by Robert Wilkinson
Today we send up a big happy birthday to a Taurus rock 'n roll trailblazer, Ricky Nelson. He bridged the gap between early Rockabilly Rock and Roll and the great American Top 40 music machine, and was enormously popular for years. Bob Dylan famously said "He sang his songs calm and steady like he was in the middle of a storm, men hurling past him. His voice was sort of mysterious and made you fall into a certain mood." Today we have lots of videos!
Ricky (later Rick and then, thanks to Carl Perkins, back to Ricky) Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was one of the definitive talents of his era, and the first "Teen Superstar," a teenager singing to teenagers about teenage themes. He placed fifty-three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973, including nineteen top-ten hits.
I was given the 45 (remember them?) of his first number 1 single, "Poor Little Fool," for my 8th birthday in 1959, and his voice hooked me as a fan for years. His performances on the Ozzie and Harriet Show are generally accepted as the first music videos, making him a pioneer in what has become a global art form.
It's a given that Ricky made rock and roll more accessible to millions of teens through his exposure on the Ozzie and Harriet Show. That makes him a primary key allowing American teens to rock with parental permission due to his appearance of being so very sweet, safe, and beautiful.
Welcome to an America past, filled with dreams and songs and young hearts hoping for something better than the war vibe that preceded and followed this flowering of America's youth so long, long ago. While the main page is under construction, you can find more about him at the Rick Nelson website. For your enjoyment, Ricky Nelson!
From the golden era of television, we begin with Ricky performing on the Ozzie and Harriet Show. This is classic b/w American television with lip synching, but who cared? With the Jordanaires singing backup and the awesome teenage James Burton (and occasionally the legendary Scotty Moore) on guitar, these songs smoked! I suppose when you have the guy who played lead for Elvis' TCB band and the Jordanaires, it's not hard to create major hits...
Here’s Ricky looking a bit stiff (and 17!) doing the Everly Brothers' first hit, "Bye Bye Love" in 1957.
While I couldn't find all the hits, I found a string of his major league charting tunes across the late 50s and early 60s!
One of his first! From 1957, Ricky doing do-wop! “A Teenager’s Romance” (#2)
"Boppin'The Blues" (1957)
“Be Bop Baby” (#3 1957)
“Stood Up” (#2 1958)
“Waitin’ In School” (#18 1958)
A rare treat from 1958! From The Ozzie and Harriet Show, Ricky and the great James Burton playing acoustic guitar sampling several songs of the era.
“Believe What You Say” (#4 1958)
“Lonesome Town” (#7 1958)
“Cindy” (1958)
"It's Late" (#9 1959)
“Never Be Anyone Else But You (for me)” (#6 1959). Here’s another version, also from the show, of Ricky doing “Never Be Anyone Else But You (for me)”
“Just A Little Too Much.” (#9 1959)
“You’ll Never Know What You’re Missing”
The next two were huge chart toppers in 1961, a double sided "top of the pops" single for Ricky, known to millions!
This tune was written in 1960 by Gene Pitney and was one of the first “country rock” tunes ever written. Ricky took it to #9! For your enjoyment, the awesome “Hello Mary Lou.” James Burton’s lead is superb! Here's another early televised performance of "Hello Mary Lou" with no lead break. (Historically, Gene Pitney seems to have figured in the emergence of the genre of country rock, since “Down in the Boondocks” was written by Joe South for Gene but was recorded first by Billy Joe Royal and the rest was history!)
I found him performing the flip side (as we used to call it) of "Hello Mary Lou," his smash #1 hit, "Travelin' Man"
Here's another one written by Jerry Fuller, who wrote "Travelin' Man," a rocker with a great James Burton lead solo called "Break My Chain"
He didn't stop there. From 1962, I found
“Young World” (#5)
"Teenage Idol.” (#5)
"It's Up To You" (#6)
From 1963, I found
"I Got a Woman" (#49)
"Fools Rush In" (#12) with another version of "Fools Rush In" here.
We'll finish this trip through the Ozzie and Harriet years with a final performance many never saw, "The Christmas Song"
Here are a couple of original studio recordings of early major hits, set to still photos:
From 1957, “Be Bop Baby” (#3)
From 1958, “Poor Little Fool” (#1)
From 1962, “Teenage Idol” (#5)
Updating the resume by a few years, Here's Rick in a new incarnation! Now we segue into the last chapter of his musical life, where he and the Stone Canyon Band created a cynical look at those caught in the past. From 1972, here's Rick Nelson doing his last major hit, "Garden Party"
From 1969 on The Mike Douglas Show, Rick and the Stone Canyon band in a live performance of Bob Dylan's beautiful love song, "She Belongs To Me."
Here’s a live performance in 1977 with Rick doing a country version of his first number 1 hit, “Poor Little Fool”
Lest you think they were just a bunch of rockers gone country, here Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band do a great performance of "Mystery Train" live in 1978.
Rick does a rockin' version of the great John Fogerty hit, "Almost Saturday Night" live in 1981.
Another early hit, courtesy of fellow rockabilly pioneer Carl Perkins, "Boppin' The Blues" live in 1982.
I found a treat! From 1983, a Christmas tune along with a zinger! Here's "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Honky Tonk Woman."
Here's a great treat! A duet of the immortal Fats Domino and Ricky Nelson doing "I'm Walkin'," a major hit for both and Ricky's second chart placement, hitting #4!
From an undated Dick Clark production, here's Rick Nelson doing the Elvis classic "Mystery Train."
We'll keep up with Rick and the band at this 1983 Chicago show doing
"Good Rockin' Tonight" (1983)
"Stood Up" and "Waitin in School" (1983)
"Fools Rush In" (1983).
"Poor Little Fool" (1983 )
Here’s the entire 57 minute show on one clip! Ricky Nelson Live in Chicago - 1983
Here’s a peculiarity. This clip of Rick and Fats Domino is 46 minutes, with Rick getting the first 24 minutes of his own show followed by a 20 minute set of Fats. Ricky Nelson and Fats Domino in Concert
For the finale, here’s Rick with the Jordanaires live on The Motown Revue hosted by Smokey Robinson, August 30th, 1985, performing “Lonesome Town”
For our first encore, less than 5 months before he died, here’s Rick in August 1985, doing his last hit which went to #6 in 1972, "Garden Party." From what looks to be the same show, "Travelin' Man"
For our second and last encore, his last televised concert before he died! Here’s a great 42 minutes of Ricky Nelson at the Universal Amphitheater - 1985
In past years I had another copy of the last televised concert which was an hour and 15, but it’s gone.
Here are his sons, Matthew, Gunnar, and Sam Nelson, playing together for the first time, doing Rick's hit "Garden Party"
From 1959, on the What’s My Line television show, Rick Nelson on What’s My Line (Of course the whole thing is staged, given they played “Poor Little Fool” as he signed in, which was a #1 hit that year.)
Last year I had a connection to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame which had a great article from the LA Times outlining just how important Ricky Nelson was in the history of rockabilly as well as rock and roll, and how he bridged generations of music, but it’s disappeared.
On a final note, Ricky Nelson is also part of a unique occurrence in the history of music. In an interesting historical piece of trivia, he, his dad, and his sons are the only instance of three generations in the same family all scoring a number one hit on the pop charts.
Happy Birthday, Rick. You would have been 82 if you hadn't gone down New Year's Eve in a plane crash like so many other legends of rock and roll, killed too young (45) but leaving a legacy for the ages. Thanks for the memories. Your sweet, steady voice will resonate forever.
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It's also the 112th birthday of blues legend Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938). Generally considered one of the most influential blues artists of all time, he gave us tunes that will be performed forever! You can find more about his life at this wikipedia link: Robert Johnson. As I can't do a full tribute to this musical giant today, here are a few from the first 20th century member of "the 27 club." You'll note these were all made into monster hits by other groups!
We'll finish this brief tribute with 26 Songs written and performed by Robert Johnson
For our encore, 43 songs by the Man! Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings
Copyright © 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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