"Let There Be Drums" is a 1961 instrumental composed by American drummer Sandy Nelson and guitarist Richard Podolor, who later became a renowned record producer.
| "Let There Be Drums" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Sandy Nelson | ||||
| from the album Let There Be Drums | ||||
| B-side | "Quite a Beat" | |||
| Released | September 1961 [U.S.] | |||
| Genre | Instrumental rock[1] | |||
| Length | 2:14 | |||
| Label | Imperial X5775 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sandy Nelson, Richard Podolor | |||
| Sandy Nelson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe piece is a guitar and drums duet and is an early example of surf music.
Chart performance
editIt was released as a Sandy Nelson single on Imperial Records X5775 and became a chart hit, reaching No.7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] and No.9 on the U.S. Cash Box charts (weeks of 24 December and 16 December 1961),[3] and No. 8 in Canada (weeks of 4 December and 11 December 1961).[4] Nelson's "Let There Be Drums" was an Australian No.1 single for a week (week of 20 January 1962)[5] and peaked at No.3 on the U.K. singles chart during the weeks of 4–10 January and 18–24 January 1962,[6] becoming the 50th best-selling single in the U.K. during the calendar year 1962.[7]
Cover versions
editThe Incredible Bongo Band's rendition of this instrumental was the theme music for Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling telecasts on the former ATV network in Maritime Canada during the 1970s and the 1980s. The song reached #66 on the Canadian RPM charts.[8] It was also featured in "The Tenth Inning", an episode of Ken Burns' Baseball.[9]
References
edit- ^ Adinolfi, Francesco (April 25, 2008). "Destination: Space Age Pop". In Pinkus, Karen (ed.). Mondo Exotica - Sounds, Visions, Obsessions of the Cocktail Generation. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 135.
- ^ "Sandy Nelson: Billboard Singles". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles: Week ending DECEMBER 16, 1961". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ "CHUM Hit Parade - December 4, 1961".
- ^ "Australia No.1 Hits [of the] 1960s". World Charts. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Official [U.K.] Singles Chart Top 50: 04 January-10 January 1962". The Official U.K. Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ "The 100 Best-Selling Singles of 1962 [in the U.K.]". www.sixtiescity.net. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 22, 1973" (PDF).
- ^ Feeney, Mark. "Burns takes to the diamond again," The Boston Globe, Tuesday, September 28, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
