Sandy Nelson

Artist: Sandy Nelson

LP: Drum Discothèque

Song: "Tim Tom Drum"

[ listen ]

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 ]