MORE: ‘Ricky Nelson Remembered with Matthew and Gunnar Nelson’ coming to the Sorg
Question: What is it like for you to continue your father’s legacy? You and Matthew have also made your own way in the music industry. Tell us about that.
Gunnar Nelson: Well, every generation of Nelson has done what is appropriate for their generation entertainment-wise, and they have made their own mark with something that was really relevant for the times. Our dad, of course, had his rockabilly beginning, and then, it morphed into the whole singer/songwriter thing when The Beatles came to America and the whole paradigm shifted then. Our grandpa, Ozzie, had a big band with Harriet, and they had a number one of their own in 1935 called, “And Then Some.” And then, Matthew and I did more of an arena rock sort of thing with our own band, Nelson.
People do listen to big band music now, but it’s not like super popular, and it wouldn’t be appropriate, normally, for a teenager to get into it and perform.
I think watching Ozzie and Harriet do arena rock probably wouldn’t work out for people either. If you go back further, we do come from a long line of circus performers and entertainers. The Nelson family actually came to America as circus performers from Sweden. So, we had vaudevillians and circus performers, and then, our grandpa and grandma had their big band, their radio show, and television show. Our dad had his two eras and generation of music, and Matthew and I did, too. We are the only family in history to have three generations of No. 1 hitmakers.
We are listed in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the only family in history with three generations of No. 1 hitmakers.
Q: You and Matthew were exposed to music and television at an early age? At what point did you know you wanted to pursue music as a career? Was it automatic for you?
A: Matthew and I started playing music when we were six years old. Legit. Like we got our first instruments at six-years-old. Our first memories were sitting on the side of the stage, and watching our father perform at Knott’s Berry Farm. It was two little boys sitting on apple crates watching him play. We were able to see our dad on stage, having a great time, and we watched lots of other people enjoy it, too. They loved it and they were having a great time.
We saw firsthand that this is the best job in the world. We thought, ‘I just want to be like poppa. I want to do that.’ So, for us, it really wasn’t a question ever of the “what.” It was really more of a question of the “when” and “how” for us but the true north in our compass was set from the time we were very young. They put us out in the hayloft of the barn when we were six years old. I was on drums and Matthew was on bass, and we played along to records and jammed with each other. Then, we just got better and better, and we had our first recording session at the age of 12. And our dad produced that one. That was kind of cool.
And we started playing professionally in the LA clubs the same year, when we were 12 years old. We played in the LA clubs from age 12 to 18, and we got better and better. We were doing originals from the very beginning, and we got signed when we were 19 years-old to Geffen Records and made our first record. Then, we had our first number one at 22 years of age.
Q: With Ricky Nelson Remembered, What would you hope audiences would get out of the show? What would you want to pass on to them?
A: I’m just going to paraphrase something Grandma Harriet told us when we started playing music. She said, boys, the Nelson Family has never been in the entertainment business. We’ve been in the connection business. That’s what we do. And in the world we’re in right now, where everything is funny, when they talk about social media, and actually, it should be called ‘anti-social media.’ It keeps people isolated. It removes true connection. It gives you a false sense of connection.
What our show is designed to do is to put real connection back into people’s lives in this very sterile world. That’s what our family has always done. So, for us, it is about laughter. It is about family. It is about history. It is about pushing oneself, and never giving up, never quitting. That’s what our family has been about. With this show, we want to do that for people.
We want to make them feel like family and remind them that it is important to laugh at yourself and life and remember that it’s not a problem to be solved, it’s an adventure to be lived, and that’s why we do this show. That’s what our family is all about.
Q: You play a mix of Ricky Nelson Remembered shows along with your own Nelson shows. How do you keep everything balanced?
A: I always say that it’s a blessing to be musically equipped, to be musically schizophrenic, and we get to enter the era of our dad’s music, which is really great, and you have to be very competent to play it. The way they used to do it back in the day, there was no such thing as Auto-Tune. There weren’t unlimited tracks in the studio. You couldn’t fake it, you had to be able to do it, and that’s what we do when we go out there with our trio.
We are playing all of the James Burton guitar parts, singing all the songs and the whole thing, but it’s very honest. Then, with Nelson, Nelson is a different thing. Obviously, it’s a different era of music, there’s more pageantry to it. The approach is a little more bombastic, and I love that part of my personality as well.
For me, the way I look at it, is it’s a blessing because it keeps me fresh.
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