Rick Is 21 is the sixth album by rock and roll and pop idol Rick Nelson, and was released in 1961. The album was almost entirely recorded in Los Angeles, California, United States at the famous United Western Recorders studios from February to April, 1961. Only one song was recorded at Master Recorders studios in Hollywood, California, United States. That song was: Do You Know What it Means To Miss New Orleans recorded in February, 1960. The album was the first to credit his first name as "Rick"; previous albums were credited to Ricky Nelson. Jimmie Haskell was the arranger and Charles "Bud" Dant was the producer.
Rick Is 21 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 8, 1961 | |||
Recorded | 1960−61 | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Imperial | |||
Producer | Charles "Bud" Dant | |||
Rick Nelson chronology | ||||
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Singles from Rick Is 21 | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
New Record Mirror | 4/5[2] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The album made its first appearance on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the issue dated May 29 of that year and remained on the chart for 49 weeks, peaking at number 8.[4] Successful singles from the album include "Travelin' Man" and "Hello Mary Lou".
Reception
editWilliam Ruhlmann of AllMusic said that Nelson "returned to a modified rock sound, bringing in new writers like Jerry Fuller and Gene Pitney, and coming up with a streamlined pop/rock approach but the rest of the album is guitar rock arrangements of songs written by old hand Dorsey Burnette ("My One Desire"), contributing the excellent rocker "Break My Chain" (complete with a terrific James Burton guitar solo), but the overall quality of the material is high, and Nelson's band plays it well.[1]
Billboard magazine described the album as "a tribute to his reaching his majority"[5]
New Record Mirror called it "a Nice Birthday Present"[2]
Track listing
edit- "My One Desire" (Dorsey Burnette) – 2:14
- "That Warm Summer Night" (Jerry Fuller) – 2:11
- "Break My Chain" (Jerry Fuller) – 1:53
- "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?" (Louis Alter, Eddie DeLange) – 2:32
- "I'll Make Believe" (Johnny Rivers) – 2:18
- "Travelin' Man" (Jerry Fuller) – 2:12
- "Oh Yeah, I'm in Love" (Gregory Carroll, Doris Payne) – 2:08
- "Everybody But Me" (Dave Burgess) – 2:11
- "Lucky Star" (Dave Burgess) – 2:17
- "Sure Fire Bet" (Gene Pitney) –2:07
- "Stars Fell on Alabama" (Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins) – 2:34
- "Hello Mary Lou" (Gene Pitney) – 2:17
Charts
editAlbum
editChart (1961) | Peak position |
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U.S. Top LPs (Billboard)[4] | 8 |
Singles
editYear | Title | U.S. Hot 100[6] |
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1961 | "Hello Mary Lou" | 9 |
1961 | "Travelin' Man" | 1 |
References
edit- ^ a b Ruhlmann, William. "Ricky Nelson – Rick is 21: Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ a b Watson, Jimmy (16 September 1961). "Ricky Nelson: Rick Is 21" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 27. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's top pop albums : 1955-1996 : compiled from Billboard magazine's pop album charts, 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 556. ISBN 0898201179.
- ^ "Pop Spotlight: Rick is 21". Billboard. May 15, 1961. p. 35.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 502. ISBN 0898201551.