From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed May 8, 2002  1:14 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Ricky Nelson
 
RICKY NELSON (By Shaun Mather)

Born Eric Hilliard Nelson, 8 May 1940, Teaneck, New Jersey
Died 31 December 1985, DeKalb, Texas

Born into the entertainment business, Ricky Nelson spent his teens starring
with his brother David and parents Ozzie and Harriet on a weekly national tv
comedy soap opera. On one of the shows in 1957 he got to sing a version of
Fats Domino's I'm Walkin' which was released on the Verve label and climbed
to number 4 on the pop charts. He signed to Imperial and charted time and
again with rockers and ballads, aided and abetted by the best session
pickers around the West Coast, from Joe Maphis to James Burton. Although it
was hard for Ricky to convince the public otherwise, he was much more than
just a pretty face with an American Dream lifestyle. He was a bona-fide
rock 'n' roll artist with an ear for a great song, using the best scribings
of the Burnette Brothers (Believe What You Say, It's Late, Just A Little Too
Much) and Sharon Sheeley (Poor Little Fool, a # 1). Although he was heavily
influenced by the likes of Carl Perkins, he also found a niche with softer
numbers like Lonesome Town and Travellin' Man. The latter song was his
second chart topper, coupled with the brilliant Hello Mary Lou, which was
a # 9 hit in its own right. Most of Ricky's Imperial 45s were double-sided hits.
In an attempt to be taken more seriously as an artist he dropped the "y" to
become Rick Nelson. In 1963 he signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records.
By the late '60s he had adopted a country-rock feel and recorded a couple
of pioneering albums with his Stone Canyon Band. He scored a major hit
in '72 with his self-written Garden Party which told of a bad situation he'd
endured at a revival show. By the time of his early death in a plane crash,
he'd assembled a dynamic rockabilly band and was actively touring the
world, finally appearing happy to play the old stuff. His sound was best
summed up Sam Phillips who said that Ricky Nelson could sing a rocker
like a ballad.

Recommended listening:
Some of the early two-fers or the best bet is the Bear Family box set "The
American Dream" (2001, 6 CD's).
There are two major biographies, both out of print:
Philip Bashe, Teenage idol, travelin' man : the complete biography of Rick
Nelson. New York : Hyperion, 1992.
Joel Selvin, Ricky Nelson : idol for a generation. Chicago : Contemporary
Books, 1990.
Official website: http://www.ricknelson.com