Ricky Nelson, born Eric Hilliard Nelson on May 8, 1940, in Teaneck, New Jersey, to parents Oswald (Ozzie) and Harriet Hilliard Nelson, became one of the first American teen idols.

His father was leader of a big band and his mother the band's singer. The couple later became famous for The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet radio and television series. Rick Nelson was the younger of their two sons. He and his brother, David, starred in the radio series from 1944-1954 and the television series from 1952-1966. The first five years the sons were played by professional actors and it was actually 1949 when David and Ricky joined the cast.

Nelson began a rock and roll music career in 1957. Nelson first recorded his debut single, Fats Domino's song "I'm Walkin'" to impress a date that was an Elvis Presley fan. The song was a hit and reached number four on the charts. Soon after, every Ozzie and Harriet television show ended with a musical performance by Ricky. Nelson musically performed on the television series for the first time on April 30, 1957, when the segment "Ricky the Drummer" aired. He was sixteen years old at the time. Nelson's father, Ozzie, was said to be a control freak and it was during the sitcom's run on television that he kept Nelson from appearing on other television shows which could have enhanced his career. Ozzie Nelson may have chose to do so in order to keep their show's viewers tuned in each week. Two of the television shows he refused to let Nelson appear on were American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show.

Rick Nelson was an accomplished musician before becoming an American teen idol. He not only played guitar, he also played the clarinet and the drums. With his handsome looks and smooth, calm voice he was destined to become a teen idol. It was Life Magazine that reputedly coined the phrase "teen idol" in an article it did on Nelson in 1959.

From 1957-1962 Rick Nelson had thirty Top 40 hits, more than any other artist at the time with the exception of Elvis Presley, who had 53. Many of his early records were double hits with both side A and side B hitting the Billboard charts. His single "Poor Little Fool" became the first ever song to hit the #1 position on the list when Billboard introduced it's Hot 100 chart on August 4, 1958.

Some of Nelson's hit recordings were, "Hello Mary Lou", "It's Late", "Stood Up", "Be-Bop Baby", "Travelin' Man", "Poor Little Fool", "Teenage Idol", "Young World", and "Lonesome Town".

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