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 Smackover is a small city in northern Union County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was at 1,865. It had a large oil boom in the 1920s, with production continuing for some time. History In 1686, the French s ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the ...

, 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 musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

, and

Sister Rosetta Tharpe Sister Rosetta Tharpe (born Rosetta Nubin, March 20, 1915 – October 9, 1973) was an American singer and guitarist. She gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her gospel recordings, characterized by a unique mixture of spiritual lyrics a ...

. He learned guitar, and moved to

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, when he was 18. There, he sang gospel music on local radio and put together a bar band to play venues as well as radio programs such as the ''

Houston Jamboree Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

'' and '' Louisiana Hayride''. 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, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

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 Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes ( Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record d ...

in 1957. In 1964, he moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

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. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

style, recording singles for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. 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 Plantation Records was a country music record label of the 1960s and 1970s helmed by Shelby Singleton. The label is best known for Jeannie C. Riley's 1968 hit " Harper Valley PTA", which topped both the country and ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart ...

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 Ron Ormond (born Vittorio Di Naro, August 29, 1910 – May 11, 1981) was an American author, showman, screenwriter, film producer, and film director of Western, musical, and exploitation films. Following his survival of a 1968 plane crash, Or ...

's 1968

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

, ''The Exotic Ones'' (also known as ''The Monster and the Stripper''). LaBeef transferred to

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 ...

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 Al ...

, 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 festivals 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 Siloam Springs is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The city shares a border on the Arkansas- Oklahoma state line with the city of West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma, which is within the Cherokee Nation territory. The town was founded ...

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 David Howard Travis (born 9 September 1945) was a major figure in UK javelin throwing during the 1960s and 1970s. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 summer Olympics in the javelin and won a gold medal in the 1967 World Student Games and the 1970 ...

) * 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 The Preston Football Club, which trades and plays as the Northern Bullants, is a long-established Australian rules football club based in Preston that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). It plays its home games at the Preston City O ...

)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 (

Harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

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

References

{{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 People from Smackover, Arkansas Country musicians from Arkansas