James Burton, the guitarist Elvis Presley trusted most on stage, has shared his memories of the man behind the legend. For eight years, Burton stood beside Elvis, answering the king’s call whenever he shouted, “Play it, James. ” Now at 85, Burton has opened up about what Elvis was truly like away from the spotlight. Burton’s musical journey began in DeBerry, Louisiana, where he never needed formal lessons.
By his teenage years, local musicians recognized something special in his playing. He eventually headed to Los Angeles, joining Ricky Nelson’s band and creating one of rock history’s most influential riffs on Dale Hawkins’s “Suzie Q” in 1957. Through the 1960s, Burton became a top session guitarist, working with Johnny Cash, the Everly Brothers, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, and Emmylou Harris. By 1969, Elvis Presley came calling.
The king was preparing his first live Las Vegas residency after years away from the stage and wanted Burton at the heart of his new band. Burton initially hesitated, having already turned down a chance to play the 1968 comeback special. But this was different. Elvis wanted him to help build something lasting.
Burton agreed and put together what became known as the TCB band, short for “taking care of business. ” Their chemistry was instant. Burton’s pink paisley Fender Telecaster became a visual trademark of Elvis’s Vegas era. Elvis loved the flashy guitar and trusted Burton’s instincts completely.
That trust went beyond music. Elvis saw his musicians as partners, not background players. Their partnership carried through hundreds of shows until June 26, 1977, when they played what became their final performance together in Indianapolis, Indiana. Neither man knew it would be their last show.
They exchanged their usual goodbyes, expecting another tour to come. On August 16, 1977, Elvis died at Graceland at age 42. He had been restless that morning with a toothache and insomnia. His fiancée, Ginger Alden, was the last person to see him alive.
He told her he was going to the bathroom, but hours passed before she found him unresponsive on the floor. Despite frantic efforts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital. The official cause was cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat. Those who knew his struggles understood that years of poor health, exhaustion, and heavy reliance on prescription drugs had taken their toll.
The news devastated Burton. Only weeks earlier, he had stood beside Elvis at their final show. He had expected more tours and more music. Instead, the king was gone.
But Burton’s career was far from over. After Elvis’s death, John Denver reached out. Burton joined him in the studio and soon other former TCB members like Glenn Hardin and Jerry Scheff followed. For the next 16 years, Burton became a cornerstone of Denver’s music, recording 12 albums and touring the world.
In 1995, Burton reunited with Denver for the Wildlife Concert. Just two years later, Denver died in a plane crash, and Burton lost another close companion. He spoke at Denver’s memorial service in Aspen, Colorado. Throughout the 1980s and 90s, Burton continued working with a wide range of artists.
He joined Emmylou Harris’s Hot Band, played with Merle Haggard and Rodney Crowell, and appeared in the legendary 1987 television special “Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night” alongside Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Tom Waits. In the 1990s, Burton moved back home to Shreveport, Louisiana. From 1998 to 2013, he performed in Elvis: The Concert, a unique show that reunited Elvis’s former bandmates on stage while synchronized video of Elvis played on screen. In 2005, Burton founded the James Burton International Guitar Festival in Shreveport, raising money for the James Burton Foundation, which provides guitars and music education to children, schools, and hospitals.
Burton faced serious health battles in his later years, including a stroke, kidney cancer, and a broken hip. In June 2023, after surviving COVID and months of recovery, he returned to the stage at the London Palladium for “James Burton and Friends,” joined by Brian May, Van Morrison, and Elvis Costello. In 2024, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Burton has always spoken of Elvis with warmth, describing him as kind, considerate, and deeply caring.
He remembered how Elvis asked about his band members’ families and made everyone feel valued. He recalled Elvis’s deep love of gospel music and the late-night jam sessions when the crowd was gone. Burton also remembered Elvis’s quiet generosity. Elvis paid off mortgages, donated cars and jewelry to strangers, supported St.
Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and gave $1,000 each to 50 Memphis charities every Christmas. After his death, the Elvis Presley Charitable Foundation was created in 1984 to continue that giving spirit, supporting housing for homeless families and scholarships at the University of Memphis. For Burton, Elvis Presley was never just an icon. He was family.
Even today, when Burton picks up his guitar, he carries a piece of Elvis with him. He has said that once you stood on stage beside Elvis, you never forgot it. Burton remembers not the king, but the man who smiled at him from across the stage and called out, “Play it, James.
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