I Love 1950's Music

[b]The Fool I Am[/b]-------

I have always adored Ricky Nelson. Since I was 2 and singing his songs. Yes, for real -before you ask. He has always spoke to me in a way that reached into my heart and touched it. When he became 21- he became Rick-and not Ricky anymore. A mistake I believe- as he lost a lot of popularity and Decca was never as good to him as Imperial was. But he was now his own person and had to make and his own decisions in life. But he never again matched the fame and success he had as Ricky!

Besides being "A Teenager in Love" (that Dion and The Belmont's speak of) this is me. And I am two days away form being 60 (Yikes!) as of this writing.

But I am that teenager-still-and still in love-at least with the idea of being in love.

And I am still that fool. The same fool Ricky was in 1958.

And to that I am content.

Enjoy- this is one of the best collages there is of Ricky- and yes ladies, his eyes are very seductive -as are his lips.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hrwJvdPtwI]

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Rutterman · 46-50, M

Enjoyed reading your post and the song. It's definitely one of his best, but my favorite by him is probably "Hello Mary Lou". I really think he was underrated as a singer.

Elandra77

@Rutterman: His backing band at Imperial was EXCELLENT. Some would follow him to Decca. He was underrated- as he got to compared to Elvis and Dion. Elvis seemed to win that battle-but that is because the sexual gyrations he did. Imagine Ricky or Dion doing those--no-don't do that! But Ricky had more natural talent than Elvis.

"Hello Mary Lou" is one on my top 5 of his. After that song he changed a bit -as he was almost 21.

So much of his stuff at Decca was lost as Decca had no clue HOW to market him. But some was good. Like this. A much older Ricky (23?)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SedI9iJcbRA]

Rutterman · 46-50, M

I always thought that changes in the music scene--specifically Beatlemania and The British Invasion--were responsible for his decline in popularity, but it sounds like the switch to Decca played a big role in this. That’s something I wasn’t aware of, so thank you for the information.

That’s a nice one. Can’t remember if I’ve heard it before. Thanks for posting it.

Elandra77

@Rutterman: His father, Ozzie, managed and micro manged his career until he was 21. And by that I mean he even choose which shirts to wear with what and how a photo shoot would be. And a lot more. So I would imagine this was suffocating for Ricky. And I thing that is why Rick (Rick, not Ricky after 21) ,made the decisions he did. But in hindsight, they were bad ones. he was trying to escape being Ozzie's boy.

The British invasion did change the face of music. Many careers were killed. Some lingered on. but in obscurity. Teissue was that they could NOT get airplay- no matter HOW good the material was. As listeners wanted the Stones, Beatles, Peter and Gordon and Herman's Hermit's. One had to be bigger than that (Sinatra, The Beach Boys, or a soul act ) to survive. Same happened to many English careers in England.

Another Decca one you may not have heard- but this one sounds as if it COULD be aan Imperial hit- and done earlier by Ricky.

Note: Ricky also had an EP of Hymns that is long forgotten about. (on Imperial) In those days most serious artists did an LP or more of Hymns. And they charted. (Elvis, Johnny Cask, Tennessee Ernie Ford)

The backing band is the same as he used at imperial. It is a cult classic.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDhM1kppt6Q]

Rutterman · 46-50, M

@Elandra77: Didn't realize how controlling his father was. I'm sure Ozzie only wanted what was best for his son, but that's really awful. Apparently, it had some unintended and unfortunate consequences.

Yes, I did know that a number of popular artists did Hymn albums back in the day. Wasn't aware that RN had done one.

I have heard "String Along". Excellent song. 👍