The Louie Report

The blog for all things LOUIE LOUIE

Menu
  • LOUIE LOUIE History
  • Richard Berry
  • FAQ
  • FBI Investigation
  • The Documentary
  • LLAMAS
  • Contact
Menu

RIP: Sandy Nelson, legendary drummer

Posted on March 5, 2022

Last month, we lost Sandy Nelson, one of the best-known rock drummers of the early 1960s.

He was the drummer for a lot of Top 40 records, including songs recorded by friends he knew from high school – Jan Berry, Dean Torrence, Kim Fowley, and Phil Spector. In addition to working as a prominent session drummer, he also found success as a solo instrumental recording artist.

His instrumental recording “Teen Beat”, hit the #4 mark on the Billboard Hot 100 list in 1959, selling over one million copies, earning him a gold record. He followed this up with two more Top 40 hits, “Let There Be Drums”, which went to #7 on the Hot 100, and “Drums Are My Beat” (#29). His success wasn’t limited to the USA, as “Let There Be Drums” became a Top 10 hit record in both the United Kingdom and United States in December 1961

In late 1963, Nelson was in a motorcycle accident that left him with injuries that necessitated the amputation of a portion of his right leg. He learned how to play the bass drum with his left leg. As he told a reporter of The Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2017, in the long run, he “developed a little better technique.”

One of the recordings that he did after that accident was the “Boss Beat” album in 1965 which featured a great instrumental version of LOUIE LOUIE.

Sandy Nelson died on February 14 – Valentine’s Day in Las Vegas. He was 83 years old.

Reference Links:
NY Times obituary on Sandy Nelson
Wikipedia- Sandy Nelson

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Louie Louie Alliances

  • All of LOUIEs (WIki powered) 0
  • Andy's Louie Pages 4
  • LOUIE Day – LLamas 1
  • Louie Louie – Wikipedia 0
  • LOUIE LOUIE Party (Facebook group) 1
  • Mike's Louie pages 3
  • Phil's Louie pages 3
  • Theo's Louie Pages (1st LOUIE site – preserved) 2

Recent Comments

  • Ricky Terrell on Steve West, the Lost Raider – LOUIE of the Week
  • Bonnie Burbidge on a plea for my friends James MacLeod and Deborah Merchant
  • Ron Allen on RIP: Buck Ormsby of Fabulous Wailers + Etiquette Records
  • Christina Trosper on Hail Hail, Sam Carlson – military veteran + Pacific NW music archivist
  • James MacLeod on In Memoriam – folks we lost in 2022
  • Lisa Hairspray on In Memoriam – folks we lost in 2022
  • Danielle B. on In Memoriam – folks we lost in 2022
  • Crystal Engelhart Malang on Happy 80th Birthday for Little Bill Engelhart
  • Tori on Steve West, the Lost Raider – LOUIE of the Week
  • Tim Helm on Steve West, the Lost Raider – LOUIE of the Week
  • gordon hirsch on RIP: Steve West, original guitarist for Paul Revere & the Raiders
  • Darrel Thrasher on Steve West, the Lost Raider – LOUIE of the Week
  • Lin butler on Steve West, the Lost Raider – LOUIE of the Week
  • Jeanette Carlson on Hail Hail, Sam Carlson – military veteran + Pacific NW music archivist
  • Ralph D. Jeffords on RIP: Gail Harris, member of Fabulous Wailers revue
©2023 The Louie Report | Theme by SuperbThemes