Ricky Nelson was the best when it came to singing the ballads of Rock n' Roll. Rick, whose given name was Eric Nelson with his mom's maiden name as his middle one, was one of the best loved singers in the history of rock and roll music. He also played the guitar very well. His mom, Harriet Nelson, was also a singer and both his parents were actors.

From the early fifties to the late sixties, Ricky, along with his parents and older brother, David, starred in the Ozzie and Harriet television show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The program was also called "The Nelsons." Regular viewers of the show watched the two young boys, Ricky and David grow up, go to college, leave home and get married.

Ricky wanted to impress his girlfriend and so on one of the episodes, he sang the song "I'm Walking" which had previously been released by another Rock and Roll artist, Fats Domino. That rendition by Ricky helped to launch Ricky's singing career with a race to the top of the record charts. From that time on, Ricky had the ending of many episodes to himself and his band. He would play the guitar and sing as the audience' danced or stood and listened, while swaying to the music. On one memorable episode, Rick sat on the side of his bed, strummed his guitar and sang without other musical accompaniment. One thing that was curious about Rick Nelson was that he sang with his eyes closed through a good portion of a song.

Most of the career decisions were made by Rick's father, so he didn't appear on other television shows in the early days. Ozzie didn't want guest appearances to detract from his singing on the Ozzie and Harriet Show. It was only later that he was a guest of Ed Sullivan. Ozzie made a lot of the choices of songs his son would sing. Because of his father's influence, many believe that Rick's career was not as strong or as long-lived as it could have been.

Rick shared the musical spotlight with Elvis Presley and Pat Boone, but to many, Rick was the best of the three. His image, unlike that of Elvis, was pure and clean so that mothers and fathers could approve of their offspring's listening habits. He was younger than Pat Boone, which appealed to many teen girls.

It would be impossible, in a short article, to list all of Rick's hits. It was said that he didn't personally like "Poor Little Fool," but the song made it to the top, reaching number one. Many of his recordings had a hit on both sides, such as "Travelin' Man" and "Hello, Mary Lou," which

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