Sunday, September 15, 2013

No Comparison Whatsoever


When Ricky Nelson first burst onto the scene as a singer on the old "Ozzie and Harriet" show, the assumption was that this was going to be just another white kid of privilege (a la, Pat Boone) stealing some thunder from black musicians (his first hit was actually a very credible remake of the Fats Domino classic, "I'm Walkin'"). Boy, did that prediction ever pan out to be inaccurate. Young Mr. Nelson went on to be one of the greatest rock and roll artists of the late '50s and early '60s and eventually was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Some of his better hits were "Travelin' Man", "Hello Mary Lou", "Poor Little Fool", and "Lonesome Town" (the latter being featured in Quentin Tarantino's, "Pulp Fiction"), and even though he wasn't quite as cutting-edge as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, or the killer, Jerry Lee Lewis, his plaintiff vocals and knack for delivering catchy melodies and honest rock and roll were a much, MUCH, welcome respite from the other teenage heartthrobs of that era; Paul Anka, Fabian, Frankie Avalon, etc......................................................................The dude also became a very creative and restless artist as well (his cover of Bob Dylan's "She Belongs to Me", for example, in 1968), eventually becoming one of the early pioneers of country rock (his Stone Canyon Band actually preceded CCR, The Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Grateful Dead, etc.). And, again, while he may not have been quite the visionary of a Gram Parsons or a Chris Hillman (co-founders of the Burritos), his contributions were exceedingly solid. What a shame that the man had to depart at such an early age.

7 comments:

dmarks said...

"Jerry Lee Lewis, his plaintiff vocals"

I think Lewis was known as a vocalizing plaintiff, due to his criminal problems.

Nelson? Plaintive.

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We are in different generations, Will. I know him mainly for "Garden Party". I had to think to remember two of the four songs you named, and two of them I know I don't know at all.

Rusty Shackelford said...



This is an absolute true story:

Many years ago I was on a red eye flight from LA to Newark...while in the waiting area I saw these guys in satin jackets that said Stone Canyon Band on the back.

I was seated in FC and I looked across and low and behold there was Ricky Nelson....in those days after take off there was a small table set up....and I ended up playing cards with Ricky and a couple band members.They were playing at the old Playboy Club in Lake Geneva and got off when the plane made a stop in Chicago.He seemed like a real down to earth guy.

A few years later I was saddened when he killed in a plane crash.

Joe "Truth 101" Kelly said...

All this may be true but I still think Elvis Presley should have got the part of "Colorado" in John Wayne's Rio Bravo.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Elvis would have been good in that movie, too, no doubt. I just can't feel too sorry for a guy who porking Ann Margret during the time-frame in question.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

dmarks, just for the record, I was only an infant and a toddler when those particular hits came out. It was only after I grew up that I developed a strong appreciation for them.......Great story, Russ. And, yeah, I've heard the very same things about him.

dmarks said...

Then, perhaps it is not too late to discover this artist.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

I just didn't want you to think that I was THAT old. I only work in a convalescent home (for now).