Ricky Nelson, one of the most popular adolescent idols of the late 1950s and early 1960s, was born Eric Hilliard Nelson on May 8, 1940, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard Nelson, an entertainment couple, were his parents.
His parents starred in “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” which the older Nelson brothers, Ricky and David, joined when they were 8 and 12 years old, respectively. The show ran for 16 years in a row, a record in TV sitcom history.
Ricky attended Gardner Street Public School before moving on to Bancroft Junior High and Hollywood High School. Ricky despised the school, despite his father’s demand that he earn a college degree.
Ricky was already generating substantial income by the time he was of college age, earning up to $100,000 per year. As a result, he saw no reason to go to school.
Ricky released his first single, “I’m Walking,” at the age of 17, after making his television debut, singing and playing the drums to the same song on the “Ricky, The Drummer” episode of the family program. The song peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Best Sellers chart.
Ricky originally presented most of his songs to fans on “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” before releasing them as singles.
Ricky remembered the 1961 Christmas holiday season fondly. He had started dating years before, but his mother disapproved of all of his romantic pursuits.
The ribbon that tied the small package together, though, was that the Harmons and Nelsons had been long-time friends. Their children’s dating had a lot of appeals, so the two kids married in April 1963.
They have four children: Sam Hilliard Nelson, twins Matthew Gray Nelson and Gunnar Eric Nelson, and Tracy Kristine Nelson, an actress.
Throughout the decade, his music was still popular, and he was even said to have influenced artists like The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt.
He continues to tour often to promote his songs and introduce the world to the greatness of his voice. Ricky died tragically on one of these tours, causing the world to mourn for him and the legacy he had left behind.
Ricky was planning to go to Dallas for the New Year’s Eve event with his twin kids, Matthew and Gunnar, towards the end of the year. Gunnar stated:
“On that trip, we were meant to be on the plane. “Our father contacted us shortly before we were due to travel down to Alabama to meet him for the New Year’s Eve gig in Dallas.”
Gunnar believes his father changed his mind because the plane they were meant to fly on had engine issues. Their father’s last-minute choice saved their lives.
Ricky boarded the chartered DC-3 in Alabama on that fateful day. Ricky’s cabin filled with smoke shortly before landing in Dallas, the result of a fire whose cause has remained unknown for nearly three decades.
Following his untimely death, media sources claimed that the fire was started by Ricky and his then-girlfriend, Helen Blair, when they were “free-basing” cocaine.
Ricky’s brother, on the other hand, firmly denied Ricky had ever taken cocaine. At the same time, Ricky’s manager, Greg McDonald, said that Ricky and Blair were sleeping in their cabin when the smoke began.
Thirty years later, there is still no definite hypothesis explaining the origin of the fire that killed one of America’s most renowned rock and roll artists and his band.
Ricky leaves behind four lovely children. Tracy, his daughter, is an actress who is most known for her roles as Rachel in “The Perfect Tenant” and Theda Bara in “As Long as I’m Famous,” among many others.
“It’s a continuous work of love, an open letter to our closest friend, our father.”
Sam Nelson, the youngest of the Nelson children, is also a musician and the lead vocalist for his band H is Orange. He is in the band with Guy Staniar, Marcel Blanco, and Troy Brittain.