| abstract
| - Nervous Norvus, whose real name was Jimmy Drake was a Memphis native born in 1912 and later moved to California where he lived until he passed away on July 24, 1968 at age 56 from cirrhosis of the liver. He was a truck driver who dreamed of becoming a songwriter. He took out an ads in a music papers offering to record songs for budding amateur songwriters. With a little home studio set up, he was able to supplement his truck driving income with his new music service. With the help of radio personality Red Blanchard, whom Drake had been sending tapes of his songs to, Drake recorded 'Transfusion' under the name Nervous Norvus for the Dot label in 1956. The successful single was followed up with another hit, %22Ape Call%22. Drake declined an invitation to appear on the Ed Sullivan show to perform %22Transfusion%22 due to his shyness. A third single %22The Fang%22 flopped and Drake was subsequently dropped from the label and resumed his home based music service. More singles followed on various tiny indie labels, but nothing ever came of them. 2004 saw the release of a CD anthology collecting together 33 recordings Drake made under his own name, and as Nervous Norvus entitled %22Stone Age Woo: The Zorch Sounds of Nervous Norvus%22 on the Norton label.
|
| dbo:abstract
| - For other persons named Jim Drake, see Jim Drake (disambiguation)Nervous Norvus was the performing name of Jimmy Drake (March 24, 1912 – July 24, 1968). He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived for a few years in Ripley, Tennessee, near the Arkansas border. Because of his chronic asthma condition, his family moved to California when he was seven, eventually settling in the Oakwood district of Los Angeles, California. When he was 29 he moved to Oakland, California, where he would live for the rest of his life. His novelty song %22Transfusion%22 was a major hit in 1956, as was a second song, %22Ape Call,%22 released later that year.The lyrics in his song called %22Transfusion%22 concern a careless driver who (cheerfully) receives blood transfusions after each accident. Graphic sounds of a car crash are included after each verse. Each stanza concludes with the refrain %22Never never never gonna speed again%22 followed by lines such as %22Slip the blood to me, Bud%22 or %22Pour the crimson in me, Jimson.%22 The song was banned on many radio stations in the 1950s. The song was later played on the radio by DJ Barry Hansen, which reportedly led to Hansen's eventual nickname of Dr. Demento. The car crash sound effect from this song, dubbed from the Standard Sound Effects Library, can be heard on %22Dead Man's Curve%22 by Jan and Dean and %22Leader of the Pack%22 by the Shangri-Las, and is currently available on the %22Classic TV Sound Effects Library%22 from Sound Ideas.The song received a review from an unlikely source—personal-injury lawyer Melvin Belli—in his 1956 book Ready for the Plaintiff!, in which he says: %22The ghoulish lyrics hiccup hysterically%22 but %22wind up with a gem of jive-y wisdom that is strictly in the groove: 'Oh, barnyard drivers are found in two classes / Line-crowding hogs and speeding jackasses / So remember to slow down today!'%22 There was irony too, as Drake was employed as a truck driver, prior to and after his recording fame.Nervous Norvus was over 40 by the time he had his two hit singles in 1956. His records were made with input from radio personality Red Blanchard, to whom he was sending demos in the hope of finding an artist to record them. Blanchard had been an influence, particularly with the %22jive%22 language employed in the lyrics.After his brief time of glory, which amounted to less than six months, he concentrated on his demo service, providing music for other people's songs. He would charge around seven dollars to make these demos, some of which led to publishing contracts for the songwriters.Contrary to popular belief, Drake was never a member of the Four Jokers, who also recorded %22Transfusion%22 (with a group harmony vocal sound) on the Diamond record label in 1956. He was very shy and even turned down a chance to perform %22Transfusion%22 on The Ed Sullivan Show. After a final single on Dot Records (%22The Fang%22 b/w %22Bullfrog Hop%22), the artist had his contract dropped. He only recorded sporadically thereafter for a series of independent labels like Embee (%22Stoneage Woo%22 b/w %22I Like Girls%22) and Big Ben, up to 1960. Nervous Norvus died at Alameda County hospital in 1968 of cirrhosis of the liver, aged 56. A CD including hits and rare tracks, Stone Age Woo, was released by Norton Records in 2004. %22Transfusion%22 also appears on Kenny Everett's The World's Worst Record Show (K-Tel label, 1978).
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
