Sonny Burgess

Not to be confused with the first-generation rockabilly singer of the same name, Sonny Burgess is a Texas born and bred country singer who embraces a traditional sound that favors heartfelt weepers and toe-tapping honky tonk over revved-up tunes about beer and gals in cutoffs. Burgess was born in Cleburne, Texas, where he grew up in a household with <a href="spotify:artist:5vngPClqofybhPERIqQMYd">George Strait</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:4dZrt8Ong5t7YYpvbfp0RU">Chet Atkins</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1FClsNYBUoNFtGgzeG74dW">Hank Williams</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:6iOpZ3mUTWOjjER4mGcZmS">Roy Clark</a> in regular rotation on the family's stereo. By the time he was in second grade, Burgess was already hooked on music after performing at an event at his school, where he won the attention of his teachers, classmates, and a girl he liked. While Burgess had a natural talent for music, he also had a passion for sports: he was a quarterback on his school's football team as well as a pitcher on the baseball team, and he attended Trinity University on a baseball scholarship, where he studied biology and physical education. After graduation, Burgess played minor-league baseball for two years with an AA team, the San Antonio Dodgers, but he held on to his dream of making music and played local gigs while holding down odd jobs to support himself and his family. In time, Burgess won a following for his strong, sincere songs and easygoing performing style on the Texas honky tonk circuit, and in 2001, he self-released his first album, When in Texas. It was reissued in 2003 by the independent country label <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Music+City+Records%22">Music City Records</a>, and Burgess continued touring hard in support, appearing on the Grand Ol' Opry and once playing three separate concerts in a single day. A second long-player, Stronger, was released in 2005, which scored radio and video play for the song "The More I'm Around Some People (The More I Like My Dog)," and 2009's Have You Got a Song Like That spawned a pair of regional hits, "Cowboy Cool" and "Beer-I-Cide." Burgess' fourth album, All About the Ride, was released in 2012. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi