Nervous Man Nervous: Big Jay McNeely and the Rise of the Honking Tenor Sax

by Jim Dawson

In the days before rock 'n' roll was invented, saxophonist Big Jay McNeely was already throwing musical tantrums on stage, dirtying his bright green, banana yellow, or purple suits by flopping on the floor, glowing under fluorescent lights, and driving white, black and Chicano teenagers into such delirium with his piercing 45-minute solos that he was barred from playing at many venues and investigated by a psychiatric board to see if his act was having a detrimental effect on young audiences. Utilizing his original research, as well as dozens of rarely seen photographs, author Jim Dawson guides the reader through Big Jay's personal story, along the way providing a rich historical overview of the role of the "honking" saxophone in Rhythm & Blues music during the 1940s and '50s, as personified by other celebrated exponents such as Illinois Jacquet, Big Jim Waynn, Hal Singer, Wild Bill Moore, Lynn Hope, Joe Houston, Chuck Higgins, Gil Bernal and many more.

Genres: Music

Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

About the author

Dawson has also written extensively about early rock and roll and rhythm and blues, including 'What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?' which Mojo magazine called 'one of the best musical reads of [1993].' His 1980 cover story on Ritchie Valens in the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times led directly to the reissue of the forgotten rock 'n' roller's recordings and the making of the biopic La Bamba, which used some of Dawson's research.

Jim Dawson is a Hollywood, California-based writer who has specialized in American pop culture (especially early rock 'n' roll) and the history of flatulence (three books so far, including his 1999 top-seller, "Who Cut the Cheese? A Cultural History of the Fart"). Mojo magazine called his What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record (1992), co-written with Steve Propes, "one of the most impressive musical reads of the year"; it remains a valuable source for music critics and rock historians, and an updated second edition is currently available on Kindle. Dawson has also written a series of articles on early rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll pioneers for the Los Angeles Times, including a front-page story in the Calendar entertainment section on the forgotten tragic figure Ritchie Valens. The piece led directly to Rhino Records reissuing Valens' entire catalog (with Dawson's liner notes) and eventually to the 1987 biopic "LaBamba," which used some of Dawson's research. Since 1983 Dawson has also written liner notes for roughly 150 albums and CDs, including Rhino's prestigious "Central Avenue Sounds" box set celebrating the history of jazz and early R&B in Los Angeles. His most recent book (2012) is "Los Angeles's Bunker Hill: Pulp Fiction's Mean Streets and Film Noir's Ground Zero."