Born in Arkansas, Billy Don Burns relocated to Palm Desert, California, during 1970 once his service in the United States Army had concluded. He joined a publishing company and secured placements for several compositions before shifting his base to Nashville in 1972. Lynn Owsley assisted him in securing lodging at a musicians’ boarding house and frequently slipped him into the Grand Ole Opry during Owsley’s tenure as a member of Wanda Jackson’s band. That same year Burns inked a deal with Wilderness Music. Following a 1973 portrayal of Hank Williams at Opryland USA, the songwriter placed two tracks: Connie Smith cut “Be Alright In Arkansas” and Mel Tillis recorded “I Always Come Back To Loving You.”
The Travis Brothers, a short-lived collaboration with Jimmy Getzen, came together in 1975. Around that period Burns worked the Nashville club circuit, serving as opener for Boots Randolph and Ronnie Prophet. After ending an engagement to Lorrie Morgan, he launched Gypsy Women Music Publishing. Early in the 1980s he toured throughout North America while Arkansas governor Bill Clinton designated March 27, 1983, as Billy Don Burns Day. In 1984 Burns cut the duet “New Commitments” with Lorrie Morgan and made an appearance on TNN. By 1990, after producing a gospel project and an unsuccessful album with prison inmate Johnny Paycheck, his fortunes improved when Willie Nelson recorded one of his songs.
Long Lost Highway, Burns’s first solo album, arrived in 1995 and earned praise within country circles on both sides of the Atlantic. Sammy Kershaw added “Honky Tonk Boots” to his repertoire the following year. Also in 1996, Burns and Hank Cochran issued the joint album Desperate Men. Train Called Lonesome became his second solo release in 2002.
