Remembering Rick Nelson on his Birthday

Oak Park, CA, May 8, 2015 (Newswire.com) - ​Eric Hilliard Nelson, who was first known to the public as Ricky and then as Rick, was born on this day, May 8, 1940, in Teaneck, New Jersey. He changed his name on in 1961 on his 21st birthday. His career as an actor, musician, and singer-songwriter spanned several decades from 1949 to 1985. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And in the hearts of those who join us at The Daily Doo Wop, a website and social media platform for music, pop culture, and memories of the first decade of rock and roll, Ricky Nelson was a ubiquitous talented and handsome boy who became a man on the TV in the living room, on the record player and transistor radio, and on the movie screen.

Nelson began his show business career with his family in the 1949 radio sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. When the family moved to television, so did he, and their show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, with Ozzie's questionable employment as a former bandleader and their unadventurous adventures, aired from 1952 through 1966. Rick Nelson's first feature film was the comedy here come the Nelsons in 1957. In film, he's known for co-starring in the Howard Hawks Western Rio Bravo with John Wayne, Dean Martin, Walter Brennan, Angie Dickenson, Ward Bond, and John Russell. He was also in The Wackiest Ship in the Army with Jack Lemmon and Love and Kisses with Jack Kelly.

The Daily Doo Wop presents doo wop, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and rockabilly music videos, plus photos and stories about TV shows, movies, history, and artists during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Jane Minogue, Vice-President

Nelson's music covered a number of genres, including rockabilly, rock and roll, pop, folk, and country. Between 1957 and 1973, he had 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Among his most popular songs were "Travelin' Man," "Hello Mary Lou," "Poor Little Fool," and "It's Up to You"  -- but there are so many. In the 1972 hit "Garden Party," which Nelson wrote, he laments being booed off at a Madison Square Garden concert because the crowd wanted his old songs and his old 1950s look.  He decides, as the song says, "But it's all right now, I learned my lesson well. You see, ya can't please everyone, so ya got to please yourself." Perhaps he did.

Nelson married Sharon Kristin Harmon in 1963, and divorced in 1982. They had four children. Nelson died in a plane crash in De Kalb, Texas, on December 31, 1985.

The Daily Doo-Wop is on Facebook at The posts and pages are open to all, with a special dedication to those who were young during the first era of rock and roll. That would be from about 1952 and the beginning of the Eisenhower administration until the first appearance of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. The Daily Doo Wop presents doo wop, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and rockabilly music videos, plus photos and stories about TV shows, movies, history, and artists during the 1950s and early 1960s. You can listen to today's featured artist is Ricky Nelson performing  Travelin Man