Ricky Nelson Biography, Photos and Posters

Ricky Nelson

Biography

Born: May 8, 1940
City and Country of Origin: Teaneck, New Jersey
Music Training:
Awards:
Top Recordings: "I'm Walkin'," Stood Up," "Poor Little Fool," "Lonesome Town," "It's Late," “Young Emotions,” "Travelin' Man," "Hello Mary Lou," "Garden Party"
Ricky Nelson Biography: Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson, later known as Rick Nelson, was one of the first American teen idols. 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 & 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.

Ricky Nelson began his 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 — Nelson's first song was a hit, reaching number 4 on the charts. Soon, each episode of the Ozzie & Harriet television show ended with a musical performance by "Ricky". during this period Ozzie kept Ricky from performing on other TV shows in particular American Bandstand and the Ed Sullivan Show. Ironically, Rick finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but by then his career was on the way down. 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.

It becomes evident that Nelson knew and loved music. This is reflected in his choosing to work with strong musicians, including James Burton, Joe Maphis, The Jordanaires, and Johnny and Dorsey Burnette.

From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 top 40 hits, more than any other artist at the time, except Elvis Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (who had 38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A side and the B side 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 number 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 at the time.

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

In 1961, Nelson began to be credited on his records as "Rick Nelson" instead of "Ricky Nelson".

In April 1963, he married Kristin Harmon in what Life Magazine referred to as "The Wedding of the Year." Kristin 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."

In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records, but he had no further major hits after 1964's "For You". In the mid-1960s, he began to move towards country music, but 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 from the 1950s and 1960s. "Garden Party" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and was certified as a gold single. (Coincidentally, "Garden Party" was a hit at the same time Nelson's influence Elvis Presley was having his last top 10 single, "Burning Love", as was Chuck Berry with "My Ding-a-Ling"; Berry is among the musicians alluded to in the lyrics of "Garden Party.")

However, Nelson never regained his career's momentum. By the late-1970s, Nelson's life was in shambles. His wife had divorced him and taken their four children. He wasn't making records and when he played live at all, it was in very small, insignificant venues. Rumors of Nelson's use of drugs, especially marijuana, began to spread. In 1985, he joined a nostalgia rock tour of England. It was a major success, and it revived some interest in Nelson. He tried to duplicate that effect in the United States, and he began a tour of the South. While on that tour, he died in a plane crash in De Kalb, Texas in 1985; he was on his way to a New Year's Eve concert in Dallas, Texas. Nelson was interred 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."
Died: December 31, 1985

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