Today is Ricky Nelson's birthday
Born Eric Hilliard Nelson on May 8, 1940, Ricky Nelson starred from age eight alongside his family in the radio and television series "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet."
In 1957, he began a long and successful career as a popular recording artist.
As one of the top "teen idols" of the 1950s, his fame led to a motion picture role co-starring alongside John Wayne and Dean Martin in Howard Hawks' western feature film "Rio Bravo"
He placed 53 songs on the "Billboard Hot 100," and it's predecessors, between 1957 and 1973, including "Poor Little Fool" in 1958, which holds the distinction of being the first # 1 song on Billboard Magazine's then-newly created "Hot 100 Chart."
He recorded 19 additional Top 10 hits and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.
Ricky Nelson dreaded flying but refused to travel by bus.
On May 1985, he paid $118,000 for a fourteen-seat 1944 Douglas DC-3.
The plane had been plagued by a series of mechanical problems.
On December 26, 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the southern United States.
Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama, Nelson and the band members took off from Guntersville for a New Year's Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas.
The plane crash-landed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas, in a cow pasture less than two miles from a landing strip, at approximately 5:14 PM CST on December 31, 1985, hitting trees on it's way down.
Seven of the nine occupants were killed.
The two pilots escaped via cockpit windows, although one of them was severely burned.
His funeral was held in Los Angeles on January 6, 1986.
Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash.
Those allegations were refuted by the National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB].
The NTSB conducted a year-long investigation and finally concluded that, while a definite cause was still unknown, the crash was probably due to a fire that was caused by the plane's cabin heater "acting up.'
= new reply since forum marked as read
...to Rick!
Hope you are at peace Ricky! Miss you! 
.... of attending one of his concerts at Knott's Berry Farm around 1974. One of my fonder memories. He was in excellent form that night.
Response to red dog 1 (Original post)