Eric Hilliard Nelson profile

Born: May 8th, 1940, Teaneck, New Jersey, United States.
Died: December 31st, 1985, De Kalb, Texas, United States.

Nelson was a child prodigy, born into a showbiz family, his father Ozzie was a bandleader and his mother Harriet was the singer. They had their own radio show & subsequent TV show, The Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet, in which Nelson featured with his brother David. Nelson appeared in his first film aged 7.

A 'Teenage Idol' of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Nelson gained 9 gold records by the age of 21 in 1961. His single, 'Travelin' Man', was a huge #1 hit that year, selling over 2 million copies. The flip-side 'Hello, Mary Lou' went on to be his biggest hit ever, reaching #1 in 32 countries.

In April 1963, Nelson married Kristin Harmon and they had a daughter, Tracy, and 3 sons, Gunner, Matthew (who formed the music duo, Nelson) and Sam. They were later divorced. Nelson's career gained a high spot in 1972 with the release of 'Garden Party', which went gold and also won a Grammy Award in 1986 for Best Spoken Word Recording.

On New Year's eve 1985, en route from Alabama to a gig in Dallas, Nelson's plane crash-landed near DeKalb, TX and burst into flames. Only the pilot & co-pilot escaped. Posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 (Performer), and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Nelson's grave is close to those of his parents at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, L.A. County, California, USA.

All the early albums from 1957 to 1961 were recorded at Master Recorders, engineered by Bunny Robyn and produced by Jimmie Haskell.

Nelson had the #1 song on the first ever Billboard Hot 100 chart with 'Poor Little Fool' in August 1958.