It looks like the 1950s are alive and well at the Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center with a Pat Boone concert and tribute to Ricky Nelson on tap. And don’t forget Bobby Rydell.
Boone, who had a string of million-sellers in the ‘50s and for a time was second only to Elvis in record sales, comes here for a show on June 4.
“Ricky Nelson Remembered,” featuring the late teen idol’s twin sons Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, comes to the Sharon on June 17-18. Rick Nelson starred with his family in “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” and also was right behind Elvis during the late ‘50s and early ‘60s.
No ticket sales date has been announced for Boone or the Nelsons.
Another ‘50s star, Bobby Rydell, who sang on “American Bandstand”, is already scheduled to play the Sharon on May 17-18.
Pat Boone previously played The Villages in Savannah Center. He broke through in 1955 when he covered Fats Domino’s, “Ain’t That A Shame.” His other big hits include, “April Love,” “Love Letters In the Sand” and “Moody River.” He’s also famously remembered for a tepid vanilla cover of Little Richard’s rocker, “Tutti Fruitti.”
Here’s a clip of “Love Letters In the Sand.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MCUXitxbTA
Boone, who started a mid-50s teen fad of wearing white buck shoes, also appeared in such movies as “April Love,” “State Fair” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”
Rick Nelson, along with his brother David and parents, Ozzie and Harriet, was a regular on television throughout the ‘50s, up to the mid ‘60s.
Nelson, like Pat Boone, made his breakthrough record covering a Fats Domino song, “I’m Walking” in 1957. Nelson was barely 17 when he did the song on the TV show, in an effort to show his girlfriend that he, like Elvis, could sing rock and roll.
Here is “I’m Walking” from 1957:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUmf8jtOQvA
The song became an instant smash and sold millions of copies over the next few weeks. Nelson’s hit list includes, “Poor Little Fool,” “Fools Rush In,” “Hello Mary Lou” and “Garden Party.” He also appeared in the 1959 hit cult western, “Rio Bravo,” with John Wayne and Dean Martin.
Rick Nelson eventually was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was killed in an airplane crash on Dec. 31, 1985.
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson had a hit album and No. 1 single “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love” in the early 1990s. Now, they often play their father’s music and keep his memory alive.
