Eric Hilliard Nelson
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Ricky Nelson’s 1958 single Poor Little Fool was the first song to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. He starred in the long-running TV series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and appeared in the film Rio Bravo 1959. Nelson died in a plane crash on December 31, 1985 at age 45.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Ricky Nelson — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Ricky Nelson by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Ricky Nelson — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Ricky Nelson first appeared on his parents’ radio show as a child. His birth name was Eric Hilliard Nelson, born May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, New Jersey, to showbiz parents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. He grew up surrounded by the entertainment industry, later starring on the television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. He attended Hollywood High School in California.
Ricky Nelson’s music career began almost accidentally in 1957 when he recorded a cover of Fats Domino’s I’m Walkin’ after a girlfriend professed love for Elvis Presley. He performed the song on The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall, and it sold over a million copies. In 1958, his single Poor Little Fool became the first song to top the newly introduced Billboard Hot 100 chart. Nelson also acted in films, notably playing Colorado Ryan in Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo 1959, where he sang My Rifle, My Pony, and Me with Dean Martin. After a period of waning popularity, he made a comeback with the 1972 hit Garden Party, which he wrote after being booed at a Madison Square Garden revival concert for not wearing period clothing.
Ricky Nelson married Kristin Harmon on April 20, 1963; they divorced in 1982. They had four children: Tracy, Matthew, Gunnar, and Sam Nelson. At the time of his death, he was engaged to Helen Blair, who also died in the crash. Nelson was close friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His brother was actor David Nelson, and his parents were Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
Ricky Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was the first teen idol to use television to promote his records, setting a precedent for future artists. His song Poor Little Fool remains a milestone in music history. In 2005, TV Guide ranked him #2 on its list of TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols. The Nelson family was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2020. He is remembered as a pioneering figure who bridged television and rock music.
Browse the complete filmography of Ricky Nelson — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
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Every award, honor, and recognition received by Ricky Nelson — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Ricky Nelson — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
A Career Is a Series of Comebacks.
Little-known facts about Ricky Nelson — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
According to his children Tracy, Matthew, and Gunnar Nelson, the 1985 plane crash that killed Ricky Nelson was caused by a malfunctioning heater, not by drug use as some speculated.
The last song Nelson performed, on the evening preceding the fatal plane crash, was Buddy Holly’s Rave On — the last song Holly had performed before his own fatal plane crash.
Ricky Nelson had no initial ambition to be a rock singer. When a girlfriend told him she was in love with Elvis Presley, he claimed he was a rock singer too and hurriedly cut a cover of Fats Domino’s I’m Walkin’, which became a big hit and launched his musical career.
He was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death; she died with him in the plane crash.
When Rick Nelson appeared at The Rock Revival at Madison Square Garden in 1971, he was unaware he was expected to wear clothing from his 1950s peak. He appeared in contemporary clothes and was booed, which inspired his hit song Garden Party.
After his death in a private plane crash on New Year’s Eve 1985, speculation arose that the fire was caused by freebasing cocaine. This was disproven by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, which cited an onboard heater short-circuit as the cause.
He was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 1515 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.
TV Guide ranked him #2 on its list of TV’s 25 Greatest Teen Idols in their January 23, 2005 issue.
He is interred at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California, on the right as you walk in, under the third tree, two rows above Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.
When Billboard first introduced the Hot 100 chart on August 4, 1958, the very first song to top that chart was Nelson’s Poor Little Fool.
Johnny Cash wrote the song Restless Kid for Nelson to sing in Rio Bravo 1959, but music director Dimitri Tiomkin insisted on the folk song Cindy and his own My Rifle, My Pony, and Me. Cash’s song was instead released on Nelson’s album Ricky Sings Again 1959.
His hit single Garden Party, which reached #6 in 1972 and went gold, was about his experience at a Madison Square Garden concert; the lyric ‘But if memories were all I sang, I’d rather drive a truck’ was sincere.
He was the younger brother of actor/director David Nelson.
He was the ex-brother-in-law of Mark Harmon and Kelly Harmon.
He performed his debut single I’m Walkin’ on The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall in 1957. From 1958 to 1965, he performed his songs only on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, until a 1966 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
He was the stepuncle of Teri Nelson Carpenter and John Nelson.
He was the first teen idol to use television to promote hit records; his version of I’m Walkin’ made #4 on the Billboard singles chart and sold over a million copies after his TV performance.
As a popular teen idol in the late 1950s and early 1960s, his hit records on Imperial and American Decca labels include I’m Walkin’, Travelin’ Man, Poor Little Fool, For You, Fools Rush In, It’s Late, and Garden Party. Most were introduced on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Rolling Stone voted him the 91st Greatest Rock n Roll Artist of all time.
He was one of two rock stars who never appeared on American Bandstand; the other was Elvis Presley.
He was the ex-son-in-law of Tom Harmon and Elyse Knox.
He was friends with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
He was the father of Tracy Nelson, Matthew Nelson, Gunnar Nelson, and Sam Nelson.
The Nelson family Ozzie, Harriet, and Ricky was inducted into the 2019-2020 Class of New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment category.
He was the son of Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Nelson.
He was of Swedish paternal grandfather, German, Irish, English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and Scottish descent.
A biography titled Teenage Idol, Travelin’ Man: The Complete Biography of Rick Nelson was written by Philip Bashe.
He and Ozzie Nelson were nominated for the 2017 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts category.
He was the nephew of Don Nelson.
Another biography, Ricky Nelson: Idol For a Generation, was written by Joel Selvin.
His biography appears in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 596-599 1998.
In the film Rio Bravo, he sings My Rifle, My Pony, and Me with Dean Martin.
He, his mother Harriet, his daughter Tracy, and his brother David all made guest appearances on The Love Boat 1977.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Ricky Nelson.
Celebrities similar to Ricky Nelson — same craft, ranked by reach.
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