David Nelson dead at 74

skipf

Man, I hated to hear this. Most will remember him from Ozzie & Harriet, but I'll always remember him as the guitarist for one of my favorite bands, New Riders of the Purple Sage. I'll be spinning the NRPS vinyl tonight in his memory.

skipf

Seems I was mistaken for over 40 years. I always though the David Nelson in the NRPS was the older brother of Ricky, but was told it wasn't the same person.

comfortablycurt

Oh wow...this is terrible news!! New Riders of the Purple Sage is one of my all time favorite bands...I love everything David Nelson was ever involved in musically...

The acoustic sets that NRPS did with the Dead during first set in 1970 stand as some of the greatest live Dead performances I've ever heard.

I'll definitely be making a run through all of my NRPS albums tonight.:frown:

skipf wrote: »

Seems I was mistaken for over 40 years. I always though the David Nelson in the NRPS was the older brother of Ricky, but was told it wasn't the same person.

According to everything I can find, he was Ricky's older brother.

schwarcw

Not the same person!

From Wiki:

David Nelson (born June 12, 1943, in Seattle, Washington, USA) is an American guitarist and musician. Although he started his musical career playing folk and bluegrass music (most notably as a member of The Wildwood Boys with Jerry Garcia) Nelson is probably best known as one of the original members of psychedelic country rock band the New Riders of the Purple Sage. After playing lead guitar with the New Riders from the late sixties until the early 1980s, Nelson left the band to pursue other musical opportunities which included a stint on Broadway as a member of the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band and some time touring with Al Rapone and the Zydeco Express.

Note he is 67 not 74, no mention of Ricky, Ozzie or Harriet

schwarcw

Again from Wiki:

David Nelson
Born David Oswald Nelson
October 24, 1936(1936-10-24)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Died January 11, 2011(2011-01-11) (aged 74)
Century City, California, U.S.
Occupation Actor, director, producer
Years active 1948–1990
Spouse June Blair (1961-1975)
Yvonne O'Connor Huston (1975-2011)


David Oswald Nelson (October 24, 1936 – January 11, 2011) was an American actor, director, producer, and son of bandleader/TV actor Ozzie Nelson and singer Harriet Hilliard and the older brother of late singer Ricky Nelson.

David and Ricky Nelson, along with their parents, appeared on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in the 1950s and 1960s. During the run of the series, Nelson directed several episodes. After the series' end, Nelson continued acting, directing and producing. Nelson's last film appearance was in Cry-Baby (1990).

David had two marriages, two sons from first marriage and a daughter and two more sons from the later marriage.

Nelson died on January 11, 2011 in Century City, California from complications of colon cancer.[1]

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, David Nelson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1501 Vine Street.

[Deleted User]

Sad news.
I wasn't into the New Riders at all.
I didn't develop an appreciation for Ricky until after his death. Interesting note that Ricky and Elvis shared the same guitar player, James Burton. RIP.:cool: