# Hayden Thompson

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hayden_Thompson
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Hayden_Thompson.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Thompson
> Source revision: 1336235709
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American singer-songwriter (1938–2025)}}
{{Sources|date=January 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Hayden Thompson
| image             = Hayden Thompson2.jpg
| caption           = Thompson in 1992
| image_size        = 
| landscape         = yes
| birth_name        = 
| alias             = 
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1938|03|05}}
| birth_place       = [Booneville, Mississippi](/source/Booneville%2C_Mississippi), U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2025|12|31|1938|03|05}}
| death_place       = [Glenview, Illinois](/source/Glenview%2C_Illinois), U.S.
| origin            = 
| instrument        = Guitar, vocals
| genre             = [Rockabilly](/source/Rockabilly), [rock and roll](/source/rock_and_roll), [country](/source/Country_music)
| occupation        = Guitarist, musician, songwriter
| years_active      = 1953–?
| label             = 
| website           = 
}}

'''Hayden Thompson''' (March 5, 1938 – December 31, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter and [rockabilly](/source/rockabilly) musician.<ref name="Larkin50">{{cite book|title=[The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Popular_Music)|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[Virgin Books](/source/Virgin_Books)|date=2002|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-937-0|page=442}}</ref> He is a member of the [Rockabilly Hall of Fame](/source/Rockabilly_Hall_of_Fame).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockabillyhall.com/HaydenThompson1.html |title=Hayden Thompson |publisher=Rockabillyhall.com |date= |accessdate=2013-04-02 |archive-date=October 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020062502/http://www.rockabillyhall.com/HaydenThompson1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Life and career==
Thompson was born in [Booneville, Mississippi](/source/Booneville%2C_Mississippi), United States.<ref name="Larkin50"/> During high school Thompson formed the Southern Melody Boys, who made a 1954 recording which led from a radio session. "I Feel the Blues Coming On" was sung by Thompson and gave them another radio appearance on the "[Louisiana Hayride](/source/Louisiana_Hayride)" show.<ref name=":0" /> Thompson then joined the Dixie Jazzlanders who toured Mississippi. He relocated to [Memphis, Tennessee](/source/Memphis%2C_Tennessee) and made an unreleased recording in 1956. "Love My Baby" was issued on the Phillips International label in September 1957, and Thompson toured alongside [Sonny Burgess](/source/Sonny_Burgess) and [Billy Lee Riley](/source/Billy_Lee_Riley). The following year, Thompson moved again, this time to [Chicago](/source/Chicago), [Illinois](/source/Illinois), where he gained a residency at Highwood's Tally Ho Club and at the Rivoli Ballroom, Chicago's latest country music venue.<ref name="Larkin50"/><ref name=":0" /> He played three times at Nashville's [Grand Ole Opry](/source/Grand_Ole_Opry) in 1966.<ref name=":0" />

Thompson's recording of "$16.88" for [Kapp Records](/source/Kapp_Records) sold sufficiently to secure him an offer to record his debut album. ''Here's Hayden Thompson'' was released in 1967. Several recordings took place in the early-1970s, but circumstances meant that Thompson left the music industry at this point and worked as a limo driver. He re-emerged in the mid-1980s, becoming a regular performer on European rockabilly revival tours<ref name=":0" /> Charly Records released an album of his in 1985.<ref name="Larkin50"/> Further albums were released, mainly by various European record labels, over the three decades. These included ''The Time Is Now'' (1990).<ref name="Larkin50"/>

Thompson died in [Glenview, Illinois](/source/Glenview%2C_Illinois), on December 31, 2025, at the age of 87.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hayden E. Thompson |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/hayden-thompson-obituary?id=60433719 |access-date=2026-01-03 |website=Legacy}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2026-02-02 |title=Hayden Thompson, a Chicago-area rockabilly musician who found success in Europe, dies at 87 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/02/hayden-thompson-obituary-rockabilly-musician/ |access-date=2026-02-02 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Albums==
{| border="2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" rules="all"  style="margin:1em 1em 1em 0; border-style:solid; border-width:1px; border-collapse:collapse; empty-cells:show;  "
|- bgcolor='#FFDEAD'
!Year
!TITLE/track listing
!Catalog number
|----
|bgcolor='#E0E0E0' colspan='4' align='left'|<big>'''[Kapp Records](/source/Kapp_Records) (US)'''</big>
|----
|1967
|''Here's Hayden Thompson''
Life's Gone And Slipped Away / You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry / I'll Kiss You Again / Tell Me That's The Way It Will Be / We Know / Sixteen Eighty-Eight / Blue Blue Day / Waiting on Her / These Boots Are Made For Walkin' / Why / Look Who's Coming / And She Cried
|KL-1507 (LP)
|----
|bgcolor='#E0E0E0' colspan='4' align='left'|<big>'''Charly Records (UK)'''</big>
|----
|1985
|''Booneville Mississippi Flash''
Ah Poor Little Baby / Drivin' Me Out of My Mind / Born To Lose / Had A Little Talk / Don't Say That You're Sorry / I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry / Eenie Meenie Minie Mo / Hands of Time / The Boy From Tupelo / I Wanna Get Home / A Girl Named Betty / When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again
|CR 30245 (LP)
|----
|bgcolor='#E0E0E0' colspan='4' align='left'|<big>'''Sunjay Records (SWE)'''</big>
|----
|1985
|''The Rockin' Country Man''
Ah Poor Little Baby / Drivin' Me Out of My Mind / Born To Lose / Had A Little Talk / Don't Say That You're Sorry / I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry / Eenie Meenie Minie Mo / Hands of Time / The Boy From Tupelo / I Wanna Get Home / When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again / A Girl Named Betty<small><br />reissue of Charly CR 30245</small>
|SJLP 563 (LP)
|----
|1990
|''The Time Is Now''
Pretty Little Love Song / Wishful Thinking / Fried Chicken / Wrong Road Again / At The Party Tonight / I Still Miss Someone / Ain't That Loving You Baby / Tell Me That's The Way It'll Be / I Ain't Taking No Prisoners / Stonecold Heart / Careless Hands / Boy From Tupelo
|SJLP 589 (LP)
|----
|bgcolor='#E0E0E0' colspan='4' align='left'|<big>'''Spark Records (HOL)'''</big>
|----
|1990
|''The Time Is Now''
Pretty Little Love Song / Wishful Thinking / Fried Chicken / Wrong Road Again / At The Party Tonight / I Still Miss Someone / Ain't That Loving You Baby / Tell Me That's The Way It'll Be / I Ain't Taking No Prisoners / Stonecold Heart / Careless Hands / Boy From Tupelo<small><br />reissue of Sunjay SJLP 589</small>
|CD 13 (LP)
|----
|bgcolor='#E0E0E0' colspan='4' align='left'|<big>'''[St. George Records](/source/St._George_Records) (USA)'''</big>
|----
|2005
|''Rockabilly Rhythm''
Mama's Little Baby / Love My Baby / Rockabilly Boogie / Reelin' & Rockin' / Milk Cow Blues Boogie / Let's Get Gone / Sugar-Coated Love / Boppin' High School Baby / Chicago River Blues / Hang Out / Can't Hardly Stand It / Gonna Rock & Roll Tonight / Boppin' The Blues / Blue Moon of Kentucky
|STG 7714 (CD)
|----
|bgcolor='#E0E0E0' colspan='4' align='left'|<big>'''Bluelight Records (FIN)'''</big>
|----
|2007
|''Hayden Thompson''
Sorrow Break A Good Man Down / Black Cloud / Big River / Just To Satisfy You / I've Got It Again / Sixteen Dollars Eighty-eight Cents / Midnight Blues / I'd Run A Mile To You / I Wanna Get Home / Ninety Seven More To Go / Drive Me Out of My Mind / Four Strong Winds / No Love Have I / Still Nineteen / Mystery Train a.k.a. The Happy Song
|BLR 33132 2 (CD)
|----
|2010
|''Standing Tall''
Hurtin' Inside / Honey 'Cause I Love You / Pretty Lou / Still Loving You / Without Love / Long Black Train / Lookout Mabel / Crazy Arms / Where The Rio De Rosa Flows / Whatcha Gonna Do / Country Girls / Love My Baby / Don't Tell Me Your Troubles / Hey Porter / You're A Heartbreaker / Cheese & Crackers (aka Happy Song #2) / bonus CD "Live with the Barnshakers": Rockabilly Gal / You Win Again / Blues Blues Blues / Don't You Worry / Midnight Blues
|BLR 33144 2 (CD)
BLR 331449 (2-CD)
|----
|2016
|''Booneville Mississippi Flash / The Time Is Now''
Ah Poor Little Baby / Drivin' Me Out of My Mind / Born To Lose / Had A Little Talk / Don't Say That You're Sorry / I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry / Eenie Meenie Minie Mo / Hands of Time / The Boy From Tupelo (1985 version) / I Wanna Get Home / A Girl Named Betty / When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again / Pretty Little Love Song / Wishful Thinking / Fried Chicken / Wrong Road Again / At The Party Tonight / I Still Miss Someone / Ain't That Loving You Baby / Tell Me That's The Way It'll Be / I Ain't Taking No Prisoners / Stonecold Heart / Careless Hands / Boy From Tupelo (1990 version) / What'm I Gonna Do / Cry Cry Cry / You Are My Sunshine / Wrong Road Again (1995 version) / Keys to My Kingdom<small><br />reissue of Charly CR 30245 and Sunjay SJLP 589 with bonus tracks</small>
|BLR 33135 2 (CD)
|----
|2017
|''Learning the Game''
|(CD)
(LP)
|}

==Compilations==
* ''Love My Baby'' (1999) (Collection of earlier work)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Hayden}}
Category:1938 births
Category:2025 deaths
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:American rockabilly musicians
Category:Sun Records artists
Category:Phillips International Records artists
Category:Charly Records artists
Category:Kapp Records artists
Category:People from Booneville, Mississippi
Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters
Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters
Category:20th-century American guitarists
Category:21st-century American guitarists
Category:American rock singers
Category:American country singer-songwriters
Category:Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Category:Guitarists from Mississippi
Category:American male guitarists
Category:Country musicians from Mississippi
Category:20th-century American male singers
Category:21st-century American male singers

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hayden Thompson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Thompson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Thompson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.
