It was released as a Sandy Nelson single on Imperial Records X5775 and was a charted 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]
^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.