Dean Beard
Dean Beard (born August 31, 1935 in Santa Anna , Texas , or Coleman , Texas, † April 4, 1989 in Coleman, Texas) was an American rockabilly and rock'n'roll musician. Beard was also known as the West Texas Wild Man in the 1950s .
Life
Childhood and youth
Dean Beard was born either in 1935 in Santa Anna, Texas, or in 1936 in Coleman, Texas, depending on the source. What is certain is that Beard grew up in Coleman. From Leonard Ray, who played in Ray Thompson's band (brother of Hank Thompson ), he learned to play the guitar as a child . He later learned to play the piano and pursued a career as a musician after graduating from Coleman High School.
Career
In the 1950s he formed his own band, the Crew Cats , and made his first recordings in 1955. On the Fox label appeared in the summer of 1955 with Red Rover / Wake Up, Jacob , followed by Sing, Sing, Sing / Time Is Hanging Heavy on My Hands at the end of 1955. During this time he mainly played in the Coleman area, could his But increase its popularity enormously. In 1955 he played a few concerts with Elvis Presley and brought him together with his band in the summer of 1955 to Coleman as an opening act.
In 1956 Beard had a brief relationship with the record label Sun Records in Memphis , Tennessee , which Elvis Presley had also discovered. Accompanied by the label's studio band, he recorded various titles such as Long Time Gone and versions of his later single Rakin 'and Scrapin' over the course of the year . However, there was never a record release and the connection with Sun broke off again.
Beard first worked for Slim Willet in 1957 , who was then running the Edmoral label in Abilene , Texas. Together with the Crew Cats the single Rakin and Scrapin / On My Mind Again was recorded, which sold well and was taken over by Atlantic Records a month after it was released. By 1958, two more records followed at Atlantic, none of which, despite extensive tours, could reach the charts. At the time, Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts were playing in Beard's band, with whom he became a member of the 1958 Champs , which had just landed a hit with the instrumental tequila .
At the same time Beard also released his own singles on the Champs label, Challenge Records , but they again failed to hit the charts. Beard left the band after a car accident because his back was badly injured and he could no longer go on tour. Back in his native Texas, he worked again for Slim Willet, mainly as a studio musician and as an artist for Willet's label Winston Records . Until 1966 Beard also made records on other small Texas labels, but the big breakthrough did not come for him.
Due to health reasons, Beard gave up his career as a musician in the late 1960s. Diabetes, high blood pressure and especially his injured back forced him to give up his job. Beard spent the last years of his life in a wheelchair and often in bed. In 1989 he fell ill with pneumonia and was rushed to hospital, where he died two weeks later.
Discography
| year | title | Label # |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Red Rover / Wake Up, Jacob | Fox 45-405 |
| 1955 | Sing, Sing, Sing / Time Is Hanging Heavy on My Hands | Fox 45-408 |
| 1957 | Rakin and Scrapin / On My Mind Again | Edmoral 1011-45 |
| 1957 | Rakin and Scrapin / On My Mind Again | Atlantic 45-1137 |
| 1957 | Party, Party / Stand By Me | Atlantic 45-1162 |
| 1958 | Hold Me Close / Take Time to Love Me | Atlantic 45-1182 |
| 1958 | Egad, Charlie Brown / Keeper of the Key | Challenge 59033 |
| 1959 | Little Lover / Holding on to a Memory | Challenge 59048 |
| Little Koko Herrera / Moon Over Mexico (B-side by Chris & Paul Herrera) | Villa 101 | |
| 1962 | (Ciudad) Villa Acuña / The Day That I Lost You | Gaylo BM-112 |
| 1962 | Villa Acuña / The Day That I Lost You | Candix 341 |
| 1962 | Tropical Night / Coffee Break | Joed JT-715 |
| 1962 | The Red Rose / I Don't Know How | Winston 1063 |
| 1963 | That's How It gets Sunup / Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes | Winston 1073 |
| 1963 | My Roberta / No Love for Me | Winston 1074 |
| Strawberry Shake / You're the Nearest Thing to Heaven | Gina RT-1116 | |
| Party, Party / You DonÄt Have to Go Home (But You Can't Stay Here) | Sangelo 1/2 | |
| 1966 | Pocketfull of Stardust / (Are There) Honkytonks in Heaven | Sims 299 |
| Unpublished titles | ||
| 1956 |
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Sun |
|
Challenge | |
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[Status unknown] | |
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beard, Dean |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rockabilly and rock'n'roll musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 31, 1935 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | unsure: Santa Anna , Texas or Coleman , Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 4, 1989 |
| Place of death | Coleman |