Paying $118,000 for the historic aircraft, and despite a general rule favoring jets over propeller-driven planes, the need to economize his purchases overruled this and he learned to enjoy the old warbird. DuPont, to retired rocker Jerry Lee Lewis.

The airplane had had quite a history of owners, from the wealthy Richard C. Accustomed to using a Learjet, in May of 1985, he вЂњupgradedвЂќ to a 14-seat Douglas DC-3, built in 1944, and painted white, with gold and black trim. The year 1981 opened for Nelson with the release of his first record, вЂњPlaying to Win,вЂќ in more than three years and his fifth label with Capitol Records, resulting in his music enjoying a revival, and he also had met a fan named Helen Blair, who became a constant companion, eventually becoming his fiancГ©e.ДЄs the demand for NelsonвЂ™s music resurged, so did the need for reliable and quick transportation. In 1977, a bitter divorce started between him and Kristin, in which she eventually won custody of their three children, twins Matthew and Gunnar, and daughter, Tracy. While he continued to record and sing, he could not regain the success he once had, as audiences were drawn towards newer, faster musical genres.

He married 17-year-old Kristin Harmon, daughter of football great Tom Harmon, in 1963.ДЄs a singer, some of his hits included: вЂњA TeenagerвЂ™s Romance,вЂќ вЂњBe-Bop Baby,вЂќ вЂњStood Up,вЂќ вЂњWaitinвЂ™ In School,вЂќ вЂњBelieve What You Say,вЂќ вЂњMy BucketвЂ™s Got a Hole In It,вЂќ вЂњPoor Little Fool,вЂќ вЂњLonesome Town,вЂќ вЂњNever Be Anyone Else But You,вЂќ вЂњItвЂ™s Late,вЂќ вЂњTravelinвЂ™ Man,вЂќ вЂњHello, Mary Lou,вЂќ вЂњTeen Age Idol,вЂќ вЂњItвЂ™s Up To YouвЂќ and вЂњGarden Party.вЂќД«ut, in the mid-1960s, NelsonвЂ™s music became eclipsed by the British pop invasion, and in 1966, вЂњThe Adventures of Ozzie and HarrietвЂќ was canceled. He was known for being likable & easy-going, although shy at times. He first performed on his parentвЂ™s show doing the Fats Domino hit вЂњIвЂ™m WalkingвЂќ in April 1957 вЂ“ laying claim to the honor of being the first music video stars as, within a week of the television airing, the record reportedly sold a million copies Considered by some to be вЂAmericaвЂ™s FamilyвЂ™, the show represented a simple, honest idealization of 1960s American life, and provided the youngest Nelson the springboard that would later launch him into becoming a part of the vanguard of вЂcountry rockвЂ™ artists. Located near the borders of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, for one winterвЂ™s night in late December of 1985, a farm pasture there would become the focal point of the entire nation as the location of one of AmericaвЂ™s early rock-and-roll legendвЂ™s вЂ“ Ricky Nelson вЂ“ untimely demise.Д®ric вЂRickвЂ™ (aka вЂRickyвЂ™) Hilliard Nelson was first introduced to the American public on his parentвЂ™s radio show in 1949, and grew up as a teen idol on his parentsвЂ™ television series, вЂњThe Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.вЂќ On the show, many of the episodes were based on the familyвЂ™s true-life experiences, which comprised RickyвЂ™s father, big-band leader Ozzie Nelson, mother / singer Harriet Hilliard Nelson, along with RickyвЂ™s older brother David. DeKalb, Texas вЂ“ one of the hundreds of non-descript towns that dot the landscape of AmericaвЂ™s second-largest state.

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