Sleepy LABEEF

Chanteur US né Thomas Pausley LaBeef, le 20 juillet 1935 à Smackover (Arkansas). Sleepy LaBeef a débuté en 1955 en enregistrant du Gospel. Mais c'est en 1956, toujours au Goldstar Studio de Houston qu'il se met au Rockabilly. Il passe ensuite chez Starday (57), Mercury (57), Gulf (60), Crescent (61), Wayside (62), Finn (63), Picture (64 ?), Columbia (65), etc... Sleepy, à la voix profonde et grave a travaillé ensuite pour de nombreux labels, et avec un peu de chance, il aurait pu avoir une carrière internationale.
Sleepy LaBeef became the ultimate rockabilly survivor, his live performances retaining the same raw power as he approached his eighth decade that they had in the years when he was among the music's pioneers. He was born Thomas Paulsley LaBeff in Smackover, AR. The 6'7" singer has heavily lidded eyes which make him appear half-asleep, hence his nickname. He was raised on a melon farm and grew up hearing both country and blues music. LaBeef moved to Houston at age 18, working at several odd jobs before beginning to sing gospel music on local radio shows. Soon he was working with a band of his own at local bars, and he appeared on the Houston Jamboree and Louisiana Hayride radio programs. The new rockabilly style fit his blazing voice perfectly, and in the late '50s he recorded about a dozen sides in that style for various labels. His first single, "I'm Through," was released in 1957 on Starday. Sometimes he was billed as Tommy LaBeff or Sleepy LaBeff. LaBeef moved to Nashville in 1964 and soon was signed to Columbia. In the 1960s he recorded mostly straight country music. His sixth single for the label, "Every Day," provided LaBeef with his chart debut in 1968, and after moving to Shelby Singleton's Plantation label in 1969, he hit the Top 20 with his version of "Blackland Farmer," Frankie Miller's heartfelt ode to the soil. The late '60s also saw the towering baritone's film debut in the bizarre Southern drive-in horror musical The Exotic Ones; LaBeef played a swamp monster.LaBeef moved to Sun Records in the mid-'70s after Singleton acquired that original institution of rockabilly, and there he reconnected with his rockabilly roots. Singles such as "Thunder Road," "There Ain't Much After Taxes," and "Boogie Woogie Country Girl" saw little chart action but helped form the beginnings of the LaBeef legend as his indefatigable touring exposed audiences to his wildman energy. LaBeef remains more popular in Europe than in the U.S. and appeared at England's Wembley Festival twice. Among his U.S. fans was soul-music historian Peter Guralnick, who saw LaBeef perform in Massachusetts in 1977 and praised his performances in a widely read article.That plus the general revival of rockabilly around 1980 at the hands of such groups as the Stray Cats paved the way for the emergence of Sleepy LaBeef, rockabilly revivalist.He signed to Rounder in 1981 and released It Ain't What You Eat (It's the Way How You Chew It) in the U.S. and in Europe. The live album Nothin' but the Truth gave CD buyers a taste of the booming vocals and slashing guitar that had made LaBeef a prime club attraction. LaBeef returned to regular recording in the mid-'90s, releasing several more albums on Rounder: Strange Things Happening (1994) and I'll Never Lay My Guitar Down (1996) contained a variety of country and blues tunes and revealed the depth of LaBeef's musical experiences. Four years later, he issued Tomorrow Never Comes, which featured guest vocals from Maria Muldaur. Compilations of the numerous unissued tracks from earlier in LaBeef's career began to surface in the early 2000s, and by that time Sleepy was nothing less than a rockabilly legend.
http://www.sleepylabeef.com
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/SleepyLB.html

BABY LET'S PLAY HOUSE (unissued 1956) FRANKIE'S MAN JOHNNY LITTLE BIT MORE (Starday unissued 1957)

LaBeff, Tommy



Full name Thomas Paulsley LaBeff. Born 1935 near Smackover, Ark. Recorded later as Sleepy LaBeef.

References:
Feature article and sessionography in issue 18 (1978) of New Kommotion.
Feature article and sessionography in issue 22 (1979) of New Kommotion.

Original Releases



Discography is intended to be complete through 1964

Date & Source	Label & Number	V	Titles {& References to LP/CD List}	As By	Matrix Numbers
1957/May (Bb est.)	Starday 45-292		I'm Through {d,j,l,p,q,u, P} All Alone {d,q,u}	2 2	2556 2555
1957/May 13 Bb c&w rev.	Mercury-Starday 71112x45		I'm Through {v, H,K} All Alone {b,h,v, K}	2 2	YW14959 YW14958
1957/Sept. 9 Bb c&w rev.	Mercury-Starday 71179x45		All The Time {b,g,h,t,v, B,G,I,K,R} Lonely {d,v, K,N}	2 2	YW14976 YW14975
1958 (est.)	Dixie (mail) 530		Ballad Of A Teen Age Queen Eskimo Pie Oh Oh, I'm Falling In Love Again One Week Later She's No Angel Truly I Love You	2 8 3 4 5 6	B B B A A A
1958 (est.)	Dixie (mail) 533		Guess Things Happen That Way {K} Crying Over You It's A Little More Like Heaven Color Of The Blues What This Old World Needs Nothing Can Stop Me	2 7 7 8 9 8	A A A B B B

Additional Tracks on Comps
1956	[unissued]		Baby Let's Play House {e,v, K,N} Don't Make Me Go {e,v, K,N}
1963	[unissued]		Somebody's Been Beating My Time {e,v, N}
	[unissued]		All The Time [alt. vers.] {d,k,m,n,v,z, J} I Ain't Gonna Take It {g,q,u,v, K} Little Bit More [vers. 1] {g,j,l,n,o,p,q,u,v, K,Q,S} Little Bit More [vers. 2] {K} Shame, Shame, Shame {i,r, K}
	[need info]		Ain't Going To Take It {E} Ride On Josephine [alt. vers.] {v}

References in "As By" Column:

1. as by Tommy LaBeff [!!]
   
2. as by Sleepy LaBeff [!!]
   
3. by Dee Mullins
   
4. by Pat & Dee
   
5. by Patsy Timmons
   
6. by Wes Holly
   
7. by Johnny Mathis
   
8. by George Jones
   
9. by Jimmy Dean
   
10. as by Sleepy LaBeff [!!] And His Versatiles
    
11. as by Sleepy LaBeff [!!] And The Versatiles
    
12. as by Tommy LaBeff [!!] And His Versatiles
    
13. as by Sleepy LaBeef
    

Other Notes:

• Starday 292 and Mercury-Starday 71112 are aurally identical.
  
• Note: chronology uncertain.
  
• SEE ALSO: Half Brothers