Maps of Music

Spotlight on Rick (1964)

Where the lyrics of Spotlight on Rick take you, and where it was really made.

A track on this 1964 album is a Chuck Berry cover that Nelson re-recorded eight years later on Garden Party.

Place unknown

Do you know where this album was recorded, or where its cover was shot? Tell us and we will add it to the map.

Spotlight on Rick: eleventh studio album by rock and roll and pop idol Rick Nelson
Fourth album for Decca Records
Released 23 November 1964
Ace Records issued it on CD on 9 December 1997, paired with the 1964 album The Very Thought of You
Bear Family included it in the 2008 box set For You: The Decca Years

Released in the mid-1960s, when Nelson was a rock and roll and pop idol
The single "A Happy Guy" came out two weeks before the album, backed by "Don't Breathe a Word"
Jimmie Haskell arranged the album
Charles "Bud" Dant produced the album

Sessions dated 31 March, 26 August, 1 September, 17 September and 25 August 1964
Recording sessions were held across several months of 1964
James Burton and Glen Campbell played guitar on most tracks
Ray Johnson played piano, and Richie Frost played drums
Joe Osborn played bass on most tracks

Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor.
From age eight, he starred with his family in the radio and television series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
In 1957 he began a long, successful recording career, placing 54 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and its predecessors between 1957 and 1973.
"Poor Little Fool" (1958) was the first number one single on Billboard's newly created Hot 100 chart.
He appeared with John Wayne and Dean Martin in Howard Hawks's western Rio Bravo (1959).
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.
In 1972 he returned to the Top 40 with "Garden Party", which peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
He died in a plane crash on December 31, 1985.

He was married to Kristin Harmon from 1963 until their divorce in 1982.
They had four children: actress Tracy Nelson, twin sons Gunnar and Matthew, and actor Sam.

Cashbox: Nelson's "distinctive wide range baritone voice and emotion-packed delivery carries him in good stead."
Record World: described the album as "plain good listening"
Variety: praised Nelson for delivering his ballads with strong rock feeling
Record Mirror: found a contrast between "I'm Talking About You" and "From a Distance"

Cashbox looking ahead albums chart: debuted in the issue dated 16 January 1965, four weeks on chart, peak number 107
Record World looking ahead albums chart: debuted in the issue dated 9 January 1965, five weeks on chart, peak number 108
Single "A Happy Guy": number 82 on Billboard Hot 100
Single "A Happy Guy": number 83 on Cashbox singles chart

The single "A Happy Guy" came out two weeks before the album, backed by "Don't Breathe a Word"
The album includes the early recording of "I'm a Fool"
"I'm a Fool" later became a hit for Dino, Desi & Billy the following year
The album covers Chuck Berry's "I'm Talking About You"
Nelson re-recorded "I'm Talking About You" eight years later on Garden Party