Fuck Yeah! Ricky Nelson!

Ricky Nelson | I Shall Be Released (1969)

“He sang his songs calm and steady like he was in the middle of a storm, men hurling past him. His voice was sort of mysterious and made you fall into a certain mood. I’d always felt kin to him. In a few years’ time he’d record some of my songs, make them sound like they were his own, like he had written them himself. He eventually did write one himself and mentioned my name in it. The thing was that Ricky was still making records and that’s what I wanted to do, too.” - Bob Dylan

Here’s a link to my post where Bob Dylan talks about Ricky’s influence on his music :)

“He sang his songs calm and steady like he was in the middle of a storm, men hurling past him. His voice was sort of mysterious and made you fall into a certain mood. I’d always felt kin to him. In a few years’ time he’d record some of my songs, make them sound like they were his own, like he had written them himself. He eventually did write one himself and mentioned my name in it. The thing was that Ricky was still making records and that’s what I wanted to do, too.” - Bob Dylan

Ricky said this about Bob Dylan’s influence; “My idol as far as a writer is Bob Dylan, who I think was really the spokesman for that period where the country was going through a lot of changes, politically, and I really think he was the poet of that era.”

After Ricky’s death, Bob Dylan paid tribute to Ricky while on tour, with a moment of silence and a version of Rick’s hit song “Lonesome Town” at each concert. 

The entire excerpt from Bob Dylan’s book “Chronicles” where he talks about Ricky’s influence on his music can be read below… just click “read more” :)

{ricky nelson remembered month}

One afternoon I was in there pouring Coke into a glass from a milk pitcher when I heard a voice coming cool through the screen of the radio speaker…Ricky Nelson was singing his new song, “Travelin’ Man”. Ricky had a smooth touch, the way he crooned in fast rhythm, the tonation of his voice. He was different than the rest of the teen idols, had a great guitarist who played like a cross between a honky-tonk hero and a barn-dance fiddler.