The First Instrument I’d Ever Wanted to Play
In 1959, drummer Sandy Nelson released “Teen Beat” on 45 rpm, one of which my young aunt owned and which I got to play while in grade 4, permanently burning it in my memory bank. In 1963/Grade 8 and I rediscovered Sandy on one of my girlfriend’s older sister’s LPs–Let There Be Drums, featuring the minor hit of the same title. I eventually bought several of his albums and he quickly became my favorite drummer, standing out with his unique albums which featured concept solos.
(I was living in an apartment block though at the time, and the dream of owning a kit and learning to play was not destined to happen. The hootenanny era was just beginning to peak and I turned, instead, to guitar, and was quickly self-taught. The Kingston Trio’s “Tom Dooley” was an easy first-play, followed by The Kinks’ “A Well Respected Man”. Chords led me further into guitar and into playing folk, folk-rock, and eventually rock.)
For the record, some of Sandy’s best work with extended solos belatedly made it to CDs and quickly became an expensive sold-out collector’s items. He continued to play despite losing a foot and part of a leg in an accident in the late ’60s. An amazing guy and a legendary player and promoter of drums. In the world of rock drumming, he was “It” during the late 1950s up to the beginnings of the British Invasion.
