Rick Nelson

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Biography

Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 & ndash; December 31, 1985), better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson , was an United States|American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor. He placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973 including " Poor Little Fool ", which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's then newly created Hot 100 chart. He recorded nineteen additional top-ten hits,Whitburn and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.Bashe 284

Nelson began his entertainment career in 1949 playing himself in the radio sitcom series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , and, in 1952, appeared in his first feature film, Here Come the Nelsons . In 1957, he recorded his first single, debuted as a singer on the television version of the sitcom, and recorded a number one album, Ricky (album)|Ricky . In 1958, Nelson recorded his first number one single, " Poor Little Fool ", and, in 1959, received a Golden Globe Most Promising Male Newcomer nomination after starring in the western film, Rio Bravo (film)|Rio Bravo . A few films followed, and, when the television series was cancelled in 1966, Nelson made occasional appearances as a guest star on various television programs.

Nelson and Kristin Harmon|Sharon Kristin Harmon were married on April 20, 1963, and divorced in December 1982. They had four children: Tracy Nelson (actress)|Tracy Kristine , twin sons Gunnar Nelson|Gunnar Eric and Matthew Nelson|Matthew Gray , and Sam Hilliard. On February 14, 1981, a son (Eric Crewe) was born to Nelson and Georgeann Crewe. A blood test in 1985 confirmed Nelson was the child's father. Nelson was engaged to Helen Blair at the time of his death in an airplane crash on December 31, 1985.

In 1996, Ricky Nelson was ranked #49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.

Early life

Ricky Nelson was born on May 8, 1940 at 1:25 p.m. at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey .Bashe 2,16-7Selvin 25Nelson was called "Ricky" from birth (Bashe 16). He was the second son of big band leader Ozzie Nelson , who was of half Swedish descent, and his wife, big band vocalist Harriet Hilliard Nelson (née Peggy Louise Snyder). Harriett remained in Englewood, New Jersey with her newborn and her older son David Nelson (actor)|David while Ozzie toured the nation with the Nelson Orchestra.Bashe 17 The Nelsons bought a two-story Colonial in Tenafly, New Jersey ,Selvin 26 and six months after the purchase, moved with son David Nelson (actor)|David to Hollywood, California where Ozzie and Harriet were slated to appear in the 1941-42 season of Red Skelton 's The Raleigh Cigarette Hour; Ricky remained in Tenafly in the care of his paternal grandmother.Bashe 18 In November 1941, the Nelsons bought what would become their permanent home: a green and white, two-story, Cape Cod Colonial at 1822 Camino Palmero in Los Angeles .Bashe 19Selvin 28 Ricky joined his parents and brother in Los Angeles in 1942.

Ricky was a small and insecure child who suffered from severe asthma . At night, his sleep was eased with a vaporizer emitting tincture of evergreen.Bashe 19-20 He was described by Red Skelton's producer John Guedel as "an odd little kid," likable, shy, introspective, mysterious, and inscrutable.Bashe 20 When Skelton was drafted in 1944, Guedel crafted the radio sitcom, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , for Ricky's parents.Selvin 29 The show debuted on Sunday, October 8, 1944 to favorable reviews.Bashe 21Selvin 30 Ozzie eventually became head writer for the show and based episodes on the fraternal exploits and enmity of his sons.Bashe 22 The Nelson boys were first played in the radio series by professional child actors until twelve-year-old Dave and eight-year-old Ricky joined the show on February 20, 1949 in the episode, "Invitation to Dinner."Bashe 24-5Dennis 15

In 1952, the Nelsons tested the waters for a television series with the theatrically released film, Here Come the Nelsons. The film was a hit and Ozzie was convinced the family could make the transition from radio's airwaves to television 's small screen. On October 3, 1952 in television|1952 , The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast in first run until September 3, 1966 to become one of the longest running sitcoms in television history.

Education

Nelson attended Gardner Street Public School,Bashe 23 Bancroft Junior High,Selvin 47 and Hollywood High School between 1954 and 1958 from which he graduated with a B average.Selvin 53Bashe 52Selvin states Nelson never graduated Hollywood High (Selvin 85). He played football at Hollywood High and represented the school in interscholastic tennis matches.Selvin 55 Twenty-five years later, Nelson told the Los Angeles Weekly he hated school because it "smelled of pencils" and he was forced to rise early in the morning to attend.

At Hollywood High, Nelson was blackballed by the Elksters, a fraternity of a dozen conservative sports-loving teens who thought him too wild.Bashe 55Selvin 54 Many of the Elksters were family friends and spent weekends at the Nelson home playing basketball or relaxing around the pool. In retaliation, he joined the Rooks, a greaser (subculture)|greaser car club of sideburned high school teens clad in leather jackets and motorcycle boots.Bashe 56 He tattooed his hands, wrist, and shoulder with India ink and a sewing needle, slicked his hair with oil, and accompanied the Rooks on nocturnal forays along Hollywood Boulevard randomly harassing and beating up passersby. Nelson was jailed twice in connection with incidents perpetrated by the Rooks, and escaped punishment after sucker-punching a police officer only through the intervention of his father. Nelson's parents were alarmed. Their son's juvenile delinquency did little to enhance the All-American image of Ozzie and Harriet and they quickly put an end to Ricky's involvement with the Rooks by banishing one of the most influential of the club's members from Ricky's life and their home.

Ozzie Nelson was a Rutgers University|Rutgers alumnus and keen on college education,Selvin 15 but eighteen-year-old Ricky was already in the 93-percent income-tax bracket and saw no reason to attend. At thirteen, Ricky was making over $100,000 per annum and, at sixteen he had a personal fortune of $500,000.Bashe 53 Nelson's wealth was astutely managed by parents who channeled his earnings into trust funds. Although his parents permitted him a $50 allowance at the age of eighteen, Rick was often strapped for cash, and, one evening, collected and redeemed empty pop bottles to gain entrance to a movie theater for himself and a date.Bashe 54 Accustomed to affluence, Nelson had a cavalier attitude about money and never managed his finances very well.

Music career

Debut

Nelson played clarinet and drums in his tween (demographic)|tweens and early teens, learned the rudimentary guitar chords, and vocally imitated his favorite Sun Records rockabilly artists in the bathroom at home or in the showers at the Los Angeles Tennis Club .Bashe 66Selvin 62Holdship 2 He was strongly influenced by the music of Carl Perkins and once said he tried to emulate the sound and the tone of the guitar break in Perkins' March 1956 Top 40|Top Ten hit, " Blue Suede Shoes ".

At sixteen, he wanted to impress a friend who was an Elvis Presley fan, and, although he had no record contract at the time, told her that he, too, was going to make a record.Selvin 60Bronson 154Holdship 1 With his father's help, he secured a one-record deal with Verve Records , an important jazz label looking for a young and popular personality who could sing or be taught to sing.Bashe 69Selvin 64 On March 26, 1957, he recorded the Fats Domino standard "I'm Walkin'" and "A Teenager's Romance" (released in late April 1957 as his first single), and "You're My One and Only Love".Bashe 71

Before the single was released, he made his television rock and roll debut on April 10, 1957 lip-synching "I'm Walkin'" in the Ozzie and Harriet episode, "Ricky, the Drummer".Bashe 72Selvin 66 About the same time, he made an unpaid public appearance as a singer at a Hamilton High School lunch hour assembly in Los Angeles with the Four Preps and was greeted by hordes of screaming teens who had seen the television episode.Bashe 75Selvin 68

"I'm Walkin'" reached #4 on Billboard magazine|Billboard 's Best Sellers in Stores chart, and its flip side, "A Teenager's Romance", hit #2. When the television series went on summer break in 1957, Nelson made his first road trip and played four state and county fairs in Ohio and Wisconsin with the Four Preps who opened and closed for him.Selvin 70

First album, band, and number one single

In early summer 1957, Ozzie Nelson pulled his son from Verve after disputes about royalties, and signed him to a lucrative five-year deal with Imperial Records that gave him approval over song selection, sleeve artwork, and other production details.Bashe 78-9Selvin 73-4 Ricky's first Imperial single, "Be-Bop Baby", generated 750,000 advance orders, sold over one million copies, and reached number three on the charts. Nelson's first album, Ricky , was released in October 1957 and hit number one before the end of the year.Selvin 76 Following these successes, Nelson was given a more prominent role on the Ozzie and Harriet show and ended every two or three episodes with a musical number.Bashe 80

Nelson grew increasingly dissatisfied performing with older jazz session musicians who were openly contemptuous of rock and roll. After his Ohio and Minnesota tours in the summer of 1957, he decided to form his own band with members closer to his age.Bashe 81 Eighteen-year-old electric guitarist James Burton was the first signed and lived in the Nelson home for two years.Bashe 82-3 Bassist James Kirkland, drummer Richie Frost, and pianist Gene Garf completed the band.Bashe 83 Their first recording together was "Believe What You Say". Rick selected material from demo acetates submitted by songwriters. Ozzie Nelson forbade suggestive lyrics or titles, and his late-night arrival at recording sessions forced band members to hurriedly hide their beers and cigarettes. The Jordanaires, Elvis Presley's back-up vocalists, worked for Nelson but at Presley's behest were not permitted credit on Nelson's albums.

In 1958, Nelson recorded seventeen-year-old Sharon Sheeley 's " Poor Little Fool " for his second album Ricky Nelson released in June.Selvin 89 Radio airplay brought the tune notice and Imperial suggested releasing a single; but Nelson opposed the idea, believing a single would diminish EP sales. When a single was released nonetheless, he exercised his contractual right to approve any artwork and vetoed a picture sleeve.Bashe 90Selvin 89-90 On August 4, 1958, "Poor Little Fool" became the number one single on Billboard 's newly instituted Hot 100 singles chart,Bashe 91Selvin 90 and sold over two million copies. Nelson so loathed the song he refused to perform it on Ozzie and Harriet . Sheeley claimed he ruined her song by slowing the tempo. More generally, Nelson stated
NME - November 1958

During 1958 and 1959, Nelson placed twelve hits on the charts in comparison with Presley's eleven (it should be remembered that the latter was then serving in Germany with the U.S. Army). During the sitcom's run, Ozzie Nelson, either to keep his son's fans tuned in or as an affirmation of his reputed behind-the-scenes persona as a controlling personality, kept his son from appearing on other television shows that could have enhanced his public profile, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show in particular. In the summer of 1958, Nelson conducted his first full-scale tour, and averaged $5,000 nightly. By 1960, the Ricky Nelson International Fan Club had 9,000 chapters around the world.Bashe 92-3
NME - May 1960

Nelson was the first teen idol to utilize television to promote hit records. Ozzie Nelson even had the idea to edit footage together to create some of the first music videos. This creative editing can be seen in videos Ozzie produced for "Travelin' Man." Nelson finally did appear on the Sullivan show in 1967, but his career by that time was in limbo. He also appeared on other television shows (usually in acting roles). In 1973, he had an acting role in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco , in which he played the part of a hippie flute-playing leader of a harem of young prostitutes. In 1979, he guest-hosted on Saturday Night Live , in which he spoofed his television sitcom image by appearing in a The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|Twilight Zone send-up, in which, always trying to go "home", he finds himself among the characters from other 1950s/early 1960s-era sitcoms, Leave It to Beaver , Father Knows Best , Make Room for Daddy , and I Love Lucy .

Nelson knew and loved music, and was a skilled performer even before he became a teen idol , largely because of his parents' musical background. Nelson worked with many musicians of repute, including James Burton , Joe Osborn , and Allen "Puddler" Harris , all natives of Louisiana , and Joe Maphis , The Jordanaires , Scotty Moore and Johnny Burnette|Johnny and Dorsey Burnette .

From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had 30 Top-40 hits, more than any other artist except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Many of Nelson's early records were double hits with both the A and B sides hitting the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard charts.

While Nelson preferred rockabilly and uptempo rock songs like "Believe What You Say" (Hot 100 #4), "I Got a Feeling" (#10), "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" (#12), " Hello Mary Lou " (#9), "It's Late" (#9), "Stood Up" (#2), " Waitin' In School (song)|Waitin' in School " (#18), "Be-Bop Baby" (#3), and "Just a Little Too Much" (#9), his smooth, calm voice made him a natural to sing ballads. He had major success with " Travelin' Man " (#1), "A Teenager's Romance" (#2), "Poor Little Fool" (#1), " Young World (song)|Young World " (#5), "Lonesome Town" (#7), "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (#6), "Sweeter Than You" (#9), "It's Up to You" (#6), and "Teenage Idol" (#5), which clearly could have been about Nelson himself.
In addition to his recording career, Nelson appeared in movies, including the Howard Hawks western classic Rio Bravo (movie)|Rio Bravo with John Wayne and Dean Martin (1959), plus The Wackiest Ship In the Army (1960) and Love and Kisses (1965 movie)|Love and Kisses (1965).

On May 8, 1961 (his 21st birthday), he officially modified his recording name from "Ricky Nelson" to "Rick Nelson". (However, not too long before his untimely death, he realized a dream of his. He met his idol, Carl Perkins , who, while musing that they were the last of the "rockabilly breed", addressed him as "Ricky".) In 1963, Nelson signed a 20-year contract with Decca Records . After some early successes with the label, most notably 1964's "For You" (#6), Nelson's chart career came to a dramatic halt in the wake of The British Invasion.

In the mid-1960s, Nelson began to move towards country music , becoming a pioneer in the country-rock genre. He was one of the early influences of the so-called "California Sound" (which would include singers like Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt and bands like the Eagles (band)|Eagles ). Yet Nelson himself did not reach the Top 40 again until 1970, when he recorded Bob Dylan 's "She Belongs to Me" with the Stone Canyon Band, featuring slide guitarist Ric Mix.

"Garden Party"

In 1972, Nelson reached the Top 40 one last time with " Garden Party (Rick Nelson song)|Garden Party ", a song he wrote in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him, because, in his mind, he was playing new songs instead of just his old hits. When he performed the Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" he was booed off the stage. He watched the rest of the performance on a TV monitor backstage and quietly left the Madison Garden without taking a final bow for the finale. He wanted to record an album featuring original material, but the single was released before the album because Nelson had not completed the entire Garden Party album yet. "Garden Party" reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks|Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and was certified as a RIAA certification|gold single . The second single release from the album was "Palace Guard", which reached number 65 in the charts.

Nelson was with MCA at the time, and his comeback was short-lived. Nelson's band soon resigned, and MCA wanted Nelson to have a producer on his next album. His band moved to Aspen and changed their name to "Canyon". Nelson soon put together a new Stone Canyon Band and began to tour for the Garden Party (album)|Garden Party album. Nelson still played nightclubs and bars, but soon advanced to higher-paying venues because of the success of Garden Party . In 1974 MCA was at odds as to what to do with the former teen idol. Albums like Windfall (album)|Windfall failed to have an impact. Nelson became an attraction at theme parks like Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland . He also started appearing in minor roles on television shows.

Nelson tried to score another hit, but did not have any luck with songs like "Rock and Roll Lady". With seven years to go on his contract, MCA dropped him from the label.

Nelson studied karate , earning a brown belt before going on to learn Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto . Inosanto described Nelson as a "good martial artist for those times".Kelly 145

Personal life

In 1957, Nelson was seventeen when he met and fell in love with Marianne Gaba , who played the role of Ricky's girlfriend in three episodes of Ozzie and Harriet .Bashe 136Selvin 72 Nelson and Gaba were too young to entertain a serious relationship although, according to Gaba, "we used to neck for hours ."Bashe 137Selvin 73 The next year, Nelson fell in love with 15-year-old Lorrie Collins , a country singer appearing on a weekly telecast called Town Hall Party .Bashe 106Selvin 81 The two wrote Nelson's first composition, the song "My Gal", and she introduced him to Johnny Cash and Tex Ritter . Collins appeared in an Ozzie and Harriet episode as Ricky's girlfriend and sang "Just Because" with him in the musical finale.Selvin 83 They went steady and discussed marriage, but their parents discouraged the idea.Bashe 138

At the age of 45, Nelson said the only girl he ever really loved was involved with him for two years in the late 1950s. After she became pregnant and had a nearly fatal abortion, she married another man.Selvin 116Bashe 145

Kris Harmon

At Christmas 1961, Nelson began dating Kristin Harmon|Sharon Kristin "Kris" Harmon (born June 25, 1945), the daughter of football legend Tom Harmon and actress Elyse Knox (née Elsie Kornbrath), and the older sister of Kelly Harmon|Kelly and Mark Harmon|Mark .Bashe 138,140-1Selvin 140 The Nelsons and the Harmons had long been friends and a union between their children held great appeal.Bashe 139 Rick and Kris had much in common: quiet dispositions, Hollywood upbringings, and high-powered, domineering fathers.Bashe 140

They married on April 20, 1963. Kris was pregnant,Selvin 149 and Rick later described the union as a " shotgun wedding ".Bashe 144 Nelson, a non-practicing Protestant, received instruction in Catholicism at the insistence of the bride's parents,Selvin 137,149 and signed a pledge to have any children of the union baptized in the Catholic faith. Kris Nelson joined the television show as a regular cast member in 1963.Selvin 150 They had four children: actress Tracy Nelson (actress)|Tracy Kristine Nelson , twin sons Gunnar Nelson|Gunnar Eric Nelson and Matthew Nelson|Matthew Gray Nelson who formed the band Nelson (band)|Nelson , and Sam Hilliard Nelson.

Following the birth of their last child, the marriage deteriorated by 1975, and a very public controversial divorce involving both families was covered in the press for several years. In October 1977, Kris filed for divorce and asked for alimony, custody of their four children, and a portion of community property. The couple temporarily resolved their differences but Kris retained her attorney to pursue a permanent break.Selvin 230 Kris was contentious and jealous. Both spent enormous sums of money: Kris on parties, Rick on renting a private Lear jet.Selvin 236, 238 Nelson had a tremendous sexual appetite and a casual attitude toward sex, once estimating he had had sex with thousands of women.Bashe 205 Kris wanted Rick to give up music, spend more time at home, and focus on acting, but the family enjoyed a recklessly expensive lifestyle, and Kris's extravagant spending left Rick no choice but to tour relentlessly.Selvin 251 The impasse over Rick's career created unpleasantness at home. Kris became an alcoholic and left the children in the care of household help.Bashe 218 After years of legal proceedings, they were divorced in December 1982. The divorce was financially devastating for Nelson with attorneys and accountants taking over $1 million.Bashe 221 Years of legal wrangling followed.Bashe 237Selvin 262

Georgeann Crewe

On May 16, 1980, Nelson met Georgeann Crewe at the Playboy Resort in Great Gorge, New Jersey.Bashe 229Selvin 277 Crewe later claimed she felt "an attachment, an immediate attraction" to Nelson. Crewe unsuccessfully attempted to contact Nelson several times to let him know that she was pregnant, and on March 25, 1981, she gave birth to Nelson's son, Eric Jude Crewe. In 1985, a blood test confirmed Nelson was the father, but Nelson was not interested in Crewe or their son. He declined to meet with them to the point that he avoided playing concerts in Atlantic City. Although Nelson agreed to provide $400 a month in child support, he did not provide for the child in his will.Bashe 271

Helen Blair

In 1980, Nelson met Helen Blair, a part-time model and exotic animal trainer, in Las Vegas. Within months of their meeting, she became his road companion, and, in 1982, moved in with him. She was the only woman he dated after his divorce.Bashe 242Selvin 260

Blair tried to make herself useful in Nelson's life by organizing his day and acting as a liaison for his fan club, but Nelson's mother, brother, business manager, and manager disapproved of her presence in his life.Bashe 242,244 He contemplated marrying her, but eventually declined.Bashe 246 Blair died with Nelson in the airplane fire. Her name was never mentioned at Nelson's funeral.Bashe 273 Blair's parents wanted their daughter buried next to Nelson at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn Cemetery but Harriet Nelson dismissed the idea.Bashe 244 The Blairs refused to bury Helen's remains and filed a $2 million wrongful death suit against Nelson's estate. They received a small settlement. Nelson did not provide for Blair in his will.

Drug use

Nelson experimented with marijuana early in his musical career, became a regular user, buried his stash in his yard, and supported marijuana's legalization. He tried mescaline , was a regular cocaine user and carried the drug in an empty ginseng capsule.Selvin 113,185Selvin 240

During the Nelson divorce proceedings, Rick was accused by his wife's attorney of using cocaine, quaaludes , and other drugs, and of having "a severe drug problem" encouraged by his managers, his entourage, and his groupies. The attorney noted that Nelson's "personal manager" secured drugs for Nelson, wild parties took place in Nelson's home whether he was present or not, and his children, aware of his drug use, were in great physical danger from drugged persons entering and exiting the house at all hours.Selvin 257 Following Nelson's divorce, while he was involved with Helen Blair, his drug use grew so dire friends urged him to seek drug abuse treatment.Selvin 261

Death

Nelson dreaded flying but refused to travel by bus. In May 1985, he decided he needed a private plane and leased a luxurious, fourteen-seat, 1944 Douglas DC-3 for private use that once belonged to the DuPont family and later to Jerry Lee Lewis . The plane's history was plagued with annoying mechanical issues.Bashe 259 In one incident, the band was forced to push the plane off the runway after an engine blew, and in another incident in September, a malfunctioning magneto prevented Nelson from participating in the first Farm Aid concert in Champaign, Illinois .

On 26 December 1985, Nelson and the band left for a three-stop tour of the Southern United States . Following shows in Orlando, Florida and Guntersville, Alabama , Nelson and band members boarded the DC-3 in Guntersville and took off for a New Year's Eve extravaganza in Dallas, Texas .Bashe 261-2 The plane crash-landed northeast of Dallas in De Kalb, Texas less than 2 miles from a landing strip at approximately 5:14 p.m. CST on 31 December 1985, impacting trees as it came to earth. Seven of the nine occupants were killed: Nelson and his fiancée, Helen Blair; bass guitarist Patrick Woodward; drummer Rick Intveld; keyboardist Andy Chapin ; guitarist Bobby Neal; and road manager/soundman Donald Clark Russell. Pilots Ken Ferguson and Brad Rank escaped via cockpit windows though Ferguson was severely burned.

Nelson's remains were lost in transit from Texas to California, delaying the funeral for several days. On 6 January 1986, 250 mourners entered the Church of the Hills for funeral services while 700 fans gathered outside. Attendees included Colonel Tom Parker|'Colonel' Tom Parker , Connie Stevens , Angie Dickinson , and dozens of actors, writers, and musicians. Nelson was privately buried days later in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)|Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California . Kris Nelson threatened to sue the Nelson clan for her former husband's life insurance money and tried to wrest control of his estate from David Nelson, its administrator. Her bid was rejected by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge. Nelson bequeathed his entire estate to his children and did not provide for Eric Crewe, Helen Blair, or Kris Nelson. Only days after the funeral, rumors and newspaper reports suggested cocaine freebasing was one of several possible causes for the plane crash. Those allegations were refuted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The reports vary as to whether or not the plane was on fire before it crashed. According to witnesses, the plane appeared to be on fire before it force-landed. Jim Burnett, then-Chairman of the NTSB, however, said that even though the plane was infested with smoke, the plane landed and came to a stop before it was swallowed by flames. The NTSB conducted a year-long investigation and finally stated that, while the definitive cause was still unknown, the crash was probably due to a gas-fueled heater that reportedly had caused in-flight problems.

When questioned by the NTSB, Pilots Brad Rank and Ken Ferguson had diversely different accounts of key events. According to co-pilot Ferguson, the cabin heater was acting up after the plane took off. Ferguson continued that Rank kept going back to the back of the plane to see if he could get the heater to function correctly and that Rank told Ferguson several times to turn the heater back on. "One of the times, I refused to turn it on," said Ferguson. He continued, "I was getting more nervous. I didn't think we should be messing with that heater en-route." After the plane crashed, Ferguson and Rank climbed out the windows, suffering from extensive burns. They shouted to the passenger cabin, but there was no response. Ferguson and Rank backed away from the plane, fearing explosion. Ferguson stated that Rank told him, "Don't tell anyone about the heater, don't tell anyone about the heater."

Pilot Rank, however, told a different story: Rank said that he was checking on the passengers when he noticed smoke in the middle of the cabin, where Rick Nelson and Helen Blair were sitting. Even though he never mentioned a problematic heater, Rank stated that he went to the rear of the plane to check the heater, saw no smoke, and found the heater was cool to the touch. After activating an automatic fire extinguisher and opening the cabin's fresh air inlets, Rank said that he returned to the cockpit where Ferguson was already asking traffic controllers for directions to the nearest airfield.

Rank was criticized by the NTSB for not following the in-flight fire checklist; opening the fresh air vents instead of leaving them closed, not instructing the passengers to use supplemental oxygen, and not attempting to fight the fire with the hand-held fire extinguisher that was in the cockpit. The board said that while these steps might not have prevented the crash, "they would have enhanced the potential for survival of the passengers." The words of the NTSB seem to echo that of firefighter, Lewis Glover, who was one of the first on the scene. Glover stated, "All the bodies are there at the front of the plane. Apparently, they were trying to escape the fire."

An examination indicated that a fire had originated in the right side of the aft cabin area at or near the floor line. Some reports said the passengers were killed when the aircraft struck obstacles during the forced landing. The ignition and fuel sources of the fire could not be determined. According to another report, the pilot indicated that the crew tried to turn on the Gasoline heater|gasoline cabin heater repeatedly shortly before the fire occurred, but that it failed to respond. After the fire, the access panel to the heater compartment was found unlatched. The theory is supported by records that showed that Douglas DC-3|DC-3s in general, and this aircraft in particular, had a history of problems with the cabin heaters.

Tributes, honors, recognition

Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, and to the Rockabilly Hall of Fame . He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1515 Vine Street.

Along with the recording's other participants, Nelson earned the 1987 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for "Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions."

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Nelson number 91 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

At the 20th anniversary of Nelson's death, PBS televised Ricky Nelson Sings , a documentary featuring interviews with his children, James Burton , and Kris Kristofferson . On December 27, 2005, EMI Music released an album titled '' Ricky Nelson's Greatest Hits that peaked at number 56 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Bob Dylan wrote about Nelson's influence on his music in his 2004 memoir, "Chronicles, Vol. 1".

Nelson's estate (The Rick Nelson Company, LLC) owns ancillary rights to the Ozzie and Harriet television series, and, in 2007, Shout& #33; Factory released official editions of the show on DVD . Also in 2007, Nelson was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

John Frusciante song "Ricky" was inspired by Ricky Nelson.

For the 25th anniversary of Nelson's death, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Burton , Nelson's original guitarist for nearly ten years, spoke about his friendship and experiences with the singer in an extensive series of interviews for Examiner.com. The first installment is entitled "Remembering Rick Nelson: An Interview With His Friend, Guitarist James Burton."

Discography

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