�

The Show

A Tribute to Rick Nelson
by Leda McEntire Carmody

The lights go low.
The stage is cast in an amber glow.
The room is dim.
Can that be him?
His hair is dark.
That face - without a mark.

The irrepressible smile signals the beginning of the show.
"I'm Walkin" "Hello Mary Lou" and "Lonesome Town".
The middle aged matrons regain their lost youth,
But alas, the undeniable truth...
Youth is in their head,

Middle age spread is theirs alone.
Their "Teenage Idol" is dead!
Wild fans screaming has become an eerie keening.
The stage glow is lost in fog, an endless bog, an end to dreaming.
The show must go on and on and on.....
What happened to the meaning?
"Rave ON"
The show must go!

On Monday 31 December, 1985, following a performance in Guntersville, Alabama (where Rick's last number was Buddy Holly's 'Rave On'), Rick, his fiancee, Helen Blair, and five members of The Stone Canyon Band boarded a charter plane to fly to their next venue in Dallas. The plane, once owned by Jerry Lee Lewis, was not in very good condition. After take-off, the pilot radioed that smoke was seeping into the cockpit. He attempted an emergency landing on a highway and all seemed well when the plane landed intact. But it burst into flames on the ground, killing all seven passengers.

A memorial service was held at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in California, and a show featuring Rick, Fats Domino, Johnny Cash, Jerry lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, which had been recorded before his death, was aired on American television as a tribute to Rick.




Leda McEntire/Carmody with Rick Nelson... I became a fan of Rick's, when I was nine years old. As a child, I dreamed of seeing him in person. I never imagined that one day I would meet him and gain his friendship. When most dreams come true, they are disappointing. Rick Nelson, the person, was far better than Rick Nelson, the teenage idol of my childhood dreams. My life was better for having known one decent and honorable musician, singer and entertainer. As long as I live, he lives on in my heart...





This picture is very special. It was taken backstage in Conn. The man with Rick is my father, the late Walter McEntire. He started it all for me in 1959 when he brought home "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" - My life has never been the same since. This memorial site was built to honor my friend, Rick Nelson.

�