Nervous Norvus
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Other people". Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Template:Wikidata image Jimmy Drake (March 24, 1912 – July 24, 1968), known professionally as Nervous Norvus, was an American musician known for the controversial novelty song "Transfusion".
Early life
He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived for a few years in Ripley, Tennessee. Because of his chronic asthma condition, his family moved to California when he was seven, eventually settling in East Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Career
When he was 29, he moved to Oakland, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a truck driver for a time, and, in 1953, looking for a way to get off the roads, he began to get his feet wet in the recording industry. He bought a reel-to-reel tape recorder (an Ampex 600), a cheap second-hand piano, and a baritone ukulele. With these accessories, he started supplementing his truck driving income in earnest by recording demos of his fellow amateur songwriters’ offerings.[1]
His novelty song "Transfusion", recorded for the Dot Records label, was a top-ten hit in May 1956, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Best Sellers chart.[2][3] A second single, "Ape Call", released in July of that year, also charted and peaked at #28.[4][5][6] A third Dot single, "The Fang", released in September 1956, did not chart at all.
The lyrics in "Transfusion" concern a reckless driver who repeatedly gets seriously injured in car accidents by disregarding traffic laws (speeding, unsafe lane changes, and disregarding stop signs); he vows to never speed again after each accident, but quickly goes back to his dangerous driving habits after asking for (and receiving) a blood transfusion each time. This novelty song features the sound effects of a vehicle collision. The song was banned on many radio stations in the 1950s.[5] The song was later played on the radio by Barry Hansen, which led to Hansen's nickname Dr. Demento.[7]
Death
Drake died at age 56 in Alameda County, California of cirrhosis of the liver. His body was donated to the University of California, San Francisco, Anatomy Department.
References
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- ↑ Hassan, Adeel. "Dr. Demento, Song Satirist and D.J. Who Promoted Weird Al, Is Retiring", The New York Times. June 21, 2025.
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External links
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- 1912 births
- 1968 deaths
- American comedy musicians
- American outsider musicians
- Dot Records artists
- Deaths from cirrhosis
- 20th-century American singers
- Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee
- People from Ripley, Tennessee
- Musicians from Los Angeles
- Musicians from Oakland, California
- Comedians from Oakland, California
- 20th-century American comedians
- 20th-century American male singers