A long, long time ago in a long forgotten land lived a young girl who had a teenage crush on a young actor who played one of the sons of the Mother and Father on Ozzie and Harriet. Sort of the world’s first reality series in a way, as the family were all related. Those were the days when there wasn’t much programming on TV and you had your choice of maybe 3 channels to watch but he will always be the first McDreamy to me. Men with striking blue eyes that you could just dive into!
Ricky Nelson was born on May 8th, 1940 and was an American musician and actor who grew up on ‘The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet’ which starred his real life parents, Ozzie who was a band leader and director and Harriet, his mother who was a singer, and his older brother David (who later became a producer and director with a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame). Ricky used the show to launch a massive music career. His smooth tenor and blue-eyes made him an instant teen idol. Between 1947 and 1962 he had twenty Top 40 hits, second only to Elvis Presley. His chart topping hits included “Poor Little Fool” “Hello Marylou” and “Travelin’ Man,” which was released along with one of the first ever music videos.
Nelson would never again achieve the success he had in the 50’s and early 60’s. In the 70’s, he formed The Stone Canyon Band, whose laid-back country sound was an influence on acts like The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt. He also continued to act, record and tour until 1985, when he was killed in a plane crash. He was inducted posthumously into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Though his death didn’t have the same impact on me that John Lennon’s murder did in 1980 at 40 years old, he was still very young (45) and it was extremely tragic.
Rick Nelson wrote “Garden Party” as a direct response to being booed during a 1971 rock and roll revival concert at Madison Square Garden. The song serves as a personal anthem about the necessity of staying true to your artistic vision rather than just playing the hits to please a crowd. At its core, the song is a statement of resilience for artists who refuse to be pigeonholed by their past success. Nelson famously concluded that if he only sang old memories, he would rather quit the business entirely, leading to the iconic refrain about pleasing yourself when you can’t satisfy everyone else.
REFLECTIONS OF A SWAMPER 