The Accidental Star

Rick Nelson was a teen idol crafted by television.

In fact, he may have been the first “manufactured” rock star, zooming to fame on the coat tails of the hit TV show “Ozzie and Harriet” in the 1950’s.

That show’s huge weekly audience, coupled with the birth of rock & roll created ideal conditions for the manipulation of teenage girls. A Petri dish of sorts, growing the culture of mass-media- influenced stardom, based mostly on exposure rather than talent.

Don’t get me wrong-I’m not trying to diminish the talent of Ricky Nelson, who was killed in a plane crash on this date in 1985. The man had enormous appeal—and no small measure of talent, but unlike Elvis or Buddy Holly, Nelson REQUIRED the measured rollout of his rock & roll persona on national TV to catapult him to stardom.

With his brother and parents essentially playing themselves on TV, Nelson was already a star. Attending Hollywood High, he showed little interest in music until his girlfriend raved to him about Elvis. He responded with a boast that he too was planning to cut a record. His father allowed him to cut a demo with his orchestra. Nelson said later that he chose to cover Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin’” because it relied heavily on the two guitar chords that Nelson knew how to play.

When he played the song on the TV series, he became an overnight sensation. Here is the clip:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwSwlkxHSnY

Nelson released his first album in November of 1957 and it flew to #1 on the Billboard charts. Ricky Nelson became one of the biggest selling singers in the 50’s—with 53 Top 100 hits—and 17 in the Top 10.

When “Ozzie and Harriet” went off the air in 1966, Ricky (who changed his name to Rick) Nelson’s career fizzled. He made a brief comeback after discovering the emerging style of country-rock—and had a #1 song with “Garden Party”—a ditty about his failed concert at Madison Square Garden—where he was booed off stage.

Performing more than 200 nights a year, he was traveling to Texas for a show when his plane crashed. Ironically, the very last song he performed live was a cover of “Rave On” by Buddy Holly—who also perished in a plane crash with The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens in 1959 (often referred to as “The Day The Music Died”)

The “Travelin’Man” was gone. Rick Nelson was 45.

So, while not the musician thought of as influential like Holly, Rick Nelson was a pioneer.

He was the first in a long stream of ready-made teen idols created by television’s mass penetration. The Monkees were another such act—and I’m sure you can name more.

He was an appealing part of our pop culture—when innocence was still the order of the day. Rick was a wholesome star that a girl could bring home to meet her parents.

Ozzie and Harriet wouldn’t have had it any other way.

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