RIDGEFIELD - When you think of some of the most prolific entertainers of the 20th Century who found success on screen and in the recording business, the names Sinatra and Presley come to mind. But thanks to his own incredible and indelible presence in the world of entertainment between the late 1950s and early 1970s, Ricky (or Rick) Nelson's star also shines brightly.Rio Bravo alongside John Wayne and Dean Martin, The Wackiest Ship in the Army with Jack Lemmon, Love and Kisses in 1965, and The Over-the-Hill Gang four years later. He was also the plucky real-life and television son of seasoned entertainers Ozzie and Harriet Nelson.The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet made its television debut and was broadcast until September 3, 1966, becoming one of the longest-running sitcoms in television history.The Newtown Bee, Gunnar Nelson talked about the twins's relationship with their dad, how he instilled in them both a strong work ethic and a boundless appreciation for the nostalgia their father's material inspires in audiences spanning nearly five generations.The Newtown Bee: Your dad was lost way too soon, Gunnar, but man didn't he pack three lifetimes worth of success into those 45 years?Gunnar Nelson: Our dad was a juggernaut for sure. I'm not sure where you are getting your stats from, but our dad ended up selling 300 million singles - I mean, it's ridiculous. Sadly, you know that kind of success in the music business I don't think we're ever going to see again, the industry being what it is, with the role the internet is playing, and with the short attention span that people tend to have today with acts and musicians. We're never going to see that many people get behind an artist and stick with them throughout a 40-year career.The Bee: With Ricky Nelson having so many hits, how could you possibly whittle down a setlist that fits into a two-hour show?Nelson: When our father passed away, he had his special things in a particular drawer in his changing room, and when Matt and I went into that drawer we found the last handwritten setlist that our father was performing with his band until the day he died. So when people come to see us in Ridgefield, they will hear that exact setlist in the exact same order as our dad played it during his final shows.The Bee: Were you and Matt the kind of brothers who were close in public and private as well, or did you just come together around your musical pursuits?Nelson: That's a really good question. But it's important to remember that we're not just siblings, we're identical twins - we're split from the same cell. So technically speaking we're two halves of the same person. And we're MZ twins, Matthew is a right-handed person and I'm a left handed person. This kind of individuation that goes along with that is really daunting to school systems...they don't know what to do with identical twins - keep them together or split them up. Naturally Matthew and I found a really good balance between the twin-ship and us as individuals. It seems like for every similarity, we've also got a difference, which we utilize on and off the stage. Matthew is like the family Kissinger, very thoughtful and soft spoken. He's the kind of guy who will think about something and then do it or say it. I'm the opposite, I tend to say and do things and think about it afterwords. So I'm usually the one getting into trouble and Matthew is left batting cleanup. I've found that it has really served us in our music. I guess what I'd say about being an identical twin is, it's like having a best friend that's your same exact age, that is interested in the exact same things - which for us thankfully, was music - and we're not interested in the same types of girls, so we didn't fight over them. That was really useful. Sometimes there was some friendly rivalry, but the catch phrase around our house was, don't worry about the twins, they've got each other.The Bee: Did your dad take the lead in trying to get you both to sing and play instruments?Nelson: Indirectly he did. He wasn't the kind of teacher who would sit you down and show you how to play a 'C' chord or a 'G' chord. But growing up in the very unique household that we did, it was our normal. To us, normal was: your father is a rock star; people asked your grandparents for their autographs. that's how we grew up. At first we didn't know there was any difference between us and other families until we started growing up. By age nine or ten we realized that everyone's dad wasn't a rock star.The Bee: When did you first realize he was a rock star, or 'teen idol' since that phrase was coined to describe him?Nelson: One of my earliest memories of my dad was when he sat me on an apple crate on the side of the stage at Knott's Berry farm in California, and watching him perform. And I made the connection. I said, wow, he looks like he's having such a great time. So I talked to my mom about that memory, and I remember telling her, I want to do THAT. (laughing) I want to be just like him. And she remembered taking me to that show and she said I was like, two. From that time on, being around the house when my dad was putting the Stone canyon Band together, and I would be driving his drummer crazy always banging on his kit. And finally, when I was six years old we went to a local pawn shop and he bought me a set of drums, put them in the hayloft over our barn, Matthew got his first bass around six months later, and we'd go up there for hours and play along to records until we were our own efficient little rhythm section. That's where our musical careers were born. We kept at it, and had our first recording session when we were 12. And we started playing professionally, sometimes four or five nights a week, working our way up.The Bee: Do you still remember the first song you guys performed for him as a duo?Nelson: Sure. He had just come of the road and we were about eight at the time. And we performed the Linda Ronstadt version of "Blue Bayou," because we really loved early Linda Ronstadt, and The Eagles. Growing up in Southern California, it was kind of the normal acts to follow in those days. Our father actually produced the first recording session of ours when we put down our first original song. It was a birthday present for us, and he even brought in The Pointer Sisters to sing back-up for us. It was called a song Matthew wrote called "Feelings of Love," although I don't know what kind of feelings of love you could have as a 12-year-old. My dad's guitar player came in to do the leads, I played drums, Matt played bass, we sang like The Chipmunks. But it was good.The Bee: Did having all that history and experience performing and recording help keep you away from temptations when you guys got older and became big video and world famous rock stars yourselves?Nelson: I think in hindsight, talking about it and planning for it is very different than actually living through it and doing it. I don't think anything can really prepare anybody for the level of success we had early-on. It was just crazy - going from playing four nights a week at the Troubadour or the Whiskey A Go-Go in LA, to 15,000 screaming kids every night on a world tour. We also had a long history in entertainment as the family business. Our grandparents Ozzie and Harriet had their own road band and their first hit record in 1935. Ozzie led a 26-piece band never being able to read a stitch of music, but he never let that stop him. But I think once we hit the peak of our own fame as Nelson, the thing that helped us the most was - Matthew and Gunnar had each other.The Bee: So when you come into Ridgefield, you'll be playing that set list you found in his drawer?Nelson: That same set with the same energy and passion our dad did back in the day. This is not a sleepy show. We call it a rock concert meets an A&E Biography. It has a lot of energy and high integrity. We bring a big screen video, tell the stories behind the songs and the lives. And we play all the hits. It's going to be a lot of fun.ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a nonprofit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street.

Lost to the world at age 45 in a 1985 plane crash, Rick Nelson was nothing short of prolific. In his music career, he has sold more than 60 million records, and placed 53 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1957 and 1973, including "Poor Little Fool," which holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's then-newly created Hot 100 chart.

Then, between 1973 and his death, Rick Nelson produced another 19 Top 10 hits, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 21, 1987.

He was also a popular fixture on both the small and big screen, having starred in

Before that, young Ricky (he officially changed his name on his 21st birthday in 1961) performed the same role in his parents' radio show.

On October 3, 1952, the world got its first real sense of Ricky when

Ozzie and Harriet episode "Ricky, the Drummer."

Foreshadowing what was to be, Ricky made his television rock-and-roll debut five years later, on April 10, 1957, singing and playing the drums to "I'm Walkin'" in the

Life Magazine further immortalized his bright-eyed good looks, coining the phrase Teen Idol after him, and he is generally credited with pioneering the "country rock" genre.

Among other achievements, Nelson is the only artist to have a number one song, number one movie, and number one TV show in the same week.

Today, Rick's talented twin sons Gunnar and Matthew - who enjoyed their own claim to fame with their 80s "hair band" Nelson - are proud to carry on the legacy of their dad in a touring show called "Ricky Nelson Remembered," which will be hitting The Ridgefield Playhouse stage on Thursday, April 13.

Guinness Book of World Records as the only family in entertainment history with three generations of #1 hitmakers.

As the grandsons of icons Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Matthew and Gunnar hit #1 on the Billboard with their own rock band Nelson and their self-penned #1 hit "(Can't Live Without Your) Love & Affection." And claiming some worthy fame in their own right, the hit and its MTV video put the Nelson family in the

And they are by no means "one-hit wonders." Matthew and Gunnar lay claim to five Top 40 Billboard hits, four #1 MTV videos, and have sold more than 6.5 million albums worldwide

"Ricky Nelson Remembered" serves as a unique multimedia event featuring the live music of Ricky Nelson's hit songs including "Hello Mary Lou," "Travelin' Man," and "Garden Party," performed by Matthew and Gunnar. Fans are also be treated to never-before-seen big screen video footage of the Nelson family, plus interviews from celebrities influenced by Ricky Nelson.

In an interview with

For tickets ($65) to see Gunnar and Matthew Nelson performing "Ricky Nelson Remembered," call the box office at 203-438-5795, or visit

Check out Matthew and Gunnar Nelson performing a medley of their dad Ricky Nelson's big hits live from Austin Texas in 2003.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFaY5gWD1ms

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