Submitted by ryukuimbetween t3_110h47m in Music
As I'm only young I've only discovered Ricky Nelson in the past few years.
To anyone who remembers, how was he perceived at the time? Was he famous or did some of his notoriety happen after his death ?
Thanks for answering.
My favourite of his is just another day. Always loved how haunting his voice sounds.
Have you discovered his twin sons’ band, Nelson? They are pretty much considered a punchline now, but back in 1990 they were a big deal.
ricky nelson was my mom's pop idol.
Everybody knew his name, but nobody recognized him.
He didn't look the same.
Gone too soon. Probably would have been a bigger artist
Loved Garden Party in the 70s
I was a kid when Ozzie and Harriet was a hit TV show. Although they played a middle-aged couple-next-door, in real life Ozzie Nelson was a popular band leader and Harriet Nelson, formerly Harriet Hilliard, was a well-known actress.
The Nelsons pushed their son Ricky’s singing career relentlessly on that show. It got to the point where they would race through the story line, so that Ricky had five minutes at the end to sing his latest song. As a kid, that was my least favorite part of the show, frankly.
Ricky’s death in an airplane crash was a public relations nightmare. The crash, which was caused by a fire started by a faulty in-cabin heater, was initially and erroneously reported to have resulted from Ricky and the other passengers freebasing cocaine on the plane - an unfounded rumor so widely reported in the national media that some people probably still believe it. Also, Ricky’s ex-wife filed an ugly lawsuit for a piece of Ricky’s estate, which Ricky had bequeathed entirely to his children.
I think the OP came for a discussion, not directions to the library.
I’m sure most people who were around when Ricky Nelson was alive are in a retirement home and aren’t on Reddit.
My comment provided insight, based on generational experience.
So you only talk about, or have knowledge in, stuff that happened in your lifetime?
But it wasn’t your generational experience. I can talk about what it was like living during Michael Jackson’s time as an artist but I can’t say about any singer that died before I was even born.
If you read my comment, it is what my parents told me, and their’s was a first hand account.
Want to know what MJ was like in concert, ask people who were there.
What a shitty thing to say, haha. It was just 1985 fer chrissakes.
[deleted]
LowGradePlayer t1_j896g0k wrote
He was before my time, but my parents told me that he was really huge.
He was one of the first Nepo baby’s, but he actually had talent.
He had the benefit of exposure in that America watched him grow up on TV, so when he picked up a guitar, it was natural that his fans would migrate to him as a musical artist.
He was also clean cut, and after that 12 months of wild Presley between 55 and 56, if you were not clean-cut, you were not going anywhere.