See what other Friends and Peers had to say about Rick...
Paul McCartney
"I liked Rick Nelson. I love 'Lonesome Town' ... it's a place we all know."
Elvis Presley
"If James Dean sang, he would sound just like Rick Nelson"
Kris Kristofferson
"He was the crown prince of Rock N Roll"
Linda Ronstadt
"Rick Nelson's She Belongs To Me made me want to record in that Country Rock mode."
John Fogerty
"He was Hollywood...but Rick made some of the best Rockabilly records ever. Equal to Sun Records."
Fats Domino
"When I first met Ricky, we were with Lew Chudd on Imperial Records. Ricky was a little bitty kid; quiet, never said nothing...nice. The last summer I met him, he was the same way."
Roy Orbison
"I waited, and I'm sure Elvis did too, for each Ricky Nelson record...like we would a Chuck Berry record or a Fats Domino record, to see what was going on. I used to say to some of the guys that Ricky Nelson learned to sing on million selling records."
Bob Dylan
"Ricky Nelson did a lot of my songs; now I'm gonna do one of his. I have a great deal of respect for him." (introducing Lonesome Town)
Sam Phillips; Founder Sun Records
"Most rockers rocked pretty good, including those on Sun Records like Elvis, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee. But a little ol' boy Ricky Nelson came on the TV screen and really got right with it in a really understanding way but believe me, he really got his message over. He was probably one of the most fluid sounding rockers that could give you a good rocker and make it sound like a ballad...but make your feet wanna move and for that reason, we're all the better for hearing Ricky Nelson."
Carl Perkins
"I only know two cats in this business that really had it all; Elvis was one of those guys, the other was Ricky Nelson. There was a difference in those two guys though. Elvis moved...Ricky never had to; he stood flat footed and captivated his audience with his good looks. We grew up with him; those who didn't missed something. History books are gonna have to say that he played a big role in Rock 'n' Roll music.... and he did it his way."
Jerry Lee Lewis
"I predicted he'd be really big, just before he hit it with his rock 'n' roll, rockabilly style. He was good. Ricky was really good and of course, he had great backing. He always had a great band."
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