in 2024 byThe Other Side featuringLucius,Steven Soles, andRosanne Cash.
Burnett's production credits includeHow Will the Wolf Survive? (Slash/Warner Bros., 1984) by Los Lobos,[1]King of America (Columbia, 1986) byElvis Costello,[5]: 220 Martinis & Bikinis (Virgin, 1994) andFan Dance (Nonesuch, 2001) by Sam Phillips,Raising Sand (Rounder, 2007) byRobert Plant andAlison Krauss,Life, Death, Love and Freedom (Hear Music, 2008) byJohn Mellencamp,The Diving Board (Capitol, 2015) byElton John,[5]: 221 and the soundtracksThe Big Lebowski,O Brother, Where Art Thou?,Cold Mountain, andCrazy Heart.[5]: 222
In 1985, Burnett collaborated with Elvis Costello on the single "The People's Limousine", using the moniker "The Coward Brothers".[1] (Burnett was identified in the credits as "Henry Coward"; the Coward Brothers personas would be very occasionally revived over the following decades, culminating in a full lengthCoward Brothers studio album in 2024.) In 1987, he producedRoy Orbison's two-record album,In Dreams: The Greatest Hits and two songs ofMystery Girl. Also in 1997, he wrote songs for theSam Shepard playThe Tooth of Crime: Second Dance, which premieredoff-Broadway in New York City withVincent D'Onofrio andKirk Acevedo. An album of these songs,Tooth of Crime, was released in May 2008, featuring guitaristMarc Ribot, Sam Phillips and David Poe, whose self-titled debut Burnett also produced that year. According to Burnett, he was inspired by the music ofSkip James while composing songs for the updated version of Shepard's play.[10]
In April 2006, he announced that his first concert tour in nearly two decades would begin on May 16 in Chicago atThe Vic Theatre. Around the same time, jazz singerCassandra Wilson released an album of blues songs,Thunderbird (2006), which was produced by Burnett. He wrote one of the album's songs and co-wrote another withEthan Coen. He produced music for the remake of the filmAll the King's Men.
In 2006, he producedBrandi Carlile'sThe Story album, the title song of which became a minor hit and was featured on a special broadcast of ABC-TV'sGrey's Anatomy. Carlile's guitarist and bassist, twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth, respectively, used instruments from Burnett's private collection during the "live" recordings inVancouver, British Columbia.
In early 2008,Pete Townshend announced that Burnett was to go into the studio that fall to help produce an all-covers album forThe Who.[11] However, on a May 15, 2008, episode of the NPR radio showAll Songs Considered, Burnett threw that project into question. He stated that Townshend had indicated in a blog that he was putting all his projects on hold.[12]
In 2009, Burnett produced albums forMoonalice andGrace Potter and the Nocturnals.[13] In that same year, he also produced Elvis Costello's albumSecret, Profane & Sugarcane as well as co-writing the song "Sulfur to Sugarcane" with Costello.[14]
Burnett produced a collaboration album byElton John andLeon Russell. John, Russell, andBernie Taupin (John's lyricist) wrote songs together in late 2009. The album,The Union, was recorded in January 2010 and released in October 2010.
In 2010, Burnett producedGregg Allman's albumLow Country Blues, released in January 2011.[15]
From 2010-2012 Burnett producedLisa Marie Presley's albumStorm & Grace, released May 15, 2012.
In 2014, Burnett producedPunch Brothers' fourth studio album,The Phosphorescent Blues, which was released in January 2015.[16]
In 2016, he produced the Italian bluesmanZucchero Fornaciari's albumBlack Cat.[citation needed]
In 2016, T Bone producedJupiter Calling bythe Corrs; a record that received mixed reviews, but encapsulated the core of their sound and songwriting ability.[17]
In July 2018, he producedSara Bareilles'Amidst the Chaos in Los Angeles.[citation needed]
Burnett played electric guitar on and produced six mid-2021 Bob Dylan recordings of "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," "The Times They Are A-Changin' (song)," "Simple Twist of Fate," "Gotta Serve Somebody," and "Not Dark Yet" intended to be auctioned or sold as unique Ionic Original recordings. "Blowin' in the Wind" was auctioned by Christie's in 2022 for almost $1.8 million[18] andMasters of War," "Simple Twist of Fate," and "Gotta Serve Somebody" were to be sold by Christie's through private sale in late 2023.[19]
Burnett also produced and wroteRingo Starr's January 2025 country music albumLook Up.[20]
In 2008, it was reported that Burnett "started a new venture calledCode, which aims to do for music whatTHX did for movie-theater sound: set standards that ensure the best possible quality."[21] He is opposed to the trend of brighter and morecompressed processing to such an extent that he largely retired from the music business around 1995–1996 and pursued an opportunity to work in theater with Sam Shepard, which led to his work on several films.[22]
The audio format known as Code involves the simultaneous release of multiple sound formats, thus avoiding much of the processing which happens when sound is converted from one format to another. The first album produced with Code wasLife, Death, Love and Freedom (2008) by John Mellencamp.[21]
In 1992, Burnett worked on some songs with his friendRiver Phoenix for the movieThe Thing Called Love. He was the coach ofSamantha Mathis.[citation needed]
In 2000, Burnett produced the soundtrack and wrote the score for theCoen Brothers filmO Brother, Where Art Thou?. The award-winning soundtrack featured music fromEmmylou Harris, Alison Krauss,Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch, and others performing traditional Americanfolk music,blues andbluegrass—reminiscent of Burnett's 1986 self-titled release. The album was a hit, garnering numerous industry awards from the Grammys, theAcademy of Country Music,[23] and theCountry Music Association.[citation needed] The album was a commercial success and sold almost eight million copies, according toBillboard.[24]
A documentary film,Down from the Mountain, was made of a benefit concert of the soundtrack performed by the artists on the album; Burnett figures prominently in the film. For producing the soundtrack albums for these two films, and for his wife Sam Phillips's albumFan Dance, Burnett won the 2002Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Burnett went on to produce the less populargospel soundtrack to the Coens'The Ladykillers.
In 2004, under the name "Henry Burnett", he arranged "I Wish My Baby Was Born" and wrote "Like a Songbird That Has Fallen" and "The Scarlet Tide" for the movieCold Mountain. "Scarlet Tide", co-written with Elvis Costello and performed by Alison Krauss, was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Song and won BAFTA'sAnthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music.
In 2005, he composed the score forWim Wenders' filmDon't Come Knocking.
In 2005, he worked with actorsJoaquin Phoenix andReese Witherspoon for their singing roles asJohnny Cash andJune Carter Cash in the filmWalk the Line. Witherspoon won theAcademy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film, giving special thanks to Burnett in her speech for "helping her realize her lifelong dream of being a country music singer". He also produced that film's soundtrack album and wrote its score.
In 2009, Burnett collaborated on music for the movieCrazy Heart, winning aGolden Globe, anAcademy Award, and aGrammy Award for the song "The Weary Kind", which he composed withRyan Bingham. Burnett was also a producer of the film, along withJeff Bridges andRobert Duvall.[25]
In 2012, he was the executive music producer forThe Hunger Games soundtrack, and wrote the track "Safe and Sound" himself.[citation needed] In 2013, he was the executive music producer for the Coen brothers' filmInside Llewyn Davis.[citation needed]
Burnett and singer-songwriterSam Phillips were married in 1989 and divorced in 2004.[3] He marriedCallie Khouri, the Oscar-winning screenwriter ofThelma & Louise and the creator of the television showNashville,in 2006.[5]: 195 He has two daughters.
With Bert Mathews, Burnett is the co-founder of Cloud Hill Partnership, a company that planned to redevelopHerschel Greer Stadium inNashville, Tennessee.[26] The proposed redevelopment of the 21-acre (8.5 ha) site included music and art space, a community center, open park space and affordable housing.[27] The Cloud Hill proposal was abandoned in January 2018 after archaeologists determined that undisturbed areas on the edge of the Greer property, but not part of the stadium itself, were the unmarked burial sites of slaves forced to build the adjacentFort Negley.[28]
In 2010, Burnett won several awards for the movieCrazy Heart. He andRyan Bingham shared the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Song for "The Weary Kind".[30] The song won them aCritics' Choice Award and won Burnett aSatellite Award from the International Press Academy. For the score, Burnett andStephen Bruton won an award fromLos Angeles Film Critics Association and Burnett won theFrederick Loewe award. He shared the award for Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards with the producers (Robert Duvall, Rob Carliner and Judy Cairo) and directorScott Cooper.[citation needed] He was awarded an honorary doctorate in performing arts from theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2019.[31]
| Album | Release date |
|---|---|
| The B-52 Band & the Fabulous Skylarks | 1972 |
| Truth Decay | 1980 |
| Trap Door | 1982 |
| Proof Through the Night | 1983 |
| Behind the Trap Door | 1984 |
| T-Bone Burnett | 1986 |
| The Talking Animals | 1987 |
| The Criminal Under My Own Hat | 1992 |
| The True False Identity | 2006 |
| Tooth of Crime | 2008 |
| T-Bone Burnett Presents The Speaking Clock Revue: Live from the Beacon Theatre | 2011 |
| A Place at the Table | 2013 |
| The Invisible Light: Acoustic Space withJay Bellerose andKeefus Ciancia | 2019 |
| The Invisible Light: Spells with Jay Bellerose and Keefus Ciancia | 2022 |
| The Other Side | 2024 |
| Album | Song | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson | Nothing in Return | 1990 |
| Until the End of the World | Humans from Earth | 1991 |
| Twenty Twenty – The Essential T Bone Burnett | 2006 |
| Album | Release date |
|---|---|
| The Statue Makers of Hollywood | 1978 |
| Spark in the Dark | 1977 |
| Alpha Band | 1976 |
| Project | Medium | Credit | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music from The American Epic Sessions | Television | Producer | 2017 |
| True Detective | Television | Producer | 2014 |
| Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the Music of Inside Llewyn Davis | Television | Producer | 2013[32] |
| Inside Llewyn Davis | Film | Executive Music Producer | 2013 |
| Nashville | Television | Executive Music Producer | 2012–2013[33] |
| The Hunger Games film score | Film | Executive Music Producer | March 26, 2012 |
| Tough Trade | Television | Executive producer, Music Producer, composer | 2010 |
| Crazy Heart | Film | Producer, songwriter, composer | December 19, 2009 |
| Across The Universe | Film | Music Producer | December 10, 2007 |
| All the King's Men | Film | Executive Music Producer | September 22, 2006 |
| Walk the Line | Film | Executive Music Producer, composer | November 18, 2005 |
| Don't Come Knocking | Film | Executive Music Producer, composer | August 25, 2005 |
| The Ladykillers | Film | Executive Music Producer | March 26, 2004 |
| Cold Mountain | Film | Executive Music Producer | December 25, 2003 |
| The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | Film | Composer | July 6, 2002 |
| O Brother, Where Art Thou? | Film | Music Producer, Original Music | December 22, 2000 |
| The Big Lebowski | Film | Musical Archivist | June 3, 1998 |
| Great Balls of Fire! | Film | Music producer, composer | June 29, 1989 |
| Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night | TV special | Musical Director | March 1, 1988 |
| Heaven's Gate | Film | Heaven's Gate Band (as T-Bone Burnett) | November 18, 1980 |
HE DON'T NEED YOUR ROCKING CHAIR: ((subsection title, allcaps in original)) At 87 years young, first-generation country and bluegrass star Ralph Stanley becomes the oldest living artist to score a top 20 entry on Top Country Albums, as Ralph Stanley & Friends: Man of Constant Sorrow bows at No. 14 with 3,000 copies sold. Previously that distinction belonged to comic legend George Burns, who reached No. 12 on the March 15, 1980 list with I Wish I Was Eighteen Again. Burns was 84 at the time. Stanley, a highly venerated and influential vocal and banjo stylist, won the 2002 Grammy Award for best country male vocal performance for a new version of Dock Boggs' traditional Appalachian folk ballad "O Death", recorded for theO Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. That set ruled Top Country Albums for a whopping 35 weeks in 2001-02 and has sold 7.9 million copies.
