Ricky Nelson Tribute WAEB Jan 5 1986 Pt 3 of 3 - Air Check Sunday Night Hall Of Fame

Ricky Nelson Tribute WAEB January 5 1986 Part # 3 of 3 - Air Check Sunday Night Hall Of Fame. This special aired only once at WAEB, just 5 days after Rick Nelson's tragic death.
This is Part # 3 of 3 parts broadcast January 5, 1986 on WAEB - AM 790 serving Allentown - Bethlehem - Easton, PA, aka: The Lehigh Valley. I have uploaded portions of this broadcast a few years ago but all of them were blocked. I am trying to upload them again to my CZcams Channel.
Background story of these air check videos: New Year’s Eve 1985, my Wife and I were getting ready to leave for a party. Shortly before leaving I received a phone call from WAEB informing me that Rick Nelson and his Stone Canyon Band had been killed in a plane crash. Rick and the group were on their way to a sold out New Year’s Eve show in Dallas, TX. On New Year’s day, I drove to the WAEB studio and replaced the scheduled Promo commercial for my Sunday night show with a new promo. The new one informed listeners to tune in Sunday January 5th for a special tribute to Ricky Nelson . During the rest of the week I wrote a script and pulled all my Ricky Nelson records to produce the show on reel to reel tapes. I kept a copy of that show, and this CZcams video is a digital transfer of the tapes.
I hope you enjoy a look back at one of the most UNDER-rated artists of the era. Rick always surrounded himself with the absolute best musicians, arrangers and producers and it is evident on his many hits. It’s evident on his earliest recordings on Imperial that he was trying to emulate the Sun Records sound of Memphis. Especially the artist he like the most: Carl Perkins. Over the years his band consisted of legendary guitarists like Joe Osborn on bass and James Burton on lead guitar. Songwriting talent included Dorsey and Johnny Burnette, Sharon Sheeley and Jerry Fuller.
To this very day I still get upset when I hear someone talking about the late 1960s - early 1970s California origins of what is commonly known as “Country-Rock” music. My guess is that at least 99% of the time, Rick Nelson’s name is never mentioned. During the late 1960s he was indeed one of the artists combining rock and country and his Stone Canyon Band was a great example of that union. Let’s not forget that his original band members included Tom Brumley of Buck Owens & the Buckaroos and Randy Meisner. After a couple of years with Rick Nelson, Meisner went on to help form The Eagles. It’s really hard to get much better than that.
The Sunday Night Hall of Fame Show was broadcast from 1980 to 1992 on WAEB 790 AM and WKAP 1320 AM in Allentown, Pa. My show returned between 1999 and August 2001 on WODE Oldies 99.9 located in Easton, PA. This CZcams video features audio from a radio broadcast on January 5, 1986 on WAEB radio.

[@ronfowlermusic]

Rick Nelson still doesn't get the respect he deserves. I think the problem is, he was so popular as a teen idol in the late 50s/early 60s, the image kind of blinded people to just how great those records were. Hello Mary Lou, Poor Little Fool, Believe What You Say, Travelin' Man, Stood Up, Never Be Anyone Else But You, these are right up there with the best of pop and rockabilly of the era. Then when he returned as a more mature performer with the Stone Canyon Band, all people could think of was cute little Ricky on the tv show, saying "I don't mess around boy!" Most people still call him "Ricky", but dropping the 'y' from his name was part of growing up. Garden Party is the only song people know from the 70's, but he had many other great songs that he wrote - Easy to Be Free, Gypsy Pilot, Lifestream, Last Time Around.

[@rodwolfeoldiesradiodj6545]

Amen on all, I was a Rick(y) Nelson fan from day one until the end came. His records were finally being recognized by rock "critics" because of the quality of the songs, arrangements, production... all of it. Worst part is to this day he gets little to no credit for his hand in helping to create the West Coast "Country-Rock" sound.