Grady Tate

Artist: Grady Tate

LP: Windmills of My Mind

Song: "The Windmills of Your Mind"

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Song: "Don't Fence Me In"

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Grady Tate is primarily known for his drumming (he played and recorded with the likes of Jimmy Smith, Simon and Garfunkel, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Astrud Gilberto, Count Basie and many others) but he also had an amazing voice! This 1968 LP I found at Daybreak Records the other day (now open at their new location!) is the first of six that Grady released as lead singer between 1968 and 1974. He also contributed vocals to several songs in the iconic "Schoolhouse Rock" series of educational tunes. His rendition of "The Windmills of Your Mind" (with Herbie Hancock on organ!) is probably one of the most beautiful things I've heard today. True, it's only 5:53am, but still. Wouldn't you kill to have windmills of the mind right now? Seems all anybody's got nowadays is helicopters.

[ Grady Tate: January 14, 1932 — October 8, 2017 ]

Chief Bey and His Royal Household

Artist: Chief Bey and His Royal Household

LP: Congo Percussion

Song: "Asawanda"

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...and speaking of "all places," I found this terrific album full of African percussion at Everybody's Records last summer while I was in Cincinnati. Chief Bey (and His Royal Household) is only credited on the record's actual label for some reason, and not on the LP sleeve, which repeatedly refers to their "TABOO" recording session. That may be due to the fact that everyone evidently "lost themselves" and began "jumping around" during the recording session (see liner notes), or maybe because this same set of songs was also released on an earlier LP called "Taboo," featuring a much more exciting cover. In any case, Chief Bey was born in Yamassee, South Carolina before his family moved him to New York City, where he would become a famed jazz drummer and teacher, working with musicians like Cab Calloway, Miriam Makeba, Pharoah Sanders, and Herbie Mann. Sadly, he died eight years ago, about a week before his 91st birthday. You can read about Chief Bey here and go here to find his obituary in the New York Times.

[ Chief Bey: April 17, 1913 — April 8, 2004 ]

Sandy Nelson

Artist: Sandy Nelson

LP: Drum Discothèque

Song: "Tim Tom Drum"

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You can bring the excitement of the discothèque (not to mention The Watusi) into your very own home with this 1965 "recorded live" LP by handsome rock-n-roll drummer extraordinaire Sandy Nelson. Born in Santa Monica, CA in 1938, Sandy went to high school with Jan and Dean before playing drums on several pop hits, like The Teddy Bears' "To Know Him Is to Love Him." He then landed several top ten hits of his own in the late '50s and early '60s—a rare feat for a drummer whose songs don't feature any vocals. Though his right foot was amputated in 1963 after a motorcycle accident, Nelson continued making music on into the 1970s and '80s. His latest album, "Nelsonized," was released on the Spinout label in 2008—you can hear samples and buy a copy here. Read more about the life and career of Sandy Nelson on Wikipedia here, and pictures and notes from the "Drum Discothèque" LP are included below.

[ Sandy Nelson, American drummer ]

Olatunji and His Drums of Passion

Artist: Olatunji and His Drums of Passion

LP: High Life!

Song: "Ojo Davis"
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This wonderful 1963 Babatunde Olatunji LP is one of the things I found at Waterloo Records when I was down in Austin, TX back in October. With the release of his "Drums of Passion" album for Columbia Records four years earlier, Olatunji had provided many Americans with their very first exposure to African music. You can read about the life and career of this talented Nigerian percussionist here and here, and I'll be posting the extensive "High Life!" liner notes when I've got more time.

[ Babatunde Olatunji: April 7, 1927 — April 6, 2003 ]