Sandy Nelson

Originario di Santa Monica, California, Sander Nelson (n. 1938, USA) ai tempi delle scuole medie ha compagni di Scuola che si chiamano Jan Berry e Dean Torrence (Jan & Dan), Nancy Sinatra e Phil Spector. Verso il 1957 Nelson suona la batteria in una band locale, Kip Tyler and the Flips. Il gruppo, che per un certo periodo comprende anche Bruce Johnston (poi nei Beach Boys), incide alcuni pezzi per le etichette EBB e CHALLENGE. Nel 1958 Nelson accompagna il gruppo vocale dei Teddy Bears, del quale fa parte l'amico Phil Spector; la loro To Know Him Is To Love Him, su etichetta DORE, balza al primo posto in classifica nell'ottobre 1958 ed è in breve un million seller. Dopo avere lavorato come sessionman, nell'autunno del 1959 Nelson registra Teen Beat per l'etichetta ORIGINAL SOUND; il pezzo diventa un grande hit nelle classifiche e porta Nelson a un contratto con la IMPERIAL RECORDS. Le cose però non vanno subito bene ed è solo dopo due anni che Nelson ottiene un altro successo con Let There Be Drum, esempio tipico del sound che Nelson crea con il suo strumento e che conserverà nelle incisioni future. La perdita del piede sinistro in un incidente automobilistico fin dal 1961 non influenzerà il modo di Nelson di suonare la batteria e la sua produzione resta quantitativamente imponente fino al '70; col passar del tempo tuttavia vengono meno spunti originali e, dal 1966 in avanti, i dischi sono decisamente mediocri.

Sander L. Nelson (born December 1, 1938) is an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock drummers of the early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and was a session drummer on many other well-known hits, and released over 30 albums. He lives in Boulder City, Nevada, and continues to experiment with music on keyboards and piano.

Career

His first recording, with a band called the Renegades (Richard Podolor, Bruce Johnston, and Nick Venet), was "Geronimo", written by Venet, produced by Kim Fowley, and released on the Original Sound Records label. Although it flopped on the national charts, it charted in some of the Mid West markets. The song, along with "Charge", is part of the soundtrack of 1959 film Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow released by American International Pictures.
Nelson attended high school with Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (who became Jan and Dean), and Kim Fowley. After gaining respect as a session drummer, he played on such songs as "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (Phil Spector's Teddy Bears, 1958), "Alley-Oop" (The Hollywood Argyles, 1960), and "A Thousand Stars" (Kathy Young and the Innocents, 1960).
His song "Teen Beat", on Original Sound Records, rose to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Subsequently, he signed with the Imperial record label, and pounded out two more Top 40 hits, "Let There Be Drums", which went to number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Drums Are My Beat". In December 1961, the British music magazine, NME, reported that "Let There Be Drums" had gone Top 10 in both the United Kingdom and United States. All three were instrumentals (a feat rarely repeated). Guitar playing on these hits was by co-writer Richard Podolor, later a songwriter and record producer.
Near the end of 1963, Nelson was in a motorcycle accident. The injuries necessitated amputation of his right foot and part of that leg. Nonetheless, Nelson continued to record into the early 1970s, releasing two or three albums a year, consisting of cover versions of popular hits plus a few original compositions.
In September 2008, Nelson and a few friends, recording as Sandy Nelson and the Sin City Termites, released a new record of original compositions, Nelsonized, on the independent Spinout label. Other band members included Eddie Angel (guitarist for Los Straitjackets), Remi Gits, and Billy Favata of Torturing Elvis.

Discography

Singles

"Teen Beat" (BB #4, CB #4) / Big Jump—Original Sound 5 (1959)
"Drum Party" / "Big Noise From Winnetka" — Imperial 5630 (1960)
"Party Time" / "The Wiggle" — Imperial 5648 (1960)
"Bouncy" / "Lost Dreams" — Imperial 5672 (1961)
"Cool Operator" / "Jive Talk" — Imperial 5708 (1961)
"Big Noise From The Jungle" / "Get With It" — Imperial 5745 (1961)
"Let There Be Drums" (BB #7, CB #9) / "Quite A Beat" — Imperial 5775 (1961)
"Drums Are My Beat" (BB #29, CB #57) / "The Birth Of The Beat" (BB #75) - Imperial 5809 (1962)
"Drummin' Up A Storm" (BB #67) / "Drum Stomp" (BB #86, CB #100) - Imperial 5829 (1962)
"All Night Long" (BB #75) / "Rompin' & Stompin'" - Imperial 5860 (1962)
"...And Then There Were Drums" (BB #65, CB #95) / "Live It Up" (BB #101) - Imperial 5870 (1962)
"Teenage House Party" / "Day Train" — Imperial 5884 (1962)
"Let The Four Winds Blow" (BB #107) / "Be Bop Baby" — Imperial 5904 (1962)
"Ooh Poo Pah Doo" / "Feel So Good" — Imperial 5932 (1963)
"You Name It" / "Alexes" — Imperial 5940 (1963)
"Here We Go Again" / "Just Bull" — Imperial 5965 (1963)
"Caravan" / "Sandy" — Imperial 5988 (1964)
"Drum Shack" / "Kitty's Theme" — Imperial 66019 (1964)
"Castle Rock" / "You Don't Say" — Imperial 66034 (1964)
"Teen Beat" '65 (BB #44, CB #37) / "Kitty's Theme" — Imperial 66060 (1964)
"Reach For A Star" (BB #133) / "Chop Chop" — Imperial 66093 (1965)
"Let There Be Drums '66" (BB #120) / "Land Of 1000 Dances" — Imperial 66107 (1965)
"Drums A Go Go" (BB #124) / "Casbah" — Imperial 66127 (1965)
"A Lover's Concerto" / "Treat Her Right" — Imperial 66146 (1965)
"Sock It To 'Em, J.B." / "The Charge" — Imperial 66193 (1966)
"Pipeline" / "Let's Go Trippin'" - Imperial 66209 (1966)
"The Drums Go On" / "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" — Imperial 66246 (1966)
"Peter Gunn" / "You Got The Hummin'" - Imperial 66253 (1966)
"Rebirth Of The Beat" / "The Lion In Winter" — Imperial 66350 (1969)
"Manhattan Spiritual" (BB #119) / "The Stripper" — Imperial 66375 (1969)
"Let There Be Drums And Brass" / "Leap Frog" — Imperial 66402 (1969)
"Sapporo '72" / (B-side unknown) - United Artists 50830 (1972, unreleased)
"Dance With The Devil" / "Sunshine Of My Life" — United Artists 383 (1974)
"Drum Tunnel" / "Boogie #5" — Veebletronics 1 (1984)
"Hunk Of Drums" / "Witch Hunt" — Veebletronics 2 (1984)
"A Drum Is A Woman" / "Boogie #5" — Veebletronics 3 (1984)

Albums

NOTE: There were separate Cashbox charts for stereo and mono albums until 1965

Sandy Nelson Plays Teen Beat — Imperial 9105 (Mono)/12044 (Stereo) (1960)

Originally issued with white cover, later issued with red cover. Features re-recorded version of "Teen Beat"

He's A Drummer Boy (Later retitled Happy Drums) — Imperial 9136/12089 (1961)
Let There Be Drums (BB #6) - Imperial 9159 (CB #7)/12080 (CB #17) (1962)
Drums Are My Beat (BB #29) - Imperial 9168 (CB #24)/12083 (CB #31) (1962)
Drummin' Up A Storm (BB #55) - Imperial 9187 (CB #82)/12189 (1962)
Golden Hits (BB #106) - Imperial 9202/12202 (1962)
Country Style— Imperial 9203/12203 (1962)

Reissued in 1966 as On The Wild Side

Compelling Percussion — Imperial 9204/12204 (1962)

Reissued in 1966 as ...And Then There Were Drums

Teenage House Party — Imperial 9215/12215 (1963)
The Best Of The Beats — Imperial 9224/12224 (1963)
Beat That Drum — Imperial 9237/12237 (1963)
Sandy Nelson Plays — Imperial 9249/12249 (1963)
Be True To Your School — Imperial 9258/12258 (1964)
Live! In Las Vegas (BB #122) - Imperial 9272 (CB #58)/12272 (1964)

Despite the title, all tracks are studio recordings with live audience dubbed in

Teen Beat '65 (BB #135) - Imperial 9278/12278 (1965)
Drum Discothèque (BB #120) - Imperial 9283/12283 (1965)
Drums A Go-Go (BB #118, CB #82) - Imperial 9287/12287 (1965)
Boss Beat (BB #126) - Imperial 9298/12298 (1966)
"In" Beat (BB #148) - Imperial 9305/12305 (1966)
Super Drums — Imperial 9314/12314 (1966)
Beat That #!!@* Drum (CB #94) - Imperial 9329/12329 (1966)
Cheetah Beat — Imperial 9340/12340 (1967)
The Beat Goes On — Imperial 9345/12345 (1967)
Soul Drums — Imperial 9362/12362 (1967)
Boogaloo Beat — Imperial 9367/12367 (1968)
Rock And Roll Revival — Imperial 12400 (1968)
Rebirth Of The Beat — Imperial 12424 (1969)
Manhattan Spiritual — Imperial 12439 (1969)
Groovy — Imperial 12451 (1970)
Disco Dynamite — United Artists L35491 (1975)

Budget compilations

Walkin' Beat! — Sunset SUM-1114 (Mono)/SUS-5114 (Stereo) (1966)
Teen Drums — Sunset SUM-1166/SUS-5166 (1967)
And There Were Drums (Drums And More Drums) - Sunset SUS-5224 (1968)
Heavy Drums — Sunset SUS-5261 (1969)
Sandy Nelson Plays Fats Domino Hits — Sunset SUS-5291 (1970)
Drums, Drums, Drums - Sunset SLS 50060 (Stereo) (Year?)

Sandy Nelson - Teen Beat - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lbxeJRtfGw

Artist: Sandy Nelson

Album: Teen Beat

Released: 1960

Genres: Jazz, Brit Pop, Vocal/Easy Listening, Christian/Gospel, Rock, Pop

Sandy Nelson - Let There Be Drums - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9okWm8A6o

Artist: Sandy Nelson

Album: I Love How You Love Me

Released: 1968

Genre: Pop

Bee Bop Baby - Sandy Nelson - 1967 - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlBztf53Ptc

Lyrics

A Bebop Baby A Bebop Baby
A Bebop Baby she's the gal for me
She's got plenty of rhythm got plenty of jive
And when we dance I really come alive
My love for her is so tender and sweet
My heart starts pounding every time we meet
My Bebop Baby still in her teens
Just as sweet as she can be
My Bebop Baby in her old blue jeans
Is the Bebop Baby for me
A Bebop Baby for me
A Bebop Baby A Bebop Baby
A Bebop Baby she's the gal for me
I'm gonna find her tonight
I'm gonna have a time
I want that baby to be mine all mine
A big day is comin' for my baby and me
The day she says she belongs to me
My Bebop Baby still in her teens
Just as sweet as she can be
My Bebop Baby in her old blue jeans
Is the Bebop Baby for me

Songwriters: Pearl Lendhurst

Be Bop Baby lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Artist: Sandy Nelson

Album: Drums and More Drums!

Released: 1968

Genres: Vocal/Easy Listening, Rock, Pop