Johnny Burnette (March 25, 1934 - August 14, 1964) was a Rockabilly pioneer in Memphis, Tennessee.

Along with his brother Dorsey Burnette and a friend, Paul Burlison , in the early 1950s he formed the Johnny Burnette Rock and Roll Trio. They are considered to be the ones who originally coined the phrase "Rockabilly".

Although they managed to get a recording contract, in 1957 the group split up due to a lack of commercial success, but while living in California in 1960 Burnette had a back-to-back major hits with songs he wrote titled "Dreamin " and "You're Sixteen ", followed by "Little Boy Sad " a year later.

Johnny Burnette's career was cut short at the age of 30 when he drowned in a boating accident. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

His name and song-writing abilities gained prominence again when Ringo Starr released a cover of "You're Sixteen" in 1973.