Remembering Danny Rhodes
It's with sad heart I am writing this...Danny Rhodes ,Lead singer and guitar player with the 80's Nashville band the Nerve died last night of intestinal cancer after a long hard fight...he leaves behind a wife and 3 children who willl miss him so much....and hundreds of musicians who had the joy and pleasure to have played together with him at some point...I know that a lot of you might not know Danny...he hasn't lived in Nashville for a few years even though he always would return to write, play , and visit with his old friends here...He was here last winter for a few days and got together with several of us to just "hang" and play...his Nerve bandmates had hoped that he would get strong enough to come back home and do one last Nerve weekend to help offset his medical bills....such was not the case though.
My own memories of Danny are numerous...I moved to Nashville in the fall of 1982...moving from Los Angeles after living there for just 4 years I had heard a lot of great bands and music in L.A....I would go out and pay the cover to hear a lot of bands in those first few weeks here....then I met Jamie Nichol...a fellow conga player,, and he asked me to come out an hear this band he was in The Nerve....they were playing at The Sutler...that evening I heard a truly awesome band...original material like the Meters and Neville Brothers,, Kick butt music...raw and powerful...great musicianship,,, and a band that was really having a blast playing for a packed crowd of fans..the Nerve was the ONLY band in Nashville that I gladly paid the cover more than one time to hear..I knew what I had to do....the next gig I went to I sat in even though they already had a percussionist...after a couple of times doing that....I just kind of became another member...now this was when the door was $3 a head and the last thing a band wanted to do was have 7 guys in it to split the bread with...but they took me in,,,embraced me in...and for the next 4 years I was in the first and only "real band " of my entire life...love , hate, arguments, laughs, but all the while playing creative music that we wanted to play...songs like "Southside".."Rude Boy"..."Chaos"....Livin' In The West"..."Ain't Been Loved Enough"...all originals that Danny's hand was all over in the writing...cover tunes like "Iko, Iko"..."Sittin Here In Limbo"...and "Little Wing"..that we made our own..I always loved playing Nerve Music...you couldn't help yourself.....I think that a lot of other players would try to get their last sets over quickly so they could make our last set or at least part of it...the music was just that infectious...like a drug that you had to listen to....
I would hope ...and I know this to be a fact that many of my old friends from those days are still with us and on here....please if you have any remembrances of Danny or the Nerve...write a little note of tribute to him...he was one of a kind to many of us who loved him
My own memories of Danny are numerous...I moved to Nashville in the fall of 1982...moving from Los Angeles after living there for just 4 years I had heard a lot of great bands and music in L.A....I would go out and pay the cover to hear a lot of bands in those first few weeks here....then I met Jamie Nichol...a fellow conga player,, and he asked me to come out an hear this band he was in The Nerve....they were playing at The Sutler...that evening I heard a truly awesome band...original material like the Meters and Neville Brothers,, Kick butt music...raw and powerful...great musicianship,,, and a band that was really having a blast playing for a packed crowd of fans..the Nerve was the ONLY band in Nashville that I gladly paid the cover more than one time to hear..I knew what I had to do....the next gig I went to I sat in even though they already had a percussionist...after a couple of times doing that....I just kind of became another member...now this was when the door was $3 a head and the last thing a band wanted to do was have 7 guys in it to split the bread with...but they took me in,,,embraced me in...and for the next 4 years I was in the first and only "real band " of my entire life...love , hate, arguments, laughs, but all the while playing creative music that we wanted to play...songs like "Southside".."Rude Boy"..."Chaos"....Livin' In The West"..."Ain't Been Loved Enough"...all originals that Danny's hand was all over in the writing...cover tunes like "Iko, Iko"..."Sittin Here In Limbo"...and "Little Wing"..that we made our own..I always loved playing Nerve Music...you couldn't help yourself.....I think that a lot of other players would try to get their last sets over quickly so they could make our last set or at least part of it...the music was just that infectious...like a drug that you had to listen to....
I would hope ...and I know this to be a fact that many of my old friends from those days are still with us and on here....please if you have any remembrances of Danny or the Nerve...write a little note of tribute to him...he was one of a kind to many of us who loved him
- Attachments:
-
-
The Nerve 1984.jpg, 1.7 MB
-
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Steve Pippin on -
Man, there's gonna be some funky pickin' in Heaven tonight! What a talent, and what fun to watch on stage! So obvious that he loved what he did. He leaves a huge musical footprint, and he will be missed. I know he fought hard. My prayers go out to Lisa and the family. Blessings- Pip
-
Permalink Reply by Tom Roady on -
I just added a song by Danny Rhodes and our band The Nerve recorded on a stereo cassette Walkman at Bogeys Live June 6th 1984...it's rough but it gets the music across for sure...Danny was an incredibly talented guy....his slide playing was ridiculous and the band was hot...even on off nights we still rocked....enjoy and remember Danny with love and respect if you knew him....and always remember...life is way to short....enjoy and feel blessed by every day that we are breathing and able to love one another and make music..
-
Permalink Reply by Andy Peake on -
I got to Nashville just after the Nerve had hit its apex and the legend was strong. Danny remained active on his own. I would often see him at the Blues Co-op jam sessions led by the also late John Jaworowicz. In those days we would also see Jack Pearson, Warren Haynes and a host of other great stylists hanging out with Miranda Louise and John J.
Danny could jump up and take over a stage like a storm and leave everyone smiling in his aftermath. He was always kind and ready to hear about how you were doing.
Many of us know who the other members of the Nerve were. Another guy named Rhodes on bass, an amazing drummer, Dale, the legendary keyboardist, MIke L. and wasn't the guitarist who wrote "Standup" in that band also? And of course, Tom. Jamie who also worked with Dan Fogleberg at one point. I hope I got all that right since I never actually saw them. Only their individual reputations remained. It was a great time in Nashville before the Garth boom of the mid 90's. Danny Rhodes was part of what made it so cool. I will miss him and his influence also.
Andy
-
Permalink Reply by Steve Forrest on -
I remember meeting Danny and playing with him a couple of times. He definitely had that "bring it" factor when he stepped on the stage, plenty of musical energy and left you feeling like you had just had a great musical conversation with an old friend. What a treasure, a well known name to folks who have been around here since the "pre-Garth" Nerve era, great player and just a genuine good hearted nice guy. You could tell that from the first time meeting him.
Prayers and God's comfort to his family and friends.
-sf
-
Permalink Reply by Thom Roberts on -
My first Gig in Nashville was with Eddie Rabbitt, in 1981... Rabbitt had just put a new band together, including Danny on Acoustic, and we hit it off right away, but Danny only lasted one weekend, because he would not stick to the charts! ( I also always thought Eddie was doing the old "fire a guy the first week, and put the fear of god in the rest of the new band" routine...).
A few weeks later, while getting to know Nashville, I wandered into a club on West End, I forget the name, but it was the space where Goten Japanese Restaurant is now, and The Nerve was playing... I only barely knew Dan, and did not realize his band was going to be there, it was just a happy coincedence, but I was totally blown away by the sound, and proceded to see the band at every opportunity the next few years, and ran their lighting any time there were lights to run...Just an incredible amount of talent on that stage...
I have not seen Dan in years, longer then I care to think about, but always considered him a friend, and I will miss him...
TR
-
Permalink Reply by Thom Roberts on
-
Hi Ricky .... it has been a long time... I saw that you had signed on just as I was joining.. I did not think it was a coincedence!
we lost a good one this week...
take Care
Thom
-
Permalink Reply by King Gypsy (Rick Sheeley) on
-
Ricky,
I will try and send y'all pics from Danny's wake in Cottonwood as soon as I have a chance.
Rick
-
Permalink Reply by Roy Vogt on -
The name of that restaurant was the Laughing Man-Skip Sorelle took me to hear the Nerve there in his campaign to get me to relocate from Miami and Jaco-Land. Between the Nerve, Stan Lassiter Grupe and Lawler and Cobb in the studio, I was convinced and moved here in Dec. 1980. Danny was one funky mofo'-I was one of the ones who beat it over from my last set to catch Michael and the rest and recommended Dale (who I was playing with in The Stan Lassiter Group) when Kirby went on to his next musical phase. I had the pleasure of jamming and doing some gigs with Danny while he was here-what fire and funk he had!
-
Permalink Reply by Tom Roady on
-
Ricky Ray Rector just sent me a link from Danny's hometown media webbsite.....if you feel like it ...check it out at.......
http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&ar...
-
Permalink Reply by joe khoury on -
Last time I saw Danny he was at Craig Wright's birthay party, he looked great said he was feelin ok at the moment. He gave me a copy of his latest cd,which I still enjoy listening to. Danny has always been an inspiration to me and I will miss him very much. The music lives on though so in a way I can visit with Danny anytime I feel like it.Danny you will be missed my friend Love Ya Man Joe
-
Permalink Reply by garytalley on -
I just found my favorite Danny Rhodes "The Nerve" picture.I took it at Summer Lights in the 80's. He's really gettin' it.
-
Permalink Reply by garytalley on
-
posted the photo
Latest Activity
Great Design
01:53
From the musical/drama "Courage to Stand: The Story of Esther."
© 2013 Created by Bret Teegarden.
