Success Story: A Singer Makes It To The Opry      by Dick Wolff, Nashville Banner Staff Writer
Billy Don Burns, a country music singer and composer from the Arkansas Ozarks, has honed his hungry sound in honky tonks from Alaska to Cuba. Saturday night he achieved his lifelong ambition by performing at the Grand Ole Opry.  At 31, Burns is like countless musicians who see the Opry stage as the ultimate goal.  And like most of them, he knows the dues-paying process by heart: honky tonk clubs, VFW halls, practice and more honky tonk clubs. Saturday, with the backing and support of his mentor, Porter Wagoner, Burns strode to center stage following Porter's introduction and sang his latest single recording, "I've Been missing Your Lies".  If Opry house applause is any indication of future success, he's on his way.
"Where I grew up (in Mountain View, Ark.) the Grand Ole Opry was the ultimate in music," Burns said shortly before his debut performance. "The Grand Ole Opry was it. There's just nothing else to say." Describing himself as a singer of "just old country music," Burns is entering the second phase of a musical career that began when he was 13 and had a "little old band that played at high schools, VFW's and things." After his debut performance Saturday, burns has been booked for a Pop Goes The Country show in July and a Canadian tour before then. In addition, Wagoner is producing an album for him. Burns and Wagoner have known each other for several years, but it wasn't until the newcomer moved from California to Tennessee in 1971 did they become close. "I think the industry needs new young people who are not only top quality performers but top people as well," Wagoner said. "I'm very happy I could introduce him at the Grand Ole Opry, and hope he becomes a member someday." He also talked about a charity benefit Burns put together for a family in Dickson who had suffered a long illness and had a hospital debt of nearly $40,000. "It really sparked my interestin him when he called and asked me to appear," Wagoner said. "It was one of a very few I've done in the past few years, and he raised $14,000 for them." But the real test of a performer, according to Wagoner, is "the hunger stroke." "He's got that certain hunger in his voice," the veteran performer said. "A lot of entertainers don't have that anymore. I like to hear somebody with a quality in their voice that says, "I hope you like me cuz I'm doing my best." Another Element of Burns' background which figured prominently in Wagoner's decision to publicly back him was the singer's dedication to "paying his dues." "He does his homework," Wagoner said. "He played the clubs, wrote the songs and lyrics. He knows he has to do it to make him a great entertainer, and he's willing to do that." "Everyone has to do that," he added. "From my side," Burns said, "I know I've got to give it 100% for sure because Porter is bringing me on. To me, he's putting his name on the line." Wagoner made no bones about his support of Burns when he introduced the newcomer to the Opry audience as "a fine young man." "People know my reputation for honesty, and know I wouldn't lie about his talent," Wagoner said. Burns' performance was straight country swing, with vocals and lead guitar by himself and backed up by Wagoner's band and the Sound 70's Singers. He was applauded at his introduction, and earned a spontaneous burst of applause midway through the song. For Burns, the packed auditorium was a far  cry from the noisy clubs in which he learned his craft. "I've played the honky tonks from Alaska to Cuba, and the Southern California clubs are the roughest," he said. "They're real hard-case, knife-totin' honky tonks." Wagoner sees Burns as having graduated from the phase of recording, touring and getting to know the public. "When he came into the studio to cut his first record (for Jeremiah Records), he came ready to sing," Wagoner said. "He was unique in that he sang his songs the way they should be sung the first time. He didn't come to the studio to learn how to sing." The young singer is also making headway as a songwriter, Wagoner said. One of his songs has just been recorded by a Canadian artist, and another is in the process of being recorded in Ireland. "If I didn't believe in him myself, I wouldn't be willing to stand beside him," Wagoner said.