Ricky Nelson

American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist

• Born: May 8, 1940
• Birthplace: Teaneck, New Jersey
• Died: December 31, 1985
• Place of death: DeKalb, Texas

The first rock-and-roll teen idol, whose 1962 hit “Teenage Idol” helped universalize the term, Nelson parlayed his visibility in the weekly sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet into a successful pop music career.

The Life

Eric Hilliard Nelson was born to big band leader Ozzie Nelson and Hollywood actress Harriet Hilliard. Ozzie and Harriet tried to shelter Nelson and his older brother David from show business, hiring child actors to portray the boys on their radio show (1944-1954). In 1949 Nelson and David insisted on appearing on the show. Nelson’s brash onscreen character became a focal point when the show moved to television in 1952. In addition to launching his singing career, the show led to film roles in The Story of Three Loves (1953), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960), as well as guest appearances on other television series.

In the mid-1960’s, Nelson decided to concentrate on a less pop-oriented country rock style, and it limited his popularity. At a 1971 nostalgia concert in Madison Square Garden, he was booed off the stage. His 1963 marriage to Kristin Harmon produced four children: Tracy, an actress, and Eric, Gunnar, and Sam, who all became musicians. In 1979 Ricky hosted Saturday Night Live, but a comeback failed to materialize. A bitter divorce in 1981 publicized accusations of drug abuse. In 1985 Nelson embarked on a nostalgia concert tour in England, and it revived interest in his music. He attempted a similar tour in the United States. On his way to perform in a New Year’s Eve concert in Dallas, Texas, he was killed in a plane crash.

The Music

Singing the Fats Domino hit “I’m Walkin’” on national television made sixteen-year-old Nelson an overnight success in 1957. When the single was released, “I’m Walkin’” was the B side, which charted at number four. The A side, “A Teenager’s Romance,” went to number two. His first number-one hit, “Poor Little Fool,” came the following summer.

“Poor Little Fool.” In 1958 a struggling Southern California rock singer, Eddie Cochran, had not yet had a hit, though his fiancé, Sharon Sheeley, had written several songs for him that Nelson liked. One of them, “Poor Little Fool,” Nelson recorded on April 17, 1958. The song captured a typical teen angst. Sheeley had written it before she turned eighteen, and Nelson was not yet eighteen when he recorded it. Although Nelson had recorded it as an album cut, it received airplay, a phenomenon unknown in 1958, except in the case of Elvis Presley. Sheeley sold Nelson on the song by telling him that Presley wanted to record it. Over Nelson’s objections, Imperial Records released it as a single, and it became the teen idol’s first number-one hit.

“Hello, Mary Lou.” Written by Gene Pitney just before the songwriter had his own debut on the Billboard Hot 100, this song demonstrated both Nelson’s ear for good material and his less-than-perfect knack for picking hits. When “Hello, Mary Lou” hit number nine on the Hot 100 on May 28, 1961, the song Nelson had tapped as the B side, “Travelin’ Man,” was that week’s number one. The folksy name invoking the teenage girl-next-door (and echoing Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” from the summer of 1957), “Mary Lou” became the archetype for the evasive girlfriend often found in Nelson’s love songs. Father Ozzie (who had written a song called “Mary” in 1931) plays four-string guitar on the single, which is a near-cacophony of driving bass, cymbal, cowbell, and piano chords. It was a complex recording for those days, utilizing four tracks and seven generations of tape, with Nelson singing both lead vocal and harmony on a separate track. “Hello, Mary Lou” hit number two in England.

“Travelin’ Man.” A surprise hit for Nelson, “Travelin’ Man” continued his streak of finding gems by unknown songwriters. This was literally plucked from the garbage. Jerry Fuller had written it in hopes Sam Cooke would record it. Cooke’s manager threw Fuller’s demo in the trash, and Nelson’s bassist Joe Osborne fished it out, delivering it to Nelson. Nelson’s version conveyed the realities of rock stardom, touring in endless public appearances, which became part of Nelson’s life long after his popularity faded. The song’s appearance on television broke new ground in two ways: first, it was repeated several times, and, second, it became what many rock historians consider the first rock concept video on television. Previous songs were simply filmed performances (lip-synched), but for “Travelin’ Man” Ozzie superimposed and intercut stock footage of ocean liners, Hawaiian beaches, and various travel scenes.

“Garden Party.” On October 15, 1971, Nelson performed at a Rock and Roll Revival in Madison Square Garden. He played his old hits, and the crowd began to boo (perhaps miscued by an unrelated disturbance in the stands). About six months later, Nelson woke up at three in the morning with this song running in his head. He wrote it out on one sheet of paper (reproduced on the album cover), and it became the last hit song of his lifetime, finishing at number six on the Billboard chart and number one in the Adult Contemporary category).

Musical Legacy

Nelson introduced rock and roll into American homes by making it respectable. Nevertheless, the wholesome image of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet may have worked against Nelson in the rock culture. When John Fogerty, of Credence Clearwater Revival, told the audience at Nelson’s posthumous induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that Nelson was a major influence on early rock music, he sensed skepticism. However, Presley, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash all had said as much. In country rock Nelson’s legacy is unmistakable. With guitarist Randy Meisner, formerly of Poco and later of the Eagles, Nelson created a fusion of rock and country that entered the mainstream of American music and influenced generations of musicians. Nelson had the first number-one hit on the Billboard charts (August 4, 1958), and nearly forty Top 40 singles. He helped create the rockabilly idiom, and his musical numbers on the television show are considered the first rock videos.

Principal Recordings

albums:Ricky, 1957; Ricky Nelson, 1958; Ricky Sings Again, 1959; Songs by Rick, 1959; More Songs by Rick, 1960; Rick Is Twenty-one, 1961; Album Seven by Rick, 1962; For Your Sweet Love, 1963; Rick Nelson Sings for You, 1963; Spotlight on Rick, 1964; The Very Thought of You, 1964; Best Always, 1965; Love and Kisses, 1965; Bright Lights and Country Music, 1966; Another Side of Rick, 1967; Country Fever, 1967; Perspective, 1969; Rick Sings Nelson, 1970; Rudy the Fifth, 1971; Garden Party, 1972; Windfall, 1974; Intakes, 1977; Playing to Win, 1981.

Bibliography

Bashe, Philip. Teenage Idol, Travelin’ Man: The Complete Biography of Ricky Nelson. New York: Hyperion, 1992. Two years of research and more than a hundred interviews with friends and family make this a detailed study, particularly of Nelson’s early studio sessions.

Brady, Jim. Lonesome Town: Ricky Nelson and the Real Story of America’s Favorite Family. Poplar Grove, Ill.: Pathé Press, 2005. A good corrective to the idealized portrait of Nelson and his family, though at times it suffers from the need to smash idols, to find fault.

Ricky Nelson. New York: Dell, 1958. Though only a mass-market paperback with a collection of press coverage in the first year of Nelson’s fame, this fan-oriented work offers a snapshot of the teen-idol phenomenon at the time it was happening.

Selvin, Joel. Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1990. A solid biography, looking honestly but not sensationally at the darker side of Nelson’s fame. It incorporates extensive interviews with Nelson’s family and friends.

Stafford, John. The Rick Nelson Story. Folkstone, England: Finbarr International, 1988. An English perspective on Nelson’s status as an international star. Since many of Nelson’s hits (such as “Mary Lou”) may not have been hits without British sales, this perspective is valuable.