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Legendary guitarist James Burton’s latest contribution to music education reached a Caddo Parish school.

On Wednesday, North Caddo Elementary Middle School in Vivian received 60 new acoustic guitars, courtesy of The James Burton Foundation.

Burton, the organization’s founder and Shreveport native, did the honors of presenting the instruments to the school’s music teacher, Vicki Kirkendall.

“He is an awesome, awesome guy. He really invests in the children and having music in education, which I think is very important and Mr. Burton has a heart for that, too,” Kirkendall said. “When he heard the need, he jumped out here and donated and we are very grateful.”

Since 2005, The James Burton Foundation’s mission to support music education has extended to schools, children and veteran’s hospitals, and community service organizations.

“It truly changes the child’s life forever,” said Burton, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. “It’s a universal language of the world—everybody loves music—and to be able to sit down and play an instrument is so much joy.”   

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This isn’t the first time Kirkendall has witnessed the foundation’s charitable acts. More than a decade ago, Kirkendall was a music instructor at an Oil City school when the foundation donated guitars to its music program. The new instruments allowed her to develop the school’s music program and area student bands, The Sweet Potatoes and The Rebel Legends, she said.

This school year, Kirkendall — who’s been at North Caddo Elementary Middle School for four years — reached out to the foundation once again after an uptick in student interest for learning to play guitar in her music classes.

“My program exploded this year,” she said. “I went from having nine or 10 in a class last year to having 22 in my classes this year. I put the need out there — I needed 60 guitars.”

Kirkendall teaches music to students from grades 6-12, as well as the middle school student music group, The Sweet Potatoes, and the high school band, The Rebel Legends. The pop-rock bands are known in the area for playing local festivals, including Red Bud, Ida Days, Gusher Days, and ArtBreak.

Music lessons improve students’ ability to focus, teaches persistence, and academic performance, among other benefits, Kirkendall said.

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Burton, himself, learned to play guitar at a young age. The self-taught guitarist asked for a guitar and was gifted one by his parents when he was 13-years-old. By age 14, he’d co-written and recorded his first song, “Susie Q,” with Dale Hawkins and went on to play professionally.

At age 16, Burton was heading off to California to play with Ricky Nelson on the 1950s classic “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” Burton said.

Since then, Burton’s extensive music career has led numerous awards and opportunities to play and record alongside many top entertainers, including Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Emmylou Harris, and Keith Richards.  

Although not every child may pursue a career in music, Burton hopes the gift of music will make a positive impact on the current students’ lives and those to continue to students in years to come.

“This is a blessing from God—to be able to come to a school and present guitars to kids,” Burton said. “Hopefully, they’ll learn to play and if one decides not to play, maybe someone else will come take the guitar and play. It’s an honor. Truly and honor.”

For more information about The James Burton Foundation, visit https://www.jamesburtonfoundation.org/.  

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