WHEN JOE BABY CALLS

One day, a gazillion years ago, I got a phone call from my brother telling me that drummer Sandy Nelson was in town, along with my brothers friend who I only knew as "Joe Baby" (the nickname was some sort of running joke, the exact origin of which remains unknown to me, but I think I remember it was because someone, at some point, had addressed Joe as "Joe, baby,.."). Joe had been under the employ of the Ventures (I think he was their road manager) so he was connected with musicians well versed in instrumentals. Nelson was known to my brother and I as the guy who had hits with "Let There Be Drums" (1959) and "Teen Beat" (1961), and pretty much made his living for years with drum heavy instrumentals. On this particular night, Nelson felt like a little jam session, so Joe quickly arranged one, and my brother was one of the musicians to get the call. Knowing I'd dig it, he picked me up, and off we were, to a cramped basement in a nearby house. Among the musicians were my brother, Joe, Nelson, and Skid Roper, a guitarist and record collector that had been in a surf band with my brother. All of them knew instrumentals of the same vintage, so song selections were not a problem. At some point, someone suggested "Caravan" which could easily be stretched out to a beat heavy drummer showcase. When Nelson recorded his version, it ran about two minutes long. The Evasions, my brother and Skid's band, recorded a version that was roughly twice as long, with even more emphasis on the drums. On this particular night, Nelson, who had been lighting up and snuffing cigarettes between songs, simply ran out of gas mid-song, damning his smoking habit.  After a brief break, they continued the jam, but I never forgot that incident. As someone who loved that particular song, and was honored to even be in the same room as Nelson, it gave me pause. (I too was a smoker.)  Every time I've heard Nelson's music since that night, I think about that two or three minute lull.  When Diddy Wah recently posted his version of "Caravan." I was right back in that room watching Nelson putting a his soft pack of Benson & Hedges Menthol 100's back in his breast pocket. (The shit you remember...)

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Sandy Nelson - Caravan mp3 at Diddy Wah 
Sandy Nelson - And Then There Were Drums mp3 at Clayton Counts 
Sandy Nelson - Gimme Some Skin mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People
Sandy Nelson - Karate Boogaloo mp3 at Probe Is Turning-On the People 
Bonus Nelson cover: 
Incredible Bongo Band - Let There Be Drums mp3 at Funky 16 Corners 
Visit: 
Sandy Nelson at Wikipedia