Collection: Ricky Nelson (2)​

[bBorn:[/b May 8th, 1940, Teaneck, New Jersey, United States.
[bDied:[/b December 31st, 1985, De Kalb, Texas, United States.

[bNelson[/b was a child prodigy, born into a showbiz family, his father [bOzzie[/b was a bandleader and his mother [bHarriet[/b was the singer. They had their own radio show & subsequent TV show, [b[iThe Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet[/i[/b, in which [bNelson[/b featured with his brother [bDavid[/b. [bNelson[/b appeared in his first film aged 7.

A 'Teenage Idol' of the late 1950s and early 1960s, [bNelson[/b gained 9 gold records by the age of 21 in 1961. His single, [b'Travelin' Man'[/b, was a huge #1 hit that year, selling over 2 million copies. The flip-side [b'Hello, Mary Lou'[/b went on to be his biggest hit ever, reaching #1 in 32 countries.

In April 1963, [bNelson[/b married [bKristin Harmon[/b and they had a daughter, [bTracy[/b, and 3 sons, [bGunner[/b, [bMatthew[/b (who formed the music duo, [bNelson (4)[/b) and [bSam[/b. They were later divorced. [bNelson[/b's career gained a high spot in 1972 with the release of [b'Garden Party'[/b, which went gold and also won a [bGrammy Award[/b in 1986 for [b[iBest Spoken Word Recording.[/i[/b

On New Year's eve 1985, en route from Alabama to a gig in Dallas, [bNelson[/b's plane crash-landed near DeKalb, TX and burst into flames. Only the pilot & co-pilot escaped. Posthumously inducted into the [bRock and Roll Hall of Fame[/b in 1987 (Performer), and the [bRockabilly Hall of Fame[/b, [bNelson[/b's grave is close to those of his parents at [bForest Lawn Memorial Park[/b, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, L.A. County, California, USA.

All the early albums from 1957 to 1961 were recorded at Master Recorders, engineered by Bunny Robyn and produced by Jimmie Haskell.

[bNelson[/b had the #1 song on the first ever [bBillboard Hot 100[/b chart with [b'Poor Little Fool'[/b in August 1958.