WHERE'S LABEEF?

This guy, Sleepy LaBeef, is one of those tier two rockabilly guys that just never gave up. He took any gig that came along, and that means any. He grew up on a farm, moved to Houston when he was eighteen, and picked up work singing gospel on a radio station. When rockabilly hit, he hopped on board. Then, when rockabilly began to fizzle, he went into country. After recording for several labels, he finally made it to Sun around 1970, well after Sun's salad days. Oh yeah, he toured incessantly, playing anywhere that would have him. (Punk bands didn't invent that brand of subsistence.)

The topper for me though is his role in the 1968 film The Exotic Ones. The plot of the movie is classic. Some hunters run into a monster while hunting in the bayou. They drag it to New Orleans where it was put to use as a prop in a strip show. The monster goes berzerk after his favorite stripper gets into a tiff with another stripper. Berzerk, as in ripping a guy's arm off and then beating him with it, among other things. This is good stuff. LaBeef's role in the film is pretty prominent. He's credited as "the Swamp Thing". That's right, LaBeef is the monster. That sure raises him a few notches on the Oddballometer.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Sleepy LaBeef - Little Bit More mp3 at Rocky 52 1957
Sleepy LaBeef - Baby, Let's Play House mp3 at Rocky 52 1956
Sleepy LaBeef - It Ain't Sanitary mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Sun 1970
Video:
The Exotic Ones - Sleepy LaBeef clips at YouTube Set appropriately to his "Tore Up" 
The Exotic Ones - Trailer at YouTube
Sleepy LaBeef Rides Again at YouTube Trailer for 2012 documentary
Bonus:
The Exotic Ones - Movie poster High resolution scan.