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 w ...

"Transfusion".

Early life

He was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, and lived for a few years in Ripley, Tennessee. Because of his chronic asthma condition, his family moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

when he was seven, eventually settling in East Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Career

When he was 29, he moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, 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 Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excell ...

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. His

"Transfusion", recorded for the Dot Records label, was a top-ten hit in May 1956, reaching number 8 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 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 sign A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...

s); 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 Circulatory system, circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used ...

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.

Death

Drake died at age 56 in

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...

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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

, Anatomy Department.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nervous Norvus 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