# Rick Nelson trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2026, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474 "2026-04-22T04:28:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/1 "2026-04-22T04:28:39Z")
Today I found out that actor Mark Harmon’s sister was married to Rick Nelson. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/2 "2026-04-22T04:34:58Z")
I think I’d known that at some point, and forgot it. I see that they married when she was just 17, and pregnant (she gave birth six months after the wedding). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/3 "2026-04-22T04:35:47Z")
I believe Ricky Nelson was pretty important to Rock and Roll. He brought it into middle class households as a respectable white boy parents of teens watched growing up. He wasn’t threatening like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, wasn’t black like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. Buddy Holly was a safe rocker too. I think the last 4 I mentioned were the roots of Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/4 "2026-04-22T04:50:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I think I’d known that at some point, and forgot it. Probably back in 1987 when the relationship was in the news. Kristin Nelson apparently had a drug problem. Mark Harmon took her court in 1987, trying to get custody of her son awarded to him, saying that his sister was an unfit parent. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/5 "2026-04-22T06:22:24Z")
Kristin and Mark’s other sibling, Kelly, was an actress and briefly married to John DeLorean. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/6 "2026-04-22T14:32:05Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I believe Ricky Nelson was pretty important to Rock and Roll. He was briefly the West Coast Elvis and benefited from having better production values than those other pioneers. His production team, Jimmie Haskell and Bunny Robins, were essential to assembling the Wrecking Crew. He was also there to fill the void during Elvis’ Army stint. It didn’t hurt that his dad had more industry connections than Col. Parker could ever dream of. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/7 "2026-04-22T16:59:03Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > It didn’t hurt that his dad had more industry connections than Col. Parker could ever dream of. Much like Desi Arnaz, Ozzie Nelson was a show business dynamo IRL. At the very beginning of his career, he and his bandmates stuffed the ballot box to win a newspaper popularity contest. He also jumped on the short-lived “Soundies” craze (an early form of music videos which were played on machines in bars, clubs, USO canteens, etc.,and spun the band’s popularity on Red Skelton’s radio program into his own radio and TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/8 "2026-04-22T17:12:30Z")
Speaking of Ozzie and Rick, did they get a mention in that thread about musicians who are more famous than their musician parents? You could argue either way on that one. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/9 "2026-04-22T17:48:44Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > He was briefly the West Coast Elvis and benefited from having better production values than those other pioneers. His production team, Jimmie Haskell and Bunny Robins, were essential to assembling the Wrecking Crew. And don’t forget that he had the hottest guitar player of the time, James Burton. No wonder that he later played for Elvis (and thousands of others, he is one of the most productive session players ever). ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/10 "2026-04-22T17:52:52Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And don’t forget that he had the hottest guitar player of the time, James Burton. No wonder that he later played for Elvis (and thousands of others, he is one of the most productive session players ever). I’ve read (somewhere) that Ozzie was a nice guy genius but also a control freak, and Rick personally selected the best musicians he could find as way to have some control over his “solo” career. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/11 "2026-04-22T18:00:47Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Rick personally selected the best musicians he could find as way to have some control over his “solo” career. Rick Nelson was a staunch defender of R&R as a serious art form and was really put off by the flippant attitude of the older musicians his dad originally had backing him. He quickly cut them loose and hired younger musicians who had more love and respect for the new genre. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/12 "2026-04-22T18:03:22Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Rick Nelson was a staunch defender of R&R as a serious art form and was really put off by the flippant attitude of the older musicians his dad originally had backing him. QFT, he was no Pat Boone, although he seemed like a manufactured product. His later country rock career proved that he was a genuine artist. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/13 "2026-04-22T18:04:07Z")
TIL that Hall of Fame baseball player Rickey Henderson’s full name is Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson, and that he is named after Rick(y) Nelson. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/14 "2026-04-22T18:04:54Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Ricky Nelson was pretty important to Rock and Roll. He brought it into middle class households I agree completely. The first record I somehow coerced my Mom to buy for me (at the age of 5) was “Be Bop Baby.” I still have it, with picture sleeve. He may have been a somewhat plastic creation, but he was serious about his music, and thanks to Ozzie’s connections in the music world, he had a first-classic backing band and turned out a lot of good records. Later on his Stone Canyon Band was influential in promoting a folky-country style that bands like the Eagles took to great heights. I’ve always been a Rick Nelson fan. Broke my heart when he died. Did you know that “Travelin’ Man” is often considered by some as the first “music video?” Ozzie had pictures of exotic locales imposed while Rick sang the song. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/15 "2026-04-22T22:39:29Z")
I saw Rick Nelson performing in the early '80s (the radio station I was working for had free tickets). There were middle-aged women in the audience throwing their underwear onto the stage in his direction. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/16 "2026-04-23T00:23:21Z")
The last songs Nelson recorded and performed before his plane crash were both by Buddy Holly. But not the same last song that Holly performed before his plane crash, though you’ll see that online. “Rave On” was second last according to the setlist. > [@XOldiesJock](#): > > Did you know that “Travelin’ Man” is often considered by some as the first “music video?” Must be a zillion candidates for that, but I would insist that the “Soundies” mentioned above were true music videos more than a decade earlier. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/17 "2026-04-23T01:46:38Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > _I would insist that the “Soundies” mentioned above were true music videos more than a decade earlier._ I agree with you up to a point. Strictly speaking, Soundies were produced to be played on machines in bars and restaurants, for a nickel or a dime a play. “Travelin’ Man’” was produced to be seen on television, and using that as a definition, is truly a “video.” Certainly, Ozzie Nelson didn’t originate the concept of adding pictures to music. He just adapted it to a new medium. He was a popular bandleader in the 1940s, and may have even made some Soundies himself. “Travelin’ Man” was pretty simple as videos go. I think the first similar production with decent values was Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” As far as I know that wasn’t made for broadcast. I don’t know what Dylan made that for. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/18 "2026-04-23T02:01:18Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I don’t know what Dylan made that for. I don’t know if it had been shown already in 1965, but it was in D. A. Pennebaker’s film about Dylan’s 1965 tour of England “Don’t Look Back”, which came out in 1967. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/19 "2026-04-23T02:03:03Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I think the first similar production with decent values was Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” As far as I know that wasn’t made for broadcast. I don’t know what Dylan made that for. It was filmed in 1965 specifically for the Dylan doc _Don’t Look Back_. So it didn’t actually premiere until the film’s release in 1967; long after other artists had started making films for TV appearances that their schedules didn’t allow them to do live. Artists like Nancy Sinatra were already stringing together song-specific “videos” for TV specials. ETA: Ninja’d by a mere minute… ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/20 "2026-04-23T02:05:25Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I’ve read (somewhere) that Ozzie was a nice guy genius but also a control freak, and Rick personally selected the best musicians he could find as way to have some control over his “solo” career. Adding on: I’ve done a little googling and learned that Ozzie was an authoritarian control freak. One writer suggested it may have led to Rick’s drug problems. [[BACK TO THE ’50’S WITH DAVID HALBERSTAM – Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/06/22/back-to-the-50s-with-david-halberstam/)] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474.md?page=2)