Larry Birdsong
American singer (1934-1990)
Lawrence E. Birdsong (June 15, 1934 – August 7, 1990) was an American R&B singer who recorded between the 1950s and 1970s. His biggest hit was "Pleadin' For Love", which reached the Billboard R&B chart in 1956.
Life and career
He was born in Pulaski, Tennessee, into a musical family; all his brothers and sisters also sang. As a teenager, he was sent to Pikeville Reformatory School, but was discovered by Nashville music promoter Ted Jarrett, who later claimed that he managed to secure Birdsong's release from probation by signing him to a recording contract for Excello Records. He first recorded with Louis Brooks and his Hi-Toppers in 1955, and his second record, "Pleadin' For Love", reached no.11 on the R&B chart the following year. It was his only chart hit.
Birdsong then recorded for the Calvert label owned by Jarrett; one of his records, "Let's Try It Again", was leased to Decca Records without success. In 1957 he signed for Vee-Jay Records, together with another of Jarrett's protégés, Gene Allison. Although Allison found some success, Birdsong's records for Vee-Jay failed to sell. Several of his recording sessions took place at Cosimo Matassa's studio in New Orleans, with musicians including Lee Allen and Red Tyler.
“Larry Birdsong” enters the record as american singer (1934-1990). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Larry, Birdsong and American can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Larry Birdsong” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Larry, Birdsong and American provides the most credible route into that argument.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16012380. VIAF identifies the subject as 80164107. The Library of Congress control number is no2009141131. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1934, 1990, 1956 and 1955.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Larry Birdsong”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Larry Birdsong primary sources, Larry Birdsong archive and Larry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Larry Birdsong”?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Larry Birdsong” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.