History Music / RickyNelson

His first #1 hit for the label was his cover of Sharon Sheeley's "Poor Little Fool", which sold over two million copies. From 1957 to 1962, he was one of the most prolific musicians in rock and roll with thirty songs in the US Top 40--at the time only behind Music/ElvisPresley (53) and Music/PatBoone (38)--including his second #1, 1961's "Travelin' Man". Although he was often described as a TeenIdol, he also gained a following among other young music hopefuls. Music/PaulMcCartney and [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival John Fogerty]] have cited Nelson as an early influence and have covered his songs.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rickynelson.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"I used to play around with hearts that hastened at my call."'']]

* SingerSongwriter: All of his early hits were either covers or written by outside songwriters, but Nelson made his writing debut with "Don't Leave Me This Way" ([[NamesTheSame not the Thelma Houston[=/=]Communards dance classic]]), the BSide of "Poor Little Fool". He became the primary songwriter in the Stone Canyon Band era; 1970's ''Rick Sings Nelson'', as you might surmise from the title, was entirely self-composed, and his last big hit, "Garden Party", was not only self-written, but autobiographical as well.

* MinisculeRocking: Quite a few of his songs in TheFifties were under two minutes.

* NotChristianRock: He did a few GospelMusic-inspired songs like "Glory Train" and "Thank You Lord".

* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: "Lonesome Town" is one of the most musically spare songs to ever become a Top 10 hit, featuring just Nelson singing and playing acoustic guitar, plus backing vocals by The Jordanaires. At a later session he tried a more conventional full band arrangement, but didn't like it and that take stayed unreleased for more than 40 years.

* MinisculeRocking: Quit a few of his songs in TheFifties were under two minutes.

** He did a version of Music/TheRollingStones' "Honky Tonk Women" on his 1971 album ''Rudy the Fifth'' and played it at the 1971 Madison Square Garden oldies show, and it was that song that apparently led the audience to start booing him, as mentioned in "Garden Party" ("When I sang a song about a honky tonk, it was time to leave").

* NewSoundAlbum: ''Bright Lights and CountryMusic'' (1966) launched a two-album straight country phase. ''Another Side of Rick Nelson'' (1967) launched a two-album [[PsychedelicRock Psychedelic Pop]] phase. ''In Concert'' (1970) introduced the Stone Canyon Band, and ''Rudy the Fifth'' (1971) was the formal studio launch of his country rock sound.

* SingerSongwriter: All of his early hits were either covers or written by outside songwriters, but he got the chance to write some album tracks, starting with 1958's "Don't Leave Me This Way" ([[NamesTheSame not the Thelma Houston[=/=]Communards dance classic]]). He became the primary songwriter in the Stone Canyon Band era; 1970's ''Rick Sings Nelson'', as you might surmise from the title, was entirely self-composed, and his last big hit, "Garden Party", was not only self-written, but autobiographical as well.

** "Garden Party" is also a first-person account of being a famous singer.

* TeenIdol: During the days of Rock and Roll, Ricky was a breakout star in ''Series/TheAdventuresOfOzzieAndHarriet'' and parlayed this into a music career alongside acting. With his dashing looks and charm he fit the profile well, but at the same time he fretted that the "idol" label prevented people from taking him seriously as a singer, especially since he basically called all the shots musically, as opposed to carefully manufactured and managed singers like Frankie Avalon.

--->I got no rest when I'm feeling weary\\
I got to pack my bags and go\\
I got to be somewhere tomorrow\\

!!I'm a tropin' man, made a lot of tropes all over the world:

Embarking on a comeback tour toward the end of 1985, Nelson and his band flew in Nelson's private aircraft ([[TheAllegedCar a propeller plane built in 1944]]) from Alabama on their way to a scheduled New Year's Eve show in [[UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} Dallas]], but the plane's heater caught on fire, causing it to crash west of Texarkana, killing him, his fiancée Helen Blair and five others on board. A multitalented performing career and an untimely death were traits that he shared with his grandfather George Nelson (a {{Vaudeville}} performer who died at age 47) and father Ozzie (who died in 1975 at age 69). He was posthumously inducted into the UsefulNotes/RockAndRollHallOfFame in its second ever class in 1987, and was listed in Magazine/RollingStone's list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, at #91.