Lawrence E. Birdsong (June 15, 1934 – August 7, 1990) was an American R&B singer who recorded between the 1950s and 1970s. His biggest hit was "Pleadin' For Love", which reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

in 1956.

Life and career

He was born in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general o ...

, into a musical family; all his brothers and sisters also sang. As a teenager, he was sent to Pikeville Reformatory School, but was discovered by Nashville music promoter

Ted Jarrett Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Jarrett Jr. (October 17, 1925 – March 21, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter and producer of country, gospel and soul music. Early life Jarrett was born into a prosperous African-American family in Nashville, Tenn ...

, who later claimed that he managed to secure Birdsong's release from

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

by signing him to a recording contract for

Excello Records Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label. History It recorded such artists as Louis Brooks, Lightnin' Slim, ...

. He first recorded with Louis Brooks and his Hi-Toppers in 1955, and his second record, "Pleadin' For Love", reached no.11 on the R&B chart the following year. It was his only chart hit.Biography of Larry Birdsong at Black Cat Rockabilly
Retrieved 5 February 2014 Birdsong then recorded for the Calvert label owned by Jarrett; one of his records, "Let's Try It Again", was leased to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

without success. In 1957 he signed for

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

, together with another of Jarrett's protégés,

Gene Allison Versie Eugene Allison (August 29, 1934 – February 28, 2004) was an American R&B singer. Allison was born in Pegram, Tennessee, and he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee singing in the church choir with his brother Leevert. As a teenager, All ...

. Although Allison found some success, Birdsong's records for Vee-Jay failed to sell. Several of his recording sessions took place at

Cosimo Matassa Cosimo Vincent Matassa (April 13, 1926 – September 11, 2014) was an American recording engineer and studio owner, responsible for many R&B and early rock and roll recordings. Life and career Matassa was born in New Orleans in 1926.Komorowski, ...

's studio in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, with musicians including Lee Allen and Red Tyler. After he left Vee-Jay, several of his earlier recordings were issued by Jarrett in 1958 and 1959 on another of his labels,

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

. He has been described as "a very versatile singer, who recorded blues, doowop, jazz, gospel, rock n roll, smooth crooning and soul." In 1961, Birdsong recorded for the Home of the Blues record label in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

, where he was produced by Willie Mitchell. On some recordings his backing group was credited as the Larryettes. However, commercial success still eluded him, and he did not record again until signing for the Sur-Sound label owned by Red Wortham in 1966. In the late 1960s he recorded for the Ref-O-Ree label, again owned by Ted Jarrett. His only recording after 1973 was a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

single, "I Felt Alright", in 1981.Discography at WangDangDula.com
Retrieved 5 February 2014
Retrieved 5 February 2014 He died in Nashville in 1990, at the age of 56.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdsong, Larry 1934 births 1990 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers People from Pulaski, Tennessee 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers