1912-1968 US, Memphis, Tennessee
Rock and Pop
A.k.a. Jimmy Drake Singing Jimmy Drake
Nervous Norvus, whose real name was Jimmy Drake was a Memphis native born in 1912 and later moved to California where he lived until he passed away on July 24, 1968 at age 56 from cirrhosis of the liver. He was a truck driver who dreamed of becoming a songwriter. He took out an ad in a music paper offering to record songs for budding amateur songwriters. With a little home studio set up, he was able to supplement his truck driving income with his new music service. With the help of radio personality Red Blanchard, whom Drake had been sending tapes of his songs to, Drake recorded 'Transfusion' under the name Nervous Norvus for the Dot label in 1956. The successful single was followed up with another hit, "Ape Call". Drake declined an invitation to appear on the Ed Sullivan show to perform "Transfusion" due to his shyness. A third single "The Fang" flopped and Drake was subsequently dropped from the label and resumed his home based music service. More singles followed on various tiny indie labels, but nothing ever came of them. 2004 saw the release of a CD anthology collecting together 33 recordings Drake made under his own name, and as Nervous Norvus entitled "Stone Age Woo: The Zorch Sounds of Nervous Norvus" on the Norton label.
Track list and 30sec audio provided by
Title | Artist | Year | Type |
---|---|---|---|
Zorch! Transfusion Time With Nervous Norvus And Red Blanchard | Nervous Norvus / Red Blanchard | 2014 | Compil. |
Stone Age Woo - The Zorch Sounds Of Nervous Norvus | Nervous Norvus | 2004 | Compil. |
True Love Ways / Transfusion | Buddy Holly / Nervous Norvus | 1988 | Single |
Transfusion | Nervous Norvus | 1985 | Compil. |
Cowboy Soldier / Wa-hoo | Nervous Norvus | 1964 | Single |
Does A Chinese Chicken Have A Pigtail | Nervous Norvus | 1960 | Single |
Lets Worship God Each Sunday / Pure Gold | Nervous Norvus | 1960 | Single |
Stoneage Woo / I Like Girls | Nervous Norvus | 1959 | Single |
Dig | Nervous Norvus | 1957 | Single |
Dig / Bullfrog Hop | Nervous Norvus | 1957 | Album |
Ape Call / Wild Dog Of Kentucky | Nervous Norvus | 1956 | Single |
Transfusion | Nervous Norvus | 1956 | Single |
The Fang / The Bullfrog Hop | Nervous Norvus | 1956 | Single |
Transfusion / Ape Call | Nervous Norvus | Single | |
Transfusion / Angela Jones | Nervous Norvus, Johnny Ferguson | Single | |
Transfusion / Rave On | Nervous Norvus / Buddy Holly | Single |