Friday, December 30, 2011

Remembering Ricky Nelson 25 Years After His Tragic Death: LCCN Exclusive Interview With Matthew Nelson

Back Story: I got a call a few months ago from the agent of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, asking me if I would be interested in having an "open" and "candid" interview about the life, death, and legacy of the iconic American talent Ricky Nelson, through the eyes of their sons. I have interviewed thousands of "people in the news" over my life time, Presidents, Senators, Rock Stars, and even a Nobel Prize winner. But, this conversation with Matthew Nelson for Los Cerritos Community News was raw, emotional, uplifting, and awe inspiring. You can read the ENTIRE interview on line here. We all remember where we were when we heard the news in 1986 about the death of Rick Nelson on New Years Eve. 1986 also stands still in time with Matt and Gunnar. Please take a moment to read this interview, and please feel free to respond on my comment section below.


Remembering Ricky Nelson 25 Years After His Tragic Death:
LCCN Exclusive Interview With Matthew Nelson

Randy Economy
• Sat, Dec 31, 2011
By Randy Economy
Los Cerritos Community News
(Copyright)
December 31, 2011

Randy Economy (middle) with Matthew and Gunnar Nelson at Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
Twenty five years ago on New Year’s Eve, 1986 the lives of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson changed forever.
Then 18 years of age, the identical twin boys lost their father, legendary singer and actor Rick Nelson, and in a plane crash in Texas.  The news shocked the world, and for them it was the moment that “stood still in time.”
In a revealing interview with Los Cerritos Community News, Matthew Nelson opened up about the night of his father’s death, and how if changed him and his brother “forever.”
“I was in my car in front of my friend Duffy’s house, I had heard a couple of songs on the car radio he was singing, and it was interesting, I never put it together that they played three songs in a row, and it was actually on K-LOS, the local rock station, and Jim Ladd came on the air,” Matthew told Los Cerritos Community News.
“I had just commented to my friend in the car how amazing and clear my dad’s voice was on his song Garden Party, and then Ladd came back, and he sounded really sad ‘this has been a tribute to Rick Nelson and his whole band who were lost today in a plane crash in DeKalb, Texas,” he said with is voice sinking.
“It had felt like someone had shot me, and I evidently got out of the car, made it around five feet and passed out,” he said.  “I was supposed to be on the plane with him and so was Gunnar and at the very last minute my dad asked us if we wanted to meet him to fly commercial to Dallas where he was on his way on a DC-3 that went down.   I genuinely feel that he had a second sighted moment about Gunnar and me travelling with him,” Matt said.
“The only ones to make it out alive in the crash were the pilot and co-pilot, and they made it out the front windows,” he said.  “It has been all these years and it still feels like he is on the road, it is still too horrible for me to get into, so I talk about it (the crash) like it was a football game, I have to. We are all going to go sometime, I just don’t want to put myself in a risky position if I don’t have to,” he said.
At the time of his legendary father’s death, he and Gunnar were 18 years old, and Matthew said his father had just gone through a “world record divorce” and had “his entire family was back living with him” and life was going great.
“My dad was making incredible music at the time of his death,” Matthew stressed. “The age of 45 is far too young to die.”

 “It is going to be an interesting show.  This is something we want to do, not have to do.  Our dad was our best friend, so we said if we are going to do this right (a tribute concert). We are playing his songs the way he did them,” said Nelson.  “This concert in Cerritos is going to be the soundtrack of our life as well this being part of our legacy.”
He said that fans can expect to see a “video scrapbook” from the day “Gunnar and I were born.” 
“My dad was arguable one of the most documented rock stars in history, so we really tip our hat to him in this concert and share great stories.  You will not only see the type of entertainer he was, but what kind of man he really was, and where our family is headed in the future,” Nelson said.
“By the time you leave the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, you will really understand the pure magic of Ricky Nelson, the legacy he left all of us and how we connect our fans directly to our family in a very personal way,” he said. 
“The world is so not Ozzie and Harriet anymore,” referring to his late iconic grandparents.
“Gunnar and I grew up in a different time, and I think our family has always done something relative and relevant from where the show starts in the 1930’s, to my dad’s music in the 50’s to the 80’s,” he said.  During the performance they stress a special motto of their late father, “Believe in what you’re doing, and be proud of it.”
The concert on Sunday, January 15th at the CCPA is being billed as “Second Generation Stars” and will also feature Deana Martin, the singer-actress daughter of Dean Martin, and Steve March Torme, the son of the iconic Mel Torme.  Former Miss America and television personality Mary Ann Mobley emcees the afternoon.
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