Eric Hilliard Nelson was born May 8, 1940, in Teaneck New Jersey. He died in DeKalb, Texas, on New Year's Eve, 1985 at the age of 45.
Ricky's Mother was an actor, dancer and singer from childhood, and in 1935 she married Ozzie.  Ozzie and Harriet began a signature act that included comedic boy-girl banter in between the dance numbers.  They made a successful transition to radio, launching their own radio show: "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet." By 1940 two younger Nelsons had made a foursome- older brother David and his baby brother Ricky.  

Eventually the boys joined "the act," begging to play themselves on their parents radio show. Despite Ozzie and Harriet's initial doubts, the move paid off and the show's audience peaked to almost 20 million listeners. After 3 years the Nelson family changed format again, testing their visual appeal in a motion picture comedy called "Here comes the Nelsons" in 1947. It's success led to an offer for a weekly television show, and "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" became the first and longest running family situation comedy and part of the American lexicon. 

By 1956 a new type of music was taking America by storm - Rock n' Roll and Elvis Presley was on every teenager's mind, including Rick Nelson's. Ricky dressed up as Elvis on a Halloween show one day, and the episode made huge ratings. At sixteen years old, Rick was another heartthrob in the making. One night on a date with a girl who swooned over an Elvis Presley song playing on the radio, Rick retorted that he too was cutting a record (which he had no plans to do) and was met with derisive laughter. He determined to make it happen, secured a recording studio, and did his own cover of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin." Ozzie telecast Rick performing the song to his already massive audience and a career in music was launched. "I'm Walkin" 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 Teenagers Romance" hit #2 as well.  

Through the novel power of television, Rick Nelson became one of the first artists that audiences saw and heard simultaneously. He would perform a song at the end of every show, sometime having nothing to do with the plot. Rock n' Roll was considered salacious and scandalous in the mainstream 50's, and weekly the "nice Nelson boy" smuggled it into living rooms and made it acceptable to parents. Consequently American teenagers had far greater access to Rock n' Roll than they ever would have had, arguably Rick Nelson's most important contribution to music.
In 1963, Ricky married a girl named Kris.  They eventually had a baby girl, named Tracy.  Then in 1965, after 14 years and 435 episodes, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" finally came to an end.  And later in 1967 Ricky had twins, Gunnar and Matthew.

Now Ricky's career outside the TV show accelerated. He received creditable reviews when he co-starred in John Wayne's Rio Bravo. His concerts were instant sellouts. His role in the TV show expanded, not just to allow him to sing, but to allow him to act. He was receiving ten thousand fan letters a week and was appearing in a monthly comic book. He raced cars and dated starlets.. He was friends with Elvis, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and the Burnette brothers.

Ricky was one of the most popular teen idols on the late 1950s and early 1960s, his many hit records, primarily on the Imperial and American Decca labels, include "I'm Walkin'," "Travelin' Man," "Poor Little Fool," "For You," "Fools Rush In," "It's Late," and "Garden Party." Most of these songs were originally introduced on the "Ozzie and Harriet" TV show.

In October of 1971, Nelson was reluctantly persuaded to play a Rock n' Roll revival show at Madison Square Garden, on the same bill as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Bobby Rydell, among others. By this time Rick's hair had grown shoulder length, he wore bell-bottoms and a purple velvet shirt, and he sang his new material. The audience had come expecting their entertainment to be frozen in time, a 50s malt shop, and Rick wasn't playing along. Halfway through his set, the crowd began to stomp and boo. There were reports that police were in the back moving people out, and in the political spirit of the early 70's the crowd was actually booing the police activity. Regardless, Rick thought the booing was meant for him, and deeply shaken, he left the stage. The experience inspired him to put his thoughts down on paper: "I went to a Garden Party, to reminisce with my old friends, a chance to share some memories, and play our songs again. When I got to the Garden Party, they all knew my name, but no one heard the music- I didn't look the same. But it's all right now. I learned my lesson well. You see you can't please everyone so you gotta please yourself." "Garden Party" became Rick's first million-seller in over a decade, hitting at #6 and going gold in 1972. On the cover of the album is a different image of Rick. He stands in starkly formal black and white, defiantly holding out his Les Paul guitar, confidence in his eyes. Rick Nelson was sure of this new direction, and proud of his message. He would from then on consider "you can't please everyone, so you gotta please yourself" his personal anthem.

On August 29, 1974, Rick's youngest son: Sam Hilliard Nelson was born. Rick and Kristin later divorced in December 1981 . .  He loved all his kids.  Tracy, the twins, Gunnar and Matthew and Sam.

On December 31, 1985, Rick Nelson, following a performance in Guntersville, Alabama (where Rick's last number was Buddy Holly's 'Rave On'), accompanied by his fiancee, Helen Blair, and five members of The Stone Canyon Band were on their way to the next venue in Dallas. The plane, had been having problems and after take-off, the pilot detected smoke seeping into the cockpit. He attempted an emergency landing on a highway and all seemed well when the plane landed intact in De Kalb, Texas. The plane burst into flames on the ground, killing all seven passengers. The cause of the fire was faulty heater wiring. Eric Hilliard (Rick) Nelson was buried in Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Cemetery. Ricky was later Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall Fame in 1987, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.