Teenage Idol - Ricky Nelson (cover-live by Bill Sharkey)

"Teenage Idol" by Ricky Nelson was his 28th top 40 hit, rising to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962 (Whitburn, 2013). At the age of 17 in 1957, Ricky was already a household name due to his role in his parents' radio and then TV show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet;" 1957 was the year of his first entry onto the Billboard charts with his #4 song, "I'm Walking" (rickynelson.com, 2021). He quickly became one of the first teen idols of the Rock 'n' Roll era (Whitburn, 2013). The song "Teenage Idol," written by Jack Lewis, seemed autobiographical for Ricky at this point in his career. Rick(y) continued recording and performing until, tragically, "on New Year’s Eve 1985 he was flying to a gig in Dallas, Texas when [the band's] aircraft crashed in a field near DeKalb, Texas. The plane caught fire, trapping everyone inside, except the pilot and co-pilot, who escaped through the cockpit window; Rick, his band and his fiancé all tragically died" (rickynelson.com, 2021).