Thomas Paulsley LaBeff (July 20, 1935 – December 26, 2019), known professionally as Sleepy LaBeef, was an American singer and musician.

Early life

LaBeef was born in Smackover, Arkansas, the youngest of 10 children. The family name was originally LaBoeuf."Sleepy LaBeef (1935–2019)", ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas''
Retrieved 27 December 2019 He was raised on a farm growing cotton and watermelons, and received the nickname "Sleepy" because he had a lazy eye. LaBeef became a fan of

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, Bill Monroe, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. He learned guitar, and moved to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, when he was 18. There, he sang

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

on local radio and put together a bar band to play venues as well as radio programs such as the '' Houston Jamboree'' and ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

''. LaBeef stood tall.

Career

In the 1950s, as the rockabilly component of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

became evident, LaBeef began recording singles in the genre, initially credited as Sleepy LaBeff or Tommy LaBeff. His first, "I'm Through", was issued on Starday Records in 1957. In 1964, he moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and moved to a more solidly

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

style, recording singles for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. His first genuine hit was 1968's "Every Day", which peaked at No. 73 on the U.S. ''

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 ...

'' Country chart. Billboard Singles Allmusic.com After moving to Plantation Records in 1969, he scored a second hit in 1971 with "Blackland Farmer", which charted at No. 67. He also played the role of the Swamp Thing in Ron Ormond's 1968

B-movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

, ''The Exotic Ones'' (also known as ''The Monster and the Stripper''). LaBeef transferred to Sun Records in the 1970s and continued releasing albums and touring widely; his popularity faded in the United States but rose in Europe. The 1980s saw him sign to

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts, by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by A ...

, where he released albums into the 1990s. As a musician, he was noted for his extensive repertoire, and for his live performances, at one time undertaking some 300 performances a year. He described the music he performed as "root music: old-time rock-and-roll, Southern gospel and hand-clapping music, black blues, Hank Williams-style country. We mix it up real good." He toured regularly in Europe, and performed at many

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s both in Europe and the US. In January 2012, LaBeef traveled to Nashville to record and film a live concert and record in historic RCA Studio B, all produced by noted bassist Dave Pomeroy. A documentary/concert DVD, ''Sleepy LaBeef Rides Again'' and the soundtrack CD was released on April 22, 2013, by Earwave Records. His last performance was in September 2019. He had heart bypass surgery in 2003. He died at his home in Siloam Springs, Arkansas on December 26, 2019, at age 84.

Discography

Singles

Albums

* 1974: ''The Bull’s Night Out'' * 1976: ''Western Gold'' * 1978: ''Rockabilly 1977'' (Sun Records) * 1978: ''Beefy Rockabilly'' * 1979: ''Early, Rare and Rockin’ Sides'' * 1979: ''Downhome Rockabilly'' (Sun Records) * 1979: ''Downhome Rockabilly'' (Charly Records, UK) * 1979: ''Rockabilly Heavyweight'' (with Dave Travis) * 1979 "Sleepin' in Spain" (AUVI records, Spain) * 1979: ''Sleepy LaBeef and Friends'' (Ace Records) * 1979: ''Sleepy LaBeef and Friends'' (Ace-Chiswick Records) * 1980: ''Early, Rare and Rockin’ Sides'' (re-release) * 1980: ''Downhome Rockabilly'' (re-release) * 1981: ''It Ain’t What You Eat, It's the Way How You Chew It'' (Rounder Records) * 1982: ''Electricity'' (Rounder Records) * 1987: ''Nothin’ But The Truth'' (Rounder Records) ive* 1994: ''Strange Things Happen'' * 1995: ''The Human Jukebox'' (Rounder Records) * 1996: ''I’ll Never Lay My Guitar Down'' (Rounder Records) * 1996: ''Larger Than Life'' (6 CD-Box, compilation) * 1997: ''A Rockin’ Decade'' * 1999: ''Flyin’ Saucer Rock’n’Roll: The Very Best Of Sleepy LaBeef'' * 1999: ''The Bulls’s Ride Out & Western Gold'' * 2000: ''Tomorrow Never Comes'' * 2001: ''Rockabilly Blues'' * 2001: ''Road Warrior'' * 2003: '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute To Johnny Cash'' ( Northern Blues)LaBeef does a version of " Frankie and Johnny", referred to as "Frankie's Man". The original song appears on the '' This Is Johnny Cash''

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

(

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

, 1969; reissued 1973), among others. * 2008: ''Roots'' (Ponk Media) * 2008: ''Sleepy Rocks'' (Bear Family anthology) * 2012: ''Rides Again''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Labeef, Sleepy 1935 births 2019 deaths American rockabilly musicians American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Arkansas Starday Records artists Columbia Records artists Sun Records artists Charly Records artists Rounder Records artists SSS International artists People from Smackover, Arkansas Country musicians from Arkansas