How Ricky Nelson Saved His Twin Sons Before the Plane Accident That Took His Life

The television series remained on ABC until 1966, producing hundreds of episodes and becoming one of the longest-running family sitcoms of its era.

For Ricky, however, television eventually became the doorway to an entirely different career.

And it happened while he was still a teenager.

One Television Performance Changed His Future

In 1957, 16-year-old Nelson performed Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin’” on an episode of the family television series titled “Ricky the Drummer.”

The reaction helped demonstrate something that would soon become impossible to ignore.

Audiences did not see Nelson only as the younger son on a popular sitcom.

They wanted to hear him sing.

His recording career accelerated rapidly afterward.

Nelson became one of rock and roll’s first major teen idols, combining television exposure, youthful good looks and genuine musical ability at a time when the new genre was transforming American popular culture.

His television platform also gave him an advantage almost unimaginable for many other young performers.

He could introduce songs to a national television audience and then watch demand for his records grow.

Hits followed.

Among the songs most closely associated with Nelson are “Poor Little Fool,” “Travelin’ Man,” “It’s Late,” “Hello Mary Lou,” and, later, “Garden Party.”

His success went beyond the image of a television heartthrob.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Nelson in 1987, has emphasized that his contribution to rock and roll extended well beyond his teen-idol reputation.

But fame was only one part of his increasingly complicated adult life.

Marriage and Four Children

Nelson married Kristin Harmon in April 1963.