Music Bloodline

Ricky Nelson

1950's teen idol, rockabilly singer, and TV actor who later helped pioneer country rock.

Biography

Rick Nelson was a teen idol in the 1950s, thanks to his role in TV's OZZY & HARRIET, his numerous pop hits, and his cover-boy looks, but in fact he was a serious musician who was in on the ground floor of the rockabilly revolution. In the '60s, when his pop-star phase had passed, he made some credible country and folk-rock albums. In the early '70s he formed an early country-rock group, the STONE CANYON BAND, and made some of the finest records of his career. Tragically, he died in a plane accident in 1985, but his progeny achieved fame after his death--his sons Gunnar and Matthew in the pop group Nelson, and his daughter Tracy as an actress.