Singer, Actor. He was an American child actor of radio and television who turned teen idol in the late 1950s and had a comeback career in 1971 with the self-penned song "Garden Party." Born the younger of two sons, his parents were Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, performers. His father was a band leader, and his mother was the band's vocalist. Later, they were best known for their radio show, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." Ricky and his brother David joined the show's cast, playing themselves, in 1944. He made his first movie in 1952's "Here Come the Nelsons." This led to their television show, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." The show became the first and longest-running family sitcom. Rick was also interested in tennis and was ranked fifth in California among tennis players 15 years old and younger. He competed nationally and, at one time, had ambitions to go professional. His first recording was his rendition of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'." The record flew out of the stores and sold one million copies in a week, completely unheard of at that time. The song went to #2 on the Billboard Chart, and its flip side, "A Teenager's Romance," hit #2 as well. Through the power of television, he became one of the first artists that audiences saw and heard simultaneously. He would perform a song at the end of every show. Consequently, American teenagers had far greater access to Rock n' Roll than they ever would have had, one of Rick Nelson's most important contributions to music. "Life" magazine ran a cover story on him and coined an original phrase to describe what he had become: a "Teenage Idol." At the age of 21, he had nine gold records, and his single hit that year, "Travelin' Man," sold over 2 million copies and went to #1. Its flip side, "Hello, Mary Lou," proved to be his biggest hit ever, reaching #1 in 32 countries. For the television show, Ozzie overlaid Rick's performance of "Travelin' Man" with some footage specially shot on location, making it the first conceptual rock video in history. He appeared in "Rio Bravo" in 1959 and "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" in 1960. He married Kristin Harmon in April 1963. They had a daughter, Tracy, and three sons, Gunner, Matthew, and Sam. He and Kristen would later divorce. "Garden Party" became Rick's first million-seller in over a decade, hitting at #6 and going gold in 1972. "Interviews from the Class of 55 Recording Sessions" earned a Grammy in 1986 for Best Spoken Word Recording. It was Rick's only Grammy, and vastly ironic to those who knew him well as the quiet man who would rather sing than talk. On December 31, 1985, en route from Alabama to a New Year's Eve show in Dallas, Texas, Nelson's DC-3 crash-landed in a field near De Kalb, Texas. The burning plane trapped its passengers inside, killing all aboard except the pilot and co-pilot, who escaped through the cockpit window. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.