Sleepy LaBeef "The Bull's Night Out" (Sun Records, 1974) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "Western Gold" (Sun Records, 1976) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "1977 Rockabilly" (Sun Records, 1978) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "Beefy Rockabilly" (Charly Records, 1978) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "Rockabilly Heavyweight" (Charly Records, 1979) (L)
Sleepy LaBeef "Sleepin' In Spain" (Auvi Records, 1979) (LP)
LaBeef and his crew gallop their way through a set of rock, blues and country oldies... 'Nuff said, really. The compact band included Sleepy LaBeef, Clete Chapman (drums), Kenny Wayne (bass) and Spanish pianist-producer Josep Mas Portet (aaka Kitflus) on piano. This album has come out in multiple editions, including a Dutch version called The Rockabilly Giant. I got the Greek one.
Sleepy LaBeef "Downhome Rockabilly" (Sun Records, 1979) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "It Ain't What You Eat It's The Way How You Chew It" (Rounder Records, 1981) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "Electricity" (Rounder Records, 1982) (LP)
Sleepy LaBeef "Nothin' But The Truth" (Rounder Records, 1986)
Sleepy LaBeef "Attack" (Barsa Promociones, 1990)
Sleepy LaBeef "Locomotora Sleepy" (Barsa Promociones, 1992)
Sleepy LaBeef "A Tope" (Barsa Promociones, 1994)
Sleepy LaBeef "Strange Things Happening" (Rounder Records, 1994)
(Produced by Jake Guralnick, Peter Guralnick & Bob Kempf)
Sleepy LaBeef "Bill Balls In Cowtown" (Tomb Records, 1994)
Sleepy LaBeef & Sonny Fisher "Rockabilly Fiesta" (Gee-Dee Music, 1994)
Sleepy LaBeef "I'll Never Lay My Guitar Down" (Papa Music, 1996)
Sleepy La Beef & The Peter King Band "Grandes xitos En Directo: Live In Valle Real" (Village Records, 1997)
Sleepy LaBeef "Road Warrior" (Sony Music, 2000)
A very welcome set of his early country stuff cut for Columbia Records, circa 1965-67. Thank you, Sony Special Products!
Sleepy LaBeef "Tomorrow Never Comes" (MC Records, 2000)
Sleepy LaBeef "Rockabilly Blues" (Rounder/Bullseye Blues, 2001)
Sleepy LaBeef was an old-school, second-string Sun Records rockabilly rebel who kept on pumping away and hammering out countrybilly blues tunes for decade after decade. This is a decent collection of Sleepy's later, blues-based work made for Rounder in the 1980s, outtakes that were left unreleased when his early '80s LPs came out... Maybe more houserockin' than rockabilly, with covers of songs like "Mannish Boy," "Long Tall Sally" and "Night Train To Memphis" (as well as a killer version of "Bright Lights, Big City..") these tracks are admittedly a bit choppy, but if you value rough-hewn roots music, this disc may be worth checking out.
Sleepy LaBeef "Good Rockin' Boogie" (Star Club Records, 2003)
Sleepy LaBeef "Roots" (Ponk Media, 2008)
Sleepy LaBeef "Sleepy LaBeef Rides Again" (Earwave Records, 2012)
Sleepy LaBeef "Live" (Selva Records, 2014)
Thomas Paulsley "Sleepy" LaBeef (1935-2019) was a farm kid from Smackover, Arkansas (great name) who caught the music bug early and left home in the early 1950s to make it big as a country singer. Throughout his career, LaBeef swung back and forth between country and rock... His career kicked off just as rockabilly was coming into bloom, and some of his best early recordings are minor classics of the genre. Like a lot of early rockers, he returned to the country fold in the 'Sixties, but only scored a few back-forty hits in Nashville. He later found himself embraced by the 1970s European rockabilly revival and really made his mark as a tireless road warrior, with his strongest fan base in continental Europe and the UK. Among the many albums in his prolific career, there are tons of live performances and many releases of mysterious provenance spread out among the distant lands. Ever amiable, Sleepy LaBeef struck a nice balance between the musical styles he admired -- blues, country, gospel and rock. Here's a quick (and doubtless incomplete) look at his discography.
