“Father Knows Best,” “Leave It to Beaver,” “My Three Sons” — these TV shows were iconic but the show that holds the record (14 seasons) for the longest running live sitcom of all time is “The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet” which was also the launching pad for 17-year old Ricky Nelson’s singing career and his first top 10 hit, 1957’s “A Teenagers Romance,” with a cover of Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin” on the B side. One year later Nelson’s “Poor Little Fool” was #1.
All in all, he had 53 songs that charted on Billboard’s “Hot 100.”
His ballads scored big but his heart was in rockabilly, so to honor him today, May 8th, on what would have been his 80th birthday, below are two classic Rick Nelson rockers.
Nelson, his girlfriend and his band died in a plane crash on New Year’s Eve, 1985.