After recovering from his illness, Burnette returned to the road with a tour of Northern cities, culminating in a season at the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, after which he undertook a tour of Australia with Connie Francis. Back in the limelight, his next release was scheduled to be a Carl Perkins song, "Fools Like Me", backed with "Honestly I Do" (Liberty 55377), but this was cancelled in favour of "God, Country and My Baby" backed with "Honestly I Do" (Liberty 55379), which was released on September 27, 1961. It reached number 18 on the Hot 100, but was to be Burnette's last major American hit.