I can't profess to know too much about Sandy Nelson, but I figure that any site like ours, which is so dedicated to vintage drums, should have a reference to him.

Sandy was a Gretsch and then Ludwig endorser who recorded Let There Be Drums and Teen Beat and a number of covers of hit songs of the time. One of the amazing stories I have known since my teenage years in the mid 60s was that Sandy was seriously injured in a traffic accident that forced the amputation of his right leg. He taught himself to play right handed and left footed. Sandy placed his hi hat between his bass drum and floor tom for use with his right/artificial leg/foot. He didn't seem to miss a beat.

I owe a debt to Sandy because I did a wholesale swipe of Let There Be Drums when I was playing in my high school's dance band and needed just the right fill. There are those who credit Cozy Cole's Topsy as Sandy's inspiration.

As the Beatle era came in and gathered momentum, the public's tastes changed and instrumentals lost popularity. So, Sandy's out there somewhere, I hope, and still performing. Thanks go out to Max Weinberg for including Sandy Nelson tracks in Let There Be Drums, Volume 1.

There's more information in my book for Modern Drummer called The Great American Drums ! E-mail us today or call our order line at (888) 594-3786 and we'll make arrangements to send you an autographed copy.