Joe DeLauro, also known as Joe Nelly, started playing the drums at 16, and is still at it 47 years later. He put together The Smoking Section, then formed Wheels-Mick-Nelly, Joe Nelly & Friends, and worked with several other local musicians, including the late Mike Tatum. For the past three years, he's been playing as part of The Bishop/Nelly Duo. He loves performing old school R&B, rock, funk, Americana and folk. When not playing music, he's at local farmers' markets selling citrus from the citrus grove he lives in. DeLauro plays at Sullivan's every Saturday with keyboard/vocalist Mark Bishop.
What was the first concert you attended?
First concert for me (I was 8) was in a back alley in Brooklyn at my cousin's apartment complex. I got a big dose of doo-wop, R&B, and soul from local guys just singing for anyone who would listen.
What are you listening to these days?
Any music with great grooves, melody, harmony and structure. Some of it's new, but mostly old school bands and artists in a variety of genres.
What was the first album you owned?
Probably The Coasters, featuring their hit "Searchin."
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone seem to love, but you just don't get?
I really don't understand what happened to country. It's mostly some homogenized hybrid.
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
The Beatles.
Musically speaking, what is your favorite guilty pleasure?Louie Prima with Sam Butera & The Witnesses. My folks played his records all the time and I still love those tunes.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
"Summer Wind" (Frank Sinatra), "Change the World" (Eric Clapton), "Shower the People" (James Taylor) are some that come to mind.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
I watched lots of Dick Clark's American Bandstand ... but then came The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. At that moment I knew exactly what I was meant to do.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
