Songs by Ricky is the fourth album by Ricky Nelson, released in November 1959 by Imperial Records.[1] The Jordanaires provide vocal accompaniment, the last Nelson album on which they do so. It contains songs from the Burnettes, Baker Knight, and Nelson's uncle Don Nelson.[2] Jimmie Haskell was the arranger, and Charles "Bud" Dant produced the album.

The album debuted on the Billboard Best Selling LPs chart in the issue dated September 29, 1959, remaining on the chart for 26 weeks and peaking at number 22.[3] It reached No. 9 on the Cashbox albums chart during a 19-week stay on the chart.[4] Successful singles from the album include "Just a Little Too Much" and "Sweeter Than You", both of which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[5] They reached numbers 11 and 18, respectively, on the Cashbox Singles Chart[6] and peaked at numbers 11 and 65 in the UK[7]

The album was released on compact disc by Capitol Records on June 19, 2001, paired with Ricky Sings Again.[8] Bear Family included the album in the 2001 The American Dream box set.[9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[10]
Disc[11]

Variety wrote that "Nelson has a pleasant set of pipes which he uses well within the relatively narrow vocal and emotional range of songs",[12]

Cashbox in its Popular Picks Of The Week reviews, describing the album as a "Great teen merchandise".[13]

Ken Graham of Disc described the album as "his finest work to date"[11]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic thought "The result was a consistent record by a writing and performing team at the peak of its powers, everyone contributing to an overall sound that was a rhythmic, smooth development on the kind of raw rockabilly invented in Memphis by the original artists at Sun Records. and Nelson had turned into a supple vocalist with a sure sense of the material."[1]

Track listing

Side one

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You'll Never Know What You're Missing"Baker Knight2:34
2."That's All"Bob Haymes, Alan Brandt2:05
3."Just a Little Too Much"Johnny Burnette2:12
4."One Minute to One"Baker Knight2:05
5."Half Breed"John D. Loudermilk2:05
6."You're So Fine"Dorsey Burnette2:26

Side two

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Leave Me"Johnny Burnette2:16
2."Sweeter Than You"Baker Knight2:19
3."A Long Vacation"Dorsey Burnette2:08
4."So Long"Don Nelson2:01
5."Blood From a Stone"Johnny Bachelor, Rupert Stephens2:12
6."I've Been Thinkin'"Johnny Burnette2:06

Charts

Album

Chart (1959) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Best Selling LPs (Billboard)[3] 22
U.S. Cashbox[4] 9

Singles

Year Title U.S. Hot 100[5][14] U.S. Cashbox[6]
1959 "Just a Little Too Much" 9 11
"Sweeter Than You 18
1963 "That's All" 48 53
"A Long Vaction 120 107

References

  1. ^ a b c "Ricky Nelson – Songs by Ricky: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  2. ^ Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-8092-4187-3.
  3. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2001). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-2001. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 622. ISBN 0898201470. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 268. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  5. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles (12th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 697. ISBN 0898201802. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 244–245. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
  7. ^ "RICKY NELSON". Official Charts. 1958-02-27. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
  8. ^ "Ricky Sings Again - Songs By Ricky". allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  9. ^ "The American Dream: The Complete Imperial and Verve 1957-1962". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  10. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b Graham, Ken (February 27, 1960). "LP Reviewed by Ken Graham: BEST YET FROM RICKY NELSON, Vic hits the top-and it Must be a seller" (PDF). Disc. No. 101. p. 12. Retrieved 5 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Variety Album Reviews: Songs by Ricky". Variety. Vol. 215, no. 12. August 19, 1959. p. 46.
  13. ^ "Album Reviews Popular Picks Of The Week: Songs by Ricky". Cash Box. Vol. 20, no. 48. August 29, 1959. p. 34.
  14. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1982). Joel Whitburn's Bubbling under the hot 100, 1959-1981. Menomonee Falls, Wis: Record Research. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-8982-0047-8.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_by_Ricky
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