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You don’t come by an album title like The Cold
Hard Truth without suffering through some ugly
experiences, and like anyone else, Ed Burleson has
had his share. But in the best country tradition,
this Denison, Texas, native throws those hard
knocks into his music and learns from them in
life.

The title of his new release may seem like an
ironic follow-up to 1999’s My Perfect World, but
consider that between the two, Burleson lost his
mentor, manager and producer, the legendary Doug
Sahm, and his label, Sahm’s Tornado Records.
That killed his career momentum despite Perfect
World’s climb to No. 3 on radio trade magazine
Gavin’s Americana chart. His divorce was just
one more knockout punch.

But Burleson, a former rodeo rider, picked himself
up, dusted off, and jumped back in the saddle. He
poured his honky-tonk heart into making Truth,
which Palo Duro Records released on April 27,
2004.

This collection of 14 mostly self-penned songs is
the product of that determination, but Burleson
made sure to acknowledge the late Texas
Tornado’s personal and professional friendship.
His homage comes via Sahm’s own voice, which is
heard in the intro to the previously recorded
song, “Heart Break Highway.”

What attracted Sahm was Burleson’s reverence for
traditional bluegrass and honky-tonk, delivered
with a distinctive nasal twang and not one note of
insincerity.

Chet Flippo commented in Billboard magazine that
Burleson’s music is “the purest-sounding
country I’ve heard in a long time.” Other
journalists have lauded him for being, in the
words of the Dallas Observer’s Rob Patterson,
“too country for Nashville, but not for
Texas.”

Burleson’s Texas bloodline goes back as far as
his name: Bennett Edward Burleson IV. Born in
1969, he grew up in a music-loving family that
moved frequently because of his dad’s sales
career. They landed in Lewisville, where Ed joined
his high school rodeo team — a choice that led
directly to his music career. In college on a
bronco-bucking scholarship, Burleson traded some
riding tack for a guitar.

After graduation, he moved to Dallas and joined
the professional rodeo circuit, but got lassoed by
a knee injury. Recovering gave him enough free
time (or boredom) to get serious about music. He
decided to leave the cowboy life to follow another
kind of Texas tradition as a country
singer/songwriter.

Visiting Dallas’ Three Teardrops Tavern to hear
his country heroes earned Burleson an invitation
to do an open-stage set. The bar owner then
offered him a regular Thursday night slot if he
could assemble a band in four days. That band’s
drummer, Richard Burleson, still performs with his
son.

Ed’s first recording was Live at Three
Teardrops. His next, Comin’ Around, got him to
the Broken Spoke, Austin’s real-deal dance hall.
Sahm was there, and Ed gave him a CD, which Sahm
loved so much, he wound up re-releasing as Perfect
World. He also became Burleson’s manager, but
two weeks after performing at Ed’s CD release
party, Sahm was gone. Without him, the album
floundered, and so did Ed’s career.

But he didn’t give up. Laboring by day and
playing as many nights as he could, Burleson built
a strong fan base. He also found new love and
co-produced Bennett Edward Burleson V.

Burleson’s life still isn’t perfect — as if
anyone’s could be. But the real truth is, he’s
happy. And it’s time for true country fans to
know.

==Albums==
* My Perfect World (Tornado Records, 1999 in
music|1999)
* Live at the Sons (self-released, 2001 in
music|2001)
* The Cold Hard Truth (Palo Duro Records, 2004 in
music|2004)
* Texas Unplugged, Vol 1 (Palo Duro Records, 2004
in music|2004)
* My Perfect World (Revisited) (Palo Duro Records,
2005 in music|2005)

==See Also==
Alternative Country
Honky-Tonk

==External links==
*http://www.edburleson.com Ed Burleson