Rick Nelson › Similar Artists

Freddy Cannon - 100% match to Rick Nelson

Freddy Picariello, 4 December 1940, Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. A frantic and enthusiastic vocalist, known as the ‘last rock ‘n’ roll star’, Cannon was the link between wild rock ‘n’ roll and the softer Philadelphia-based sounds that succeeded it. The son of a dance-band leader, he fronted Freddy Karmon And The Hurricanes and played guitar on sess Read more

Bobby Rydell - 95% match to Rick Nelson

Robert Ridarelli, 26 April 1942, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Probably the most musically talented of the late 50s Philadelphia school of clean-cut teen-idols, Rydell first performed in public as a drummer at the age of seven. At nine he debuted on Paul Whiteman’s Teen Club amateur television show and was the show’s regular drummer for three years. He attended Read more

Jimmy Clanton - 80% match to Rick Nelson

2 September 1940, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Pop vocalist Clanton celebrated his 18th birthday with his co-written debut hit, the R&B ballad ‘Just A Dream’, at number 4 in the US Hot 100. His smooth singing style appealed to the teen market and his subsequent releases were aimed in that direction. These included ‘My Own True Love’, which used the me Read more

Jay & The Americans - 75% match to Rick Nelson

This US act was formed in 1961 when former Mystics vocalist John ‘Jay’ Traynor (2 November 1938) joined ex-Harbor Lites duo Kenny Rosenberg, aka Kenny Vance, and Sandy Yaguda, aka Sandy Deane. Howie Kane (b. Howard Kerschenbaum) completed the line-up, which in turn secured a recording contract through the aegis of the songwriting and production team, Leiber And Sto Read more

Dee Clark - 73% match to Rick Nelson

Delecta Clark, 7 November 1938, Blytheville, Arkansas, USA, d. 7 December 1990, Smyma, Georgia, USA. Clark had a wonderfully impassioned tenor voice and enjoyed a spate of rock ‘n’ roll hits in the late 50s and a lesser body of soul work in the 60s. Clark’s entertainment career began in 1952 as a member of the Hambone Kids, who, with band leader Red Saunders, Read more

Frankie Avalon - 69% match to Rick Nelson

Francis Avallone, 18 September 1940, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. This photogenic 50s teen idol started as a trumpet-playing child prodigy. His first recordings in 1954 were the instrumentals ‘Trumpet Sorrento’ and ‘Trumpet Tarantella’ on X-Vik Records (an RCA Records subsidiary). In the mid-50s, he appeared on many television and radio shows includin Read more

Johnny Tillotson - 69% match to Rick Nelson

20 April 1939, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Tillotson’s father was a country music disc jockey and Johnny himself was appearing on local radio from the age of nine. His parents encouraged his talent by giving him first a ukulele and then a guitar, and he was influenced by the singing cowboys (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers) and country singer Hank Williams. He appeared regularly Read more

Ray Peterson - 69% match to Rick Nelson

23 April 1939, Denton, Texas, USA, d. 25 January 2005, Smyrna, Tennessee, USA. Peterson entertained other patients with his singing during lengthy treatment for polio in the Texas Warm Springs Foundation Hospital. On discharge, he performed in local clubs before moving to Los Angeles where he was spotted by manager Stan Shulman who procured an RCA - Victor Records recording Read more

Shelley Fabares - 69% match to Rick Nelson

Michelle Fabares, 19 January 1944, Santa Monica, California, USA. Fabares, whose music career was highlighted by the 1962 US number 1 song ‘Johnny Angel’, was the niece of actress Nanette Fabray. Turning to acting herself, Fabares debuted as Trudy in the television series Annie Oakley. She subsequently landed roles in such 50s movies as Never Say Goodbye, Rock, Pre Read more

Bobby Vee - 67% match to Rick Nelson

Robert Thomas Velline, 30 April 1943, Fargo, North Dakota, USA. Vee’s first exposure to the rock ‘n’ roll scene occurred in macabre circumstances when his group, the Shadows, deputized for Buddy Holly after the singer was killed in an air crash in February 1959. Soon after, Vee’s group were discovered by famed producer Snuff Garrett and saw their indepen Read more

Brian Hyland - 66% match to Rick Nelson

12 November 1943, Woodhaven, Queens, New York, USA. A demonstration disc, recorded with the artist’s high school group the Delphis, alerted Kapp Records to Hyland’s vocal talent. In 1960 he enjoyed a US chart-topper with ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini’, one of the era’s best-known ‘novelty’ recordings which subsequently so Read more

Jimmy Jones - 65% match to Rick Nelson

2 June 1937, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Some sources state 1942 as his year of birth. Jones, who had spent a long apprenticeship singing in R&B doo-wop groups, became a rock ‘n’ roll star in the early 60s singing ‘Handy Man’ and other hits with a dramatic and piercingly high falsetto. He began his career as a tap dancer, and in 1955 joined a vocal grou Read more

Pat Boone - 64% match to Rick Nelson

Charles Eugene Patrick Boone, 1 June 1934, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. Boone sold more records during the late 50s than any other artist except Elvis Presley. From 1955 to date, only six artists (Presley, the Beatles, James Brown, Elton John, Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder) are ranked above him in terms of total singles sales and their relative chart positions. Boone had a Read more

Gary Lewis & The Playboys - 63% match to Rick Nelson

Buddy Knox - 61% match to Rick Nelson

Buddy Wayne Knox, 20 July 1933, Happy, Texas, USA, d. 14 February 1999, Bremerton, Washington, USA. Knox was one of the first ‘pop-abilly’ hit-makers in the 50s. In 1955, while at West Texas State University, he formed the Serenaders with bass player Jimmy Bowen and Don Lanier (guitar), later adding Don Mills (drums) and changing their name to the Rhythm Orchids. T Read more