A voice possessing effortlessness and tossed-off coolness: Rick Nelson remembered

Sheree Homer, author of the judiciously researched tome “Rick Nelson: Rock ’n’ Roll Pioneer,” leaves no stone unturned in a far-reaching interview exploring the “Garden Party” balladeer’s meteoric rise on late 1950s pop radio and unspeakable demise on the precipice of a rockabilly-fueled comeback. Seen here sporting an unbuttoned, striped blue and white shirt that perfectly complements his piercing blue eyes and pouty lips, a barely out of high school Nelson is poised for pin-up status in 1958. Image courtesy of Sheree Homer

Rick Nelson made it look so easy, but what other artist could have landed 32 Top 40 pop singles on Billboard in a six-year period dominated by Elvis Presley, one of Nelson’s earliest musical heroes? The quintessential American boy next door conveyed an assured mix of Fender Telecaster-fueled rockabilly, hauntingly fragile ballads, and trailblazing country rock expeditions in an expressive tenor fraught in effortlessness and tossed-off coolness. Nobody did it better.

Nelson was just eight years old when he experienced his first brush with fame on the radio version of the historic Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet pre-reality sitcom starring his real life parents and elder brother David. The “Original Teen Idol” had seen and done it all by the time he was 30. Developing artistically beyond such a restricting moniker would have proved impossible for most contenders. Not for a determined Rick Nelson.

Sheree Homer shattered a two-decades-long book drought on the introverted “Lonesome Town” troubadour with Rick Nelson: Rock ’n’ Roll Pioneer. Featuring insightful commentary from close Nelson confidants, backing musicians, and family members — the full endorsement of former wife Kris Harmon was a major scoop — the engrossing tome is essential for any serious fan. Homer’s most recent book is…