Dean Beard (August 31, 1935 - April 4, 1989) was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

musician, known as the "West Texas Wild Man".Dean Beard
Texas State Historical Association.

Early life

Beard was born in

Santa Anna, Texas Santa Anna is a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States. Its population was 1,099 at the 2010 census. Geography Santa Anna is located in eastern Coleman County at (31.740189, –99.325192). Three U.S. highways pass through the c ...

. He was the son of Raymond and Opral (Baker) Beard. He lived in Coleman most of his life. In high school, he and his friends formed a band called the Crew Cats.

Career

He played at a night club in Memphis with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in the mid-1950s. Beard's first record "Red Rover"/ "Wake Up Jacob" was released in 1955 for Fox Records. That same year, he made another single, "Time Is Hangin' Heavy On My Hands" /" Sing, Sing, Sing". Both singles didn’t attract any attention.

Sun Records

Between 1956 and 1957, he recorded for

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

, but none of his songs were released until years later. Some of these songs feature a young Jim Seals on saxophone, who would later co-found the duo,

Seals and Crofts Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits "Summer Breeze (song), Summer Breeze" (1 ...

, with drummer Dash Crofts.

Rakin' and Scrapin'

In 1957, his most popular hit, “Rakin’ and Scrapin’”, was released on Edmoral Records in March, but didn’t become popular, until another version he made was released a month later for

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. He recorded it with Seals on saxophone and Crofts on drums. He kept making records for Atlantic such as, "Party Party". Earlier that year, he teamed up with songwriter Slim Willet, and wrote their most successful songs together.

Challenge Records

He recorded for Challenge Records in 1958, and was also a pianist with

The Champs The Champs are an American rock band, most famous for their Latin-tinged rock and roll instrumental "Tequila". The group took their name from that of Gene Autry's horse, Champion, and was formed by studio executives at Autry's Challenge Recor ...

, who also had a contract with that label. In 1959, he was fired from the Champs by manager/rhythm guitarist Dave Burgess because he was accused of taking part of the cut meant for

, but made one more record for Challenge that year.

Later career

He kept recording for different labels through the 1960s with less success. His last single was in 1966 for Sims Records called, “Are There Honkey Tonks In Heaven" / "Pocketfull Of Stardust". He achieved recognition in the 1970s and 80s when he started performing live again.

Death

He died in

Coleman, Texas Coleman is a town in and the county seat of Coleman County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, its population was 4,709. Geography Coleman is located north of the center of Coleman County at (31.827694, −99. ...

Hospital on April 4, 1989 from diabetes and other health related issues.

Discography

References

{{Authority control American rockabilly musicians Country musicians from Texas