Pop Rick Nelson or country Rick Nelson

Watching Ozzie & Harriet on black and white TV at age 11 or 12.
Rick singing at the end....good songs, vocals, and James Burton on guitar.
Really blew my young mind how cool the whole thing was.

One of the pioneers of country rock, and you had to admire Rick for trying to grow as an artist and songwriter.

Love both eras, but the Verve/Imperial songs are just so good.

 

I prefer the pop material, but he adapted to country pretty well. Conway Twitty had the most success in jumping from rock to country, but many others (Jerry Lee Lewis, Mac Wiseman, Billy Craddock) managed a similar transition.

 

Darryl

 

I like a lot Nelson's country output, but his output 1957 ~ 1962 was outstanding every way you look at it. Consistently very high quality rockabilly/poprock with some first-rate backing, good songwriting, good vocalising on his part and first rate production. In fact, when Terry Melcher (The Rip Chords, Bruce & Terry, producer for The Byrds and others, producer and backing vocalist for Paul Revere and The Raiders, etc.) made his first little record release in 1962, he said his goal was to try make a record as good as Rick Nelson's.

 

Both eras.

 

BTW, Poor Little Fool is Rick's highest charting single on the country charts, believe it or not.

 

I can't say I'm a big Ricky Nelson fan, but I really like that Live at the Troubadour record, which is the country phase.

 

Wow. Great photo.
Not too far away from his tragic death.

 

Does anyone here have the Rick Nelson twofer "Bright Lights & Country Music/Country Fever" released by Ace Records, and if so, is the sound quality good?

 

Excellent. I've had it for years.

 

Great. Thanks. Ordered!

 

There is a studio version of I Shall Be Released? Is that on the Bear Family sets? Where else can it be found?

 

????

I consider his early stuff with James Burton to be more rockabilly than pop, altho he also did Lonesome Town during that time and that was pure pop..

anyway, his early stuff with Burton by a mile, in my opinion. I love playing those songs and trying to play Burtons stuff. Can be VERY difficult and he was so young when they recorded it!

 

This one has probably the first "lead guitar" lick I ever learned. I got this old single from my aunt when I was quite young.

If you listen to the lick, imagine it slowed down in half time. I think you get a Joe Walsh lick, All Nite Long, or some other song...

 

Don't know much about his early material apart from a few singles, but The Stone Canyon Band's recordsare highly enjoyable and the band probably deserve more kudos than they ever seem to get.

 

I'll have to go with the Ricky era, but truthfully I don't know much of his his post-Imperial stuff besides "Garden Party".

 

I like both! He was a great rockabilly artist and became a great singer-songwriter.

 

I really like both sides of Rick. Really enjoy the late 1960's stuff.

 

The only place that I found the studio version was on this:

 

You're right about that.
Great guitar solo.

 

One of my all-time faves.



Darryl

 

That's a good one, and an overlooked Ricky Nelson hit song.
I think it made it to No. 6.
Top 10 the month before, or of, The Beatles' arrival.

I know it's an older song, from the 40s or 50s, IIRC, but it's always been of interest to me.
Like It's Up to You, which was a hit in 1963.

 

Anyone know how the sound is on this LP comp?





Rick Nelson* - Singles Album 1963 - 1976

Darryl

 

I like his country stuff but his early rockabilly is Classic rock 'n' roll that doesn't get the respect it deserves, mostly because he's lumped in with the teen idols. Ricky was a teen idol but his music was not pop fluff, it was the real thing.

 

Amen.