Biography
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Born
15 March 1940
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Born In
Jonesville, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, United States
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Died
24 July 2025 (aged 85)
Tommy McLain (born in Jonesville, Louisiana, on 15 March 1940; died 24 July 2025) was an American 'swamp pop' musician remembered as a singer who also played keyboards, fiddle, bass guitar, and drums. In October 2007, he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
McLain first began performing in the 1950s, along with country singer Clint West. The two were both members of The Vel-Tones in the late 1950s and The Boogie Kings in the 1960s, and they recorded a duet, "Try to Find Another Man", in 1965. He also performed on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars in the 1960s and DJed at Louisiana radio station, KREH. McLain's greatest fame was with his recording of the song "Sweet Dreams", which hit No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966. It reached No. 49 in the UK Singles Chart the same year.
He also wrote Freddy Fender's hit single, "If You Don't Love Me Alone (Leave Me Alone)". McLain appears along with the Mule Train Band in the Paul Newman film, The Drowning Pool.
In October 2007, McLain was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
On 26 August 2022, McLain released his first album in over 40 years, entitled "I Ran Down Every Dream".
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