♫Teen Idol♫

Teenage mania occurred over 20 years ahead of Beatlemania. The teen idols were not always teenagers but relatively young. A classic example is Frank Sinatra who at 27 years old had fans swooning at the sound of his voice and swarming theaters for any mere glimpse of him on stage.

"The sound that greeted me was absolutely deafening," Sinatra recalled years later. "I was scared stiff. I couldn't move a muscle." The fans were labeled "Bobby soxers" because they were forced to dance at clubs in their bobby socks so their shoes wouldn't damage the floor. [Source: Rolling Stone]

Today in Music History: February 20, 1949

Welcome into the spotlight...

Nelson publicity photo, 1966
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org

Eric Hilliard Nelson, aka Ricky Nelson American singer and songwriter Ricky Nelson was an early teen idol who acted out his real-life childhood on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Eric Hilliard Nelson, known as Ricky Nelson, lived amid musical talent from birth. On February 20, 1949, he joined his parents' hit radio show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which was at that time in its fifth year. Ricky was 8 years old. At age 11, he starred along side his parents in The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet television series (1952–66). The show continued to be a success and Ricky Nelson went on to achieve solo success as a teen heartthrob in the 1950s.

In a 1957 episode of the popular family sitcom Ricky performed a cover of the Fats Domino song "I'm Walkin'." It became a huge single for the 16-year-old, who went on to score a series of hits through the early 1960s. His career dried up around the time the Beatles hit America in 1964, but Nelson managed a brief comeback in the 70s with his anti-nostalgia song "Garden Party."

Like so many performers before him and after, his life was cut short. While touring the United States, Ricky Nelson was killed in a plane crash on December 31, 1985, in DeKalb, Bowie County, near Texarkana, Texas in northeast Texas. He was en route to a New Year's Eve concert in Dallas. In 1987, he was inducted posthumously into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Long live rock 'n' roll!

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And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...