Jimmy Drake (March 24, 1912 – July 24, 1968), known professionally as Nervous Norvus, was an American musician known for the controversial

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

"Transfusion".

Early life

He was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and lived for a few years in

Ripley, Tennessee Ripley is a city in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,445 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County. Geography Ripley is located at (35.743115, −89.533872). According to the United States ...

. Because of his chronic asthma condition, his family moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

when he was seven, eventually settling in the

East Hollywood, Los Angeles East Hollywood is a densely populated neighborhood of 78,000+ residents in the central region of Los Angeles, California. It is notable for being the site of Los Angeles City College, Barnsdall Park and a hospital district. There are seven pu ...

Career

When he was 29, he moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, 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, 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 songwriter's offerings. His

"Transfusion", recorded for the Dot Records label, was a top-ten hit in May 1956, reaching number 8 on the '' Billboard'' Best Sellers chart. A second single, "Ape Call", released in July of that year, also charted and peaked at #28. 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 Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but mo ...

each time. This novelty song features the sound effects of a vehicle collision. The song was banned on many radio stations in the 1950s. The song was later played on the radio by Barry Hansen, which reportedly led to Hansen's nickname

Dr. Demento Barret Eugene Hansen (born April 2, 1941), known professionally as Dr. Demento, is an American radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograp ...

Death

Drake died at age 56 in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

of cirrhosis of the liver. His body was donated to the

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It con ...

Anatomy Department.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nervous Norvus 1912 births 1968 deaths American comedy musicians Outsider musicians Dot Records artists Deaths from cirrhosis 20th-century American singers People from Memphis, Tennessee People from Ripley, Tennessee People from Los Angeles People from Oakland, California Comedians from California 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male singers