Song of the Day 1/21: Ricky Nelson, “Hello Mary Lou”

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

Ricky Nelson was a celebrity before he became a teen idol recording star. And when he became a teen idol recording star he didn’t follow the musical path expected of him. That path eventually led to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he was inducted by John Fogerty.

Nelson played himself as the younger son on the “Ozzie and Harriett” TV show, one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1950s. When he was 16, dad Ozzie, a former big band singer, helped him get a recording contract. Ozzie decided to have Ricky, now even cuter, sing his tunes on the TV show. His career skyrocketed.

Nelson didn’t go for sugary pop like Frankie Avalon or Pat Boone. He chose to be a rockabilly cat like his favorite singer, Carl Perkins. He put together a band featuring guitarist James Burton, who had already embarked on a career that would land him in the rock, country and rockabilly Halls.

Nelson wasn’t quite Chuck Berry, but he’s in that ballpark. He mixed in some smoother pop like his first top seller, 1958’s “Poor Little Fool.” Altogether, he scored two No. 1 hits, 18 in the Top 10 and 54 the Top 100, mostly with tunes written by the likes of rockabilly stalwarts Gene Pitney and the ubiquitous Jerry Fuller..

In the late ’60s he pursued a country-rock approach related to the developing Laurel Canyon style. When he tried to sing one of his new songs at an oldies concert he heard some boos. He wrote a song about unrealistic fan expectations called “Garden Party,” which turned out to be another hit.

His recording career stalled after that, but he kept on touring. Nelson died in a plane crash in 1985, joining the ranks of Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, John Denver, Otis Redding and the many other music stars who went out that way.

Here’s Ricky and his band with “Hello Mary Lou,” a Gene Pitney song. That’s Burton with the snazzy guitar solo. The song reached No. 9 on the charts. It was later covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Queen, among others.

Nelson didn’t change his style for the TV show. But the camera sometimes cut to his parents and teen-age pals. There’s a shot here of older brother David. It’s easy to imagine him gritting his teeth behind that smile and thinking, Why can’t I be the brother getting all this attention? “It’s Late” was written by Jerry Fuller.

Here’s Ricky at his most Elvis-like.