THE BURNS SISTERS [US] - AOR
Introduction
Coming from a family of twelve siblings, the sisters Marie, Jeannie and Annie Burns started singing together in New York in 1978. Two years later the trio was joined by two more sisters, Teresa and Sheila. The quintet kept working together during the eighties. Halfway that decade they got signed by Columbia Records, for which they recorded two AOR albums – “The Burns Sisters Band” in 1986 and “Endangered Species” (as The Burns Sisters) in 1989 – before losing the record deal and subsequently splitting up for a few years. In 1992 they reunited and released an independent album, called “Songs Of The Heart”, after which Teresa and Sheila left the band. The trio of Marie, Jeannie and Annie carried on and eventually got signed by Rounder/Philo, for which they recorded another four studio albums, all in a more country and folk vein. Up to now Marie and Annie (Jeannie called it quits in 2013) are still active as The Burns Sisters. The latest album they released as a duo was this year’s “Looking Back: Our American Irish Souls” (Sisters Music Records, 2015).
For us, AOR fans, only the first two albums (both recorded for Columbia Records) of the sisters are of interest. “The Burns Sisters Band” was released in 1986 and spawned two singles: “I Wonder Who’s Out Tonight” (words: Marie Burns / music: Ron Riddle) and “Listen To The Beat Of A Heart” (words: Sheila Burns / music: Ron Riddle). While the former was more of a dance/new wave song, the latter was pure AOR and managed to reach #23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The album itself was produced by Richard Gottehrer, known for handling the debut albums of both Blondie and The Go-Go’s. For a follow-up album, the sisters invited the team of Bob Marlette and David Kershenbaum. At the time the former was known for producing Andy Fraser’s “Fine, Fine Line”, while the latter was known from his work for Joe Jackson, Tracy Chapman and Duran Duran a.o. “Endangered Species” – released under the shortened moniker of The Burns Sisters – sounded heavier than the sisters’ debut and is a very recommendable album with many great songs, such as “The King Is Going To Fall”, “Remember Me”, “Greenlight” and “Answers”. When Columbia changed their management team shortly after the album’s release, many acts were dropped, including The Burns Sisters. It might be difficult to find a copy of “Endangered Species”, but it’s certainly worth chasing for.
Chris Lambert
For us, AOR fans, only the first two albums (both recorded for Columbia Records) of the sisters are of interest. “The Burns Sisters Band” was released in 1986 and spawned two singles: “I Wonder Who’s Out Tonight” (words: Marie Burns / music: Ron Riddle) and “Listen To The Beat Of A Heart” (words: Sheila Burns / music: Ron Riddle). While the former was more of a dance/new wave song, the latter was pure AOR and managed to reach #23 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The album itself was produced by Richard Gottehrer, known for handling the debut albums of both Blondie and The Go-Go’s. For a follow-up album, the sisters invited the team of Bob Marlette and David Kershenbaum. At the time the former was known for producing Andy Fraser’s “Fine, Fine Line”, while the latter was known from his work for Joe Jackson, Tracy Chapman and Duran Duran a.o. “Endangered Species” – released under the shortened moniker of The Burns Sisters – sounded heavier than the sisters’ debut and is a very recommendable album with many great songs, such as “The King Is Going To Fall”, “Remember Me”, “Greenlight” and “Answers”. When Columbia changed their management team shortly after the album’s release, many acts were dropped, including The Burns Sisters. It might be difficult to find a copy of “Endangered Species”, but it’s certainly worth chasing for.
Chris Lambert
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Selective discographyThe Burns Sisters Band
01|1986|The Burns Sisters Band The Burns Sisters 02|1989|Endangered Species Rock Report's choiceEndangered SpecisColumbia, 1989
Produced by Bob Marlette & David Kershenbaum Ratings: HH: 80 (7) | RYM: 3.18 (10) Total rating: 718 Updated: 150901 Line-upJeannie Burns (lv on tr. 1 3 4 6 8, bv)
Annie Burns (lv on tr. 2 3 5 6, bv) Terry Burns (lv on tr. 3 6 7 9 10, bv) Marie Burns (bv) Sheila Burns (bv) + Bob Marlette (g, k, b, pr) Denny Fongheiser (d on tr. 2 3 7 9) Peter Frampton (g on tr. 8) Stevie Salas (g on tr. 1 7 8) Teresa Burns, Sr. (v on tr. 10) |
Track listing01|Love Me Like A Man (BM/SB/MB)
02|We Wait For Freedom (SB/RR/AB/BM) 03|The King Is Going To Fall (SB/JZ/BM) 04|Remember Me (SB/MB/BM) 05|Hold On (RR/SB/MB) 06|My Boyfriend’s Back (RG/BF/GG) 07|Greenlight (ES/DT) 08|Place To Rock (SB/JZ) 09|Answers (BM/SB/MB/TB/JB/AB) 10|Last Eagle (For The People Of Big Mountain) (BM/SB/MB) SongwritersAB = Annie Burns
BF = Bob Feldman BM = Bob Marlette DT = David Tyson ES = Eddie Schwartz GG = Gerry Goldstein JB = Jeannie Burns JZ = John Zeeman MB = Marie Burns RG = Richard Gottehrer RR = Ron Riddle SB = Sheila Burns TB = Terry Burns 
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