Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson can also refer to Ricky Lee Nelson, the baseball player.

Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson, later known as Rick Nelson (May 8, 1940 –December 31, 1985), was an American singer, musician, and Golden Globe-nominated actor. With more than 50 Hot 100 hits, Nelson was second only to Elvis Presley as the most popular rock and roll artist of the 1950s and 1960s.

Biography

Early years

Born in Teaneck, New Jersey, he was the younger son of Ozzie Nelson, the leader of a big band, and Harriet Hilliard Nelson, the band's singer. Along with brother David Nelson, the family starred in the long-running radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet from 1944 to 1954 on the radio, and 1952 to 1966 on television. However, David and Ricky Nelson did not join the cast until 1949; for the first five years of the radio show, the sons were played by professional actors.

Career

Ricky Nelson began a rock and roll music career in 1957. He recorded his debut single, the Fats Domino song "I'm Walkin'", seeking to impress a date who was an Elvis Presley fan. It was a hit, reaching #4 on the charts. Soon, each episode of the Ozzie & Harriet television show ended with a musical performance by "Ricky". It was during the sitcom's run that Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son's fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept Ricky from appearing on other TV shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular. Ironically, Rick finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. Rick also appeared on other TV shows (usually in acting roles). In 1977, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live, where he proved to be a good sport in spoofing his TV sitcom image by appearing in a Twilight Zone send-up, where, always trying to go "home", he'd find himself among the characters from other 1950s/early '60s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best and Make Room for Daddy.

Nelson knew and loved music, and was a credible performer before he became a teen idol, largely due to his parents' musical background. In addition to guitar, he played drums and the clarinet. (He showcased his drum skills in the same episode where he made his singing debut.) Unlike many teen idols of the time, Nelson showed his personal taste in working with strong musicians, including James Burton, Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette. While Elvis may have served as the catalyst for Rick's musical career, his real inspiration came from none other than Carl Perkins.

From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had thirty Top-40 hits, more than any other artist at the time except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard charts. When Billboard introduced the Hot 100 chart on August 4, 1958, Nelson's single "Poor Little Fool" became the first song ever in the #1 position on that chart.

While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like "Hello Mary Lou", "It's Late", "Stood Up" and "Be-Bop Baby", his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with "Travelin' Man", "Poor Little Fool", "Young World", "Lonesome Town" and "Teenage Idol", which clearly could have been about Nelson himself. (It was Life magazine that reputedly coined the phrase "teen idol" in an article it did about Nelson in 1959).^{[citation needed]}

In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plus The Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965).

On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), the singer officially changed his recording name from "Ricky Nelson" to "Rick Nelson". However, not too long before his untimely death, Rick realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins, who, while musing that they were the last of the "rockabilly breed", addressed Nelson as "Ricky". As the story goes, Nelson felt somehow validated by Perkins calling him by the name he stopped using at age 21. He contacted his manager, instructing him to restore the "y" to his name.^{[citation needed]}

In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records. After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964's "For You", Nelson's chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.

In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music, becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called "California Sound" (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like The Eagles). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" with the Stone Canyon Band.

In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with "Garden Party", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him when he tried playing new songs instead of just his old hits. "Garden Party" reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a gold single. (Coincidentally, "Garden Party" was a hit at the same time Elvis Presley was having his last Top-10 single, "Burning Love", as was Chuck Berry with "My Ding-a-Ling". (Both are among the musicians alluded to in the lyrics of "Garden Party".)

Marriage, family, and troubles

Nelson married Kristin Harmon in April 1963, in what Life referred to as "The Wedding of the Year". Harmon is the daughter of Football All-American University of Michigan football legend and Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox, and is the older sister of movie and television star Mark Harmon, perhaps known best for the hit series NCIS.

The couple had one daughter, Tracy (born October 25, 1963), twin sons Gunnar and Matthew (born September 20, 1967), and a third son, Sam Nelson (born August 29, 1974).

After "Garden Party", Ricky Nelson never regained his career's momentum. By the late 1970s, his life was in shambles and he was heavily in debt. After a highly tumultuous marriage (the antithesis of what the public had seen on Ozzie and Harriet and in Love and Kisses), Kristin filed for divorce and took their four children. He wasn't making records and when he played live at all, it was in very small insignificant venues. Nelson began using drugs, especially marijuana and eventually cocaine.

Death

In 1985, Nelson joined a nostalgia rock tour of England. It was a major success, and it revived some interest in his work. He tried to duplicate that effect in the United States, and he began a tour of the South. While on that tour, on his way to a New Year's Eve concert in Dallas, Texas, he died in a plane crash in De Kalb, Texas. Nelson was buried in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. The last song he sang on stage before his death was Buddy Holly's "Rave On". Holly had also perished in a plane crash.

Crash

Rumors that drug use among the passengers caused the crash frequently resurface, but the original NTSB investigation long ago stated that the crash was probably due to mechanical problems. The pilots attempted to land in a field after smoke filled the cabin. An examination indicated that a fire originated in the right hand side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. The passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing; the pilots were able to escape through the cockpit windows and survived. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined, although many believe that the most likely cause was a defective cabin heater. The pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a previous history of problems with the cabin heaters.

Tributes

Nelson was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and also to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.

Nelson's twin sons, Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, also were teen idols, performing as the band Nelson and charting several hits in the 1990s. His daughter, Tracy Nelson, is an actress and a cancer survivor. She may be best known for her role in the television series Father Dowling Mysteries which starred Tom Bosley. Nelson's youngest son, Sam Nelson, is a music industry executive.

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Ricky Nelson's passing, PBS aired a one hour documentary entitled Ricky Nelson Sings featuring interviews with his children, as well as James Burton and Kris Kristofferson. The only time Kristofferson played with Nelson was in Elroy, Wisconsin at a "Party in the Park" show on July 3, 1985. That performance has since been released on DVD.

The American psychobilly band The Cramps dedicated their 1986 album A Date With Elvis to the memory of Ricky Nelson, as written on the album's back cover before the credits.

The song "Ricky" (originally titled "Ricky Nelson"), track 4 on John Frusciante's 2004 album Shadows Collide with People, is a tribute to Nelson, and is sung in a similar style.

Bob Dylan, in his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1", wrote about Nelson's influence on his music. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson #91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[1]

On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled Ricky Nelson's Greatest Hits, with 25 songs. It peaked at #56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

In Stephen King's short-story collection Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Nelson appears in "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" as an evil version of himself, who torments an unsuspecting couple trapped in a town inhabited by late rock 'n' roll legends. Nelson was portrayed by William McNamara in the 2006 television mini-series adaptation, Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King.

Nelson's estate is run as The Rick Nelson Company, LLC, and owns ancillary rights to the classic Ozzie and Harriet television series. As of 2007, after years of public domain video releases on VHS and DVD, an official edition of the show has been released via Shout! Factory.

Albums

(Highest chart success on the Billboard charts.)

Ricky (1957) (1)
Ricky Nelson (1958) (7)
Ricky Sings Again (1959) (14)
Songs by Ricky (1959) (22)
More Songs by Ricky (1960) (18)
Rick Is 21 (1961) (8)
Album Seven by Rick (1962) (27)
Best Sellers By Rick Nelson (1963) (112)
It's Up to You (1963) (128)
For Your Sweet Love (1963) (20)
Rick Nelson Sings "For You" (1964) (14)
A Long Vacation (1963)
The Very Thought of You (1964)
Best Always (1965)
Spotlight on Rick (1965)
Bright Lights & Country Music (1966)
Love and Kisses (1966)
Country Fever (1967)
I Need You (1968)
Perspective (1968)
Another Side of Rick (1969)
In Concert at the Troubadour, 1969 (1970)
Rick Nelson in Concert (1970) (54)
Rick Sings Nelson (1970) (196)
Rudy the Fifth (1971)
Garden Party (1972) (32)
Windfall (1974) (190)
Intakes (1977)
Playing to Win (1981) (153)

Singles discography

Nationally charted hits shown in bold.

A-Side	B-Side	Year	Label + Cat. No.	Chart Positions
A-Side	B-Side	Year	Label + Cat. No.	US Hot 100	US C&W	UK
I'm Walkin'		1957	Verve 10047	#4
	A Teenager's Romance	1957	Verve 10047	#2
You're My One and Only Love	Honey Rock	1957	Verve 10070	#14
Have I Told You Lately that I Love You		1957	Imperial 5463	#29
	Be Bop Baby	1957	Imperial 5463	#3
Stood Up		1958	Imperial 5483	#2	#8	#27
	Waitin' in School	1958	Imperial 5483	#18	#12
My Bucket's Got a Hole in It		1958	Imperial 5503	#12	#10
	Believe What You Say	1958	Imperial 5503	#4	#10
Poor Little Fool	Don't Leave Me This Way	1958	Imperial 5528	#1	#3	#4
Someday		1958	London 8732 (UK only release)			#9
Lonesome Town		1958	Imperial 5545	#7
	I Got A Feeling	1958	Imperial 5545	#10		#27
It's Late		1959	Imperial 5565	#9		#3
	Never Be Anyone Else But You	1959	Imperial 5565	#6		#14
Just a Little Too Much		1959	Imperial 5595	#9		#11
	Sweeter Than You	1959	Imperial 5595	#9		#19
I Wanna Be Loved		1959	Imperial 5614	#20		#30
	Mighty Good	1959	Imperial 5614	#38
Young Emotions		1960	Imperial 5663	#12		#48
	Right by My Side	1960	Imperial 5663	#59
I'm Not Afraid		1960	Imperial 5685	#27
	Yes Sir, That's My Baby	1960	Imperial 5685	#34
You Are the Only One		1960	Imperial 5707	#25
	Milk Cow Blues	1960	Imperial 5707	#79
Travelin' Man		1961	Imperial 5741	#1		#2
	Hello Mary Lou	1961	Imperial 5741	#9		#2
A Wonder Like You		1961	Imperial 5770	#11
	Everlovin'	1961	Imperial 5770	#16		#23
Young World		1962	Imperial 5805	#5		#19
	Summertime	1962	Imperial 5805	#89
Teen Age Idol		1962	Imperial 5864	#5		#39
	I've Got My Eyes on You (And I Like What I See)	1962	Imperial 5864	#105
It's Up to You		1962	Imperial 5901	#6		#22
	I Need You	1962	Imperial 5901	#83
I'm In Love Again		1963	Imperial 5910	#67
	That's All	1963	Imperial 5910	#48
You Don't Love Me Anymore (And I Can Tell)		1963	Decca 31475	#47
	I Got a Woman	1963	Decca 31475	#49
If You Can't Rock Me		1963	Imperial 5935	#100
	Old Enough to Love	1963	Imperial 5935	#94
A Long Vacation	Mad Mad World	1963	Imperial 5958	#120
Gypsy Woman		1963	Decca 31495	#62
	String Along	1963	Decca 31495	#25
There's Not A Minute	Time After Time	1963	Imperial 5985	#127
Fools Rush In		1963	Decca 31533	#12		#12
	Down Home	1963	Decca 31533	#126
Today's Teardrops	Thank You Darlin'	1963	Imperial 66004	#54
For You	That's All She Wrote	1963	Decca 31574	#9		#14
Congratulations	One Minute to One	1964	Imperial 66017	#63
The Very Thought of You	I Wonder (If Your Love Will Belong to Me)	1964	Decca 31612	#26
Lucky Star	Everybody But Me	1964	Imperial 66039	#127
There's Nothing I Can Say		1964	Decca 31656	#47
	Lonely Corner	1964	Decca 31656	#113
A Happy Guy	Don't Breathe a Word	1964	Decca 31703	#82
Mean Old World	When the Chips Are Down	1965	Decca 31756	#96
Come Out Dancing	Yesterday's Love	1965	Decca 31800	#130
Say You Love Me	Love and Kisses	1965	Decca 31845
Fire Breathin' Dragon	Your Kind of Lovin'	1966	Decca 31900
You Just Can't Quit	Louisiana Man	1966	Decca 31956	#108
Things You Gave Me	Alone	1966	Decca 32026
They Don't Give Medals (To Yesterday's Heroes)	Take a Broken Heart	1967	Decca 32055
Take a City Bride	I'm Called Lonely	1967	Decca 32120		#58
Suzanne on a Sunday Morning	Moonshine	1968	Decca 32176
Dream Weaver	Baby Close Its Eyes	1968	Decca 32222
Don't Blame It on Your Wife	Promenade in Green	1969	Decca 32284
Don't Make Promises	Barefoot Boy	1969	Decca 32298
She Belongs to Me	Promises	1969	Decca 32558	#33
Easy to Be Free	Come On In	1970	Decca 32635	#48
I Shall Be Released	If You Gotta Go, Go Now	1970	Decca 32676	#102
Look at Mary	We've Got Such a Long Way to Go	1970	Decca 32711
How Long	Down Along the Bayou Country	1971	Decca 32739
Life	California	1971	Decca 32779	#109
Thank You Lord	Sing Me a Song	1972	Decca 32860
Gypsy Pilot	Love Minus Zero/No Limit	1972	Decca 32906
Garden Party	So Long Mama	1972	Decca 32980	#6	#44	#41
Palace Guard	A Flower Opens Gently By	1973	MCA 40001	#65
Lifestream	Evil Woman Child	1973	MCA 40130
Windfall	Legacy	1974	MCA 40187
One Night Stand	Lifestream	1974	MCA 40214		#89
Try (Try to Fall in Love)	Louisiana Belle	1974	MCA 40392
Rock and Roll Lady	Fade Away	1975	(MCA 40458)
You Can't Dance	It's Another Day	1977	Epic 50458
Gimme a Little Sign	Something You Can't Buy	1978	Epic 50501
Dream Lover	That Ain't the Way Love's Supposed to Be	1979	Epic 50674		#59
It Hasn't Happened Yet	Call It What You Want		(Capitol 4974)
Believe What You Say	The Loser Babe Is You		(Capitol 4988)
Give 'em My Number	No Fair Falling in Love		(Capitol 5178)
You Know What I Mean	Don't Leave Me This Way		(MCA 52781)
Dream Lover (re-issue)	Rave On	1986	Epic 06066		#88
Hello Mary Lou (UK only re-issue)		1991	Liberty EMCT 2			#45

Literature

Philip Bashe: Teenage Idol, Travelin' Man: The Complete Biography of Rick Nelson. New York: Hyperion 1992. ISBN 1-56282-969-6

References

^ "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone (946). 15. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

[rs-immortals-1] "The Immortals: The First Fifty". Rolling Stone (946). 15. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 2007-12-24. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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