On this day, December 31, 1985, Ricky Nelson and six others were killed in a plane crash in Texas.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, This Day in Rock

1985 - Ricky Nelson

Ricky Nelson was killed along with six others, when his charted light aircraft crashed in Texas. It's rumoured that freebasing cocaine caused an onboard explosion. Nelson had played himself on his parent's US TV The Adventures Of Ozzie and Harriet.' (1958 US No.1 'Poor Little Fool', 1961 UK No.2 single 'Hello Mary Lou' plus over 30 US Top 40 hit singles).

Sun May 8, 2022: Ricky Nelson was born on this date.

Tue May 10, 2022: Belated greetings:

Mon May 10, 2021: On May 8, 1940, both Ricky Nelson and Toni Tennille were born.

Ricky Nelson



Nelson in a publicity photo for Decca Records in 1966

Background information
Birth name: Eric Hilliard Nelson
Also known as: Rick Nelson
Born: May 8, 1940; Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.
Died: December 31, 1985 (aged 45); De Kalb, Texas, U.S.

Website: rickynelson.com

Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985), known professionally as Ricky Nelson until his 21st birthday when he officially dropped the "y" and simply became Rick Nelson, was an American rock 'n' roll star, pop pioneer, musician, singer-songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred 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's western feature film Rio Bravo (1959). He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, and its predecessors, between 1957 and 1973, including "Poor Little Fool" in 1958, which was the first number 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. In 1996 Nelson was ranked No. 49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

{snip}

Here are publicity stills of eighteen-year-old Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo:







{Snip the stuff about Toni Tennille.}

[niyad]

1. NTSB investigation said allegations of cocaine freebasing were false. But no

media ever corrected their breathless, erroneous, rumour-mongering.

I saw Rick in one of his last concerts. "Garden Party" made me sad.