# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/21 "2026-04-23T02:24:16Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > 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. Rick Nelson real name was actually Eric. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 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. The other children (actress Tracy Nelson, twin musicians Gunnar and Matthew) were over 18 at the time. Only the youngest was a minor. ---
**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 23, 2026, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/22 "2026-04-23T02:24:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Rick Nelson real name was actually Eric. Apparently, Rickey’s parents didn’t know (or care). 😉 ---
**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, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/23 "2026-04-23T02:28:45Z")
The first season of Laugh-In, early 1968, had absolutely perfect music videos in every respect. Probably videos rather than film and meant to be shown on television. I bet they could have been played on MTV and nobody would have thought twice. As I said, there are a zillion claimants, but if video and television and the band not just standing around are required, these are pretty early. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/24 "2026-04-23T15:38:34Z")
Here’s a piece of Ozzie Nelson trivia (which I’ve previously mentioned on the SDMB). When I first heard the 1968 Cass Elliot version of the song “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, I assumed that it was written especially for her. In fact, the first recording of it was in 1931 with Ozzie Nelson. He occasionally sang with his band. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/25 "2026-04-23T16:07:34Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here’s a piece of Ozzie Nelson trivia (which I’ve previously mentioned on the SDMB). When I first heard the 1968 Cass Elliot version of the song “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, I assumed that it was written especially for her. In fact, the first recording of it was in 1931 with Ozzie Nelson. He occasionally sang with his band. Ozzie Nelson was one of the most famous graduates of Rutgers University and Rutgers Law School. I recently saw his incredibly racist cartoons that he produced for the school humor magazine. I’m sure the racism wasn’t too shocking for the 1920s. ---
**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, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/26 "2026-04-23T16:15:01Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > _In fact, the first recording of it was in 1931 with Ozzie Nelson. He occasionally sang with his band._ I’ve read that Ozzie was not a musician himself and couldn’t play any musical instruments. He functioned solely as the business manager, orchestra leader and vocalist, and was quite successful at it. ---
**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, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/27 "2026-04-23T16:28:25Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I’ve read that Ozzie was not a musician himself and couldn’t play any musical instruments. I just read his wiki article, because though I knew some things about Rick Nelson because I’m a fan, I didn’t know much about his family (although I knew about the family’s TV series), and it was mentioned that Ozzie played saxophone in a band in his early career. ---
**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 23, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/28 "2026-04-23T16:36:43Z")
The first video I remember was for Foreigner’s “Cold as Ice” in episode 62 of Saturday Night Live, 1978. It featured Stacy Keach getting stabbed by a crazy woman. I was puzzled as Stacy was not singing the song, just in the video. I guess I was already behind the times. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/29 "2026-04-23T17:03:06Z")
I used to watch “Ozzie and Harriet” on TV when I was a young’un. Ricky would occasionally sing (or lip sync) a song on the show. He affected that sexy bedroom-eyed look that made the girls go wild. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/30 "2026-04-23T18:31:58Z")
Some articles say he was a proficient saxophone player before he became a bandleader. They also say he could play the banjo, ukelele, and the piano. Are there any videos of him playing any instruments? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/31 "2026-04-23T19:05:40Z")
I saw a 1940 article that said Ozzie could play any instrument in his band except the violin–which was the only one he had ever had lessons on. Now whether that’s true or not is something I can’t attest to. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/32 "2026-04-23T19:32:27Z")
Hmmm. Wish we could see a video of him playing…any instrument. ---
**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, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/33 "2026-04-23T19:59:05Z")
He played banjo in an episode of _Ozzie and Harriet_. He could have faked it, I guess, but I don’t think he would have let the other guy do the fancy stuff if he was. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yUP7ENbbj0I/maxresdefault.jpg "OZZIE NELSON PERFORMS "MANDY" ON THE BANJO") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUP7ENbbj0I) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/34 "2026-04-23T20:25:42Z")
He doesn’t actually play much of the time. Thanks for finding something. ---
**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, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/35 "2026-04-23T23:49:42Z")
According to [this article](https://vintagestardust.wordpress.com/2024/10/27/ozzie-nelson-band-harriet-hilliard/): > For Ozzie Nelson, music was always an interest of his. During an[interview with James Day on the _Day at Night_ series in 1974](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO3HhFGfSog), he remembered playing various instruments, including the banjo and saxophone, My guess is that he was a decent instrumentalist but not as good as bunches of people he could hire. His talents shined in front of the band. So both sides are probably true. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/36 "2026-04-24T19:54:58Z")
Ozzie succeeded in making the word “adventures” essentially meaningless 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/37 "2026-04-24T21:46:04Z")
Here’s Ricky sharing the screen with Dean Martin, Walter Brennan and John Wayne in _Rio Bravo_ [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_MXcL1F3OMs/hqdefault.jpg "Dean Martin & Ricky Nelson - My Rifle, My Pony & Me/Cindy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MXcL1F3OMs) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/38 "2026-04-24T22:13:35Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > And don’t forget that he had the hottest guitar player of the time, James Burton. A fabulous guitarist, yes. ---
**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 25, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/39 "2026-04-25T16:28:56Z")
Is that the guy who did the terrific solo in “Fools Rush In”? ---
**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 25, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474/40 "2026-04-25T16:36:43Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Is that the guy who did the terrific solo in “Fools Rush In”? Yes, that’s him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-nelson-trivia/1029474.md?page=1)