Life Of A Overnight Star!

You want to be a musician? Become that famous musician, follow your dreams and goals, and never let anyone bring you down. Ricky Nelson, son of Ozzie Nelson, never gave up on his dream, and he always kept his eyes on the music path. Born on May 8, 1940, in Teaneck New Jersey, Ricky had no say in how to live his childhood as a young boy and was immediately placed in the media world. Being a star on the hit TV show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Ricky never had a normal childhood. The show did not have any fake names or actors; this was the REAL life of the Nelsons. For Ricky what he did on and off the show resembled how the Nelson family was raised. Ricky passed away in DeKalb, Texas, on New Year's Eve, 1985. But, today I will be taking you back to the world of what is known as one of the best musician’s during this time period. This is the life of Ricky Hilliard Nelson.

Ricky’s music career started, when he first stared on his families TV show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Ricky was determined to have a career in music and stand on his own away from the show. The only thing that was in his way was his father, Ozzie. By mid 1950’s music started a new type of music. What stood out to teens during this time was Rock N’ Roll and Elvis Presley. Seeing this, Ricky wanted a record of his own. Ozzie figured out a way to make his sons shot at fame possible and gave Ricky a chance to perform on the show. Ricky started with a back up band who included: James Kirkland, Joe Osborn, and guitar legend James Burton, who later actually played lead guitar for Elvis Presley, and became a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Here’s a video of Ricky Nelson performing “Traveling Man”:

One evening while in L.A. Rick was talking to his inspirational friend, Bob Dylan. Dylan told Rick to, “express himself honestly through his music.” After getting the advice from Dylan, Rick went on to create the “The Stone Canyon Band”, which included new instruments to create a feel of emotion. After a while Rick Nelson began to feel his music career to summit because of the success and fans he was receiving. But, by the early 1970’s Rick Nelson began to sing his “new” material. This included a different style than he was singing during the Ozzie and Harriet days. Rumors have it that during his performance at Madison Square Garden, that Rick left the stage because the crows was booing. But, according to ricknelson.com, “There were reports that police were in the back moving people out, and in the political spirit of the early 70's the crowd was actually booing the police activity. Regardless, Rick thought the booing was meant for him, and deeply shaken, he left the stage.” The outcome of this incident was his hit song, “Garden Party”.

"Garden Party" became Rick's first million-seller in over a decade, hitting at #6 and going gold in 1972. On the cover of the album is a different image of Rick.

           As we all know not everything we do in life is a fairy tale ending, and it wasn’t for Rick Nelson either. On December 1, 1985 Rick Nelson’s plane, en route from Alabama to New Year’s Eve show in Dallas, caught on fire and killed all aboard except the pilot and co-pilot. Rick Nelson was a teen idol, music icon, and a beloved father of two sons, Gunner and Matthew, who later created a band, The Nelson Brothers, and songs in memory of their father, Rick Nelson.

In the early 1970's, Rick wrote a song called "Gypsy Pilot." This is the final verse: 

"When they claim my body, they won't have much to say. Except that he lived a good life, he lived every day. And you know he saw the sunshine, and you know he felt the rain. He loved everybody, And he hopes you do the same."

Hairstyle in 1950s

Hairstyles have continued to evolve over decade. Just as the look now is straight and sleek, the look back in 1950s was more youthful. 1950 was a time of innovative hairstyles, some of which even today continue to inspire hair designers.

1950s hairstyles emphasized traditional gender roles. Women's hair was long, curled and high maintenance, men's hair was short, military-like cuts, or pomaded and combed back from the face. Also, Men's hair was not supposed to touch the ears.

The most common style for men during the 1950's was

medium length and swept back from the face. Within this general stricture, men would do all sorts of styling to get the shape that most complemented their looks.

For women in the 1950s, curly hair was in fashion and almost every woman on the street at that time was all curly hair. As the 1950s progressed, women's hairstyles grew in volume, and stylized waves waned in favor of larger hairstyles, like beehives. These required hairspray and blow-drying to maintain their volume.

Sources: http://www.enjoy-your-style.com/1950s-hairstyles.html

http://www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/mens-1950s-haircuts.html

Picture: http://www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/mens-1950s-haircuts.html

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/53289237/Retrofile

http://fabuloushairstyle.wordpress.com/category/wedding-hairstyles/

The Defender of Truth During 20th Cenutry Racial Injustices: The Lynching of Emmett Till

During the 1950s racial injustices swept the United States of America. Racial injustices such as lynchings and murders were common in the south, but local newspapers were banned from covering these injustices. One paper in particular was known as the voice of African Americans in the south for its printings of stories pertaining to racial injustices in the south like lynchings and murders, the Chicago Defender.
One example of the Chicago Defender's writings on racial injustices in the south was in the 1950s when the Defender covered the murder of Emmett Till. When this brutal murder of the young African American boy occurred in Mississippi, local papers failed to report in depth on the matter, but the Defender did not.
In August of nineteen fifty-five, fourteen year old Emmett Till was visiting his uncle in Mississippi. Being from Chicago, Illinois, young Till was warned of the ways of the south, and its racial injustices, by his mother, Mamie Bradley. But the young Till's childish manner, along with the extreme racial injustices in the south, ultimately were the causes of his murder.
On August first, nineteen fifty-five, Emmett Till, his cousin Curtis Jones, and local boys went to the Bryant's Grocery and Meat Market, the local grocery store of Money, Mississippi. At the market Emmett allegedly whistled at Roy Bryant's wife, Carolyn, an action considered by white southerners to be unforgivable at the time.
Just hours before the sun rose on Sunday, August 28, 1955, Roy Bryant, along with other men, went to the home of Emmett's uncle, Mose Wright, and demanded for young Till. That night Till was brutally beaten, shot in the head, tied to a cotton gin fan, and thrown into the Tallahatchie River. Three days later his body was discover down river by a fisherman, maimed and disfigured, almost beyond the recognition of his own mother.
At Emmett Till's funeral Mamie Bradley demanded that Emmett's casket be open so that all can see what these white southern men had done to a young African American boy, and in effect shed national light on the racial injustices taking place in Southern America at the time. The funeral home was flooded with citizens, just as the court room, and national attention was being drawn to the brutal murder.
While southern newspapers were lacking in the coverage of the Till case, national papers like the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and especially the Chicago Defender, were consumed with coverage of the murder. Coverage of the Till case by the Defender was one the highest with 29 articles pertaining to the murder from September 27, 1955 - June 3, 1963. This in depth coverage of the Murder of Emmett Till is just one example of how the Chicago Defender was the defender of truth on the racial injustices taking place in 20th century America.






Bob Dylan - Ballad of Emmett Till
Want to learn more on the Murder of Emmett Till? Scroll down the page,OR Click on the link here :
Documentary:
a) Part One
b) Part Two

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Bibliography:

Photo 1: Emmett Till - 14 years old
Photo 2: Emmett & Mother
Photo 3: Bryant's Grocery & Meat Store
Photo 4: Emmett Till After Murder
Photo 5: Mamie Bradley at Son's Funeral
Photo 6: Emmett's Murder in the Chicago Defender

Music Video:Ballad to Emmett Till, by Bob Dylan.

Documentary Parts 1/2:
Kent, Martin, dir. Civil Rights Movement History Document. youtube. Emmett TIll