Remembering When Rick Nelson Was Booed off the Stage, but Got the Last Laugh Thanks to a Hit Single in 1972

“Play the hits” is a phrase that every musician who’s ever managed a modicum of mainstream success has likely heard more than a few times. It might come from record promoters, management, or even fans. And the idea behind it is that musicians should never forget what got them there.

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In the case of Rick Nelson, he experienced this phenomenon in a public setting. He heard a round of boos at a fateful 1971 concert from fans who might as well have had those words in thought bubbles above their heads. But Nelson didn’t flinch. Instead, he confronted the incident in a clever song that brought him back to the pop music limelight.

Early Success

Rick Nelson scaled the heights of music stardom in the early days of rock and roll. He benefited from a built-in audience thanks to his appearances on the television show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet with his showbiz legend parents. But that doesn’t discount the excellent work that he did in that period.

Songs like “Travelin’ Man”, “Poor Little Fool”, and “Lonesome Town” displayed an artistry that shone brightly regardless of his teen idol status. Like many early rock stars, however, Nelson felt the ground shift beneath him with the appearance of The Beatles and the British Invasion.

That’s when Nelson did something interesting. Many of his peers relied on nostalgia to sustain their careers. But he forged a new musical path by melding country and rock sounds with his Stone Canyon Band. The hits may have dried up, but Nelson was doing interesting work. Alas, that work wasn’t what everyone wanted to hear.

“Honk” if You Hear Boos

By 1971, Nelson had churned out about a half-dozen albums featuring both his country-rock fusion and other efforts to engage the modern sounds of pop and rock. But he erred in taking a gig that was designed to cater to the fans of his early work.

The concert in question was the latest in a series of rock revivals that had been staged at the Felt Forum, the intimate theater-like venue within New York City’s Madison Square Garden. These shows were aimed at those who wanted nostalgia. Nelson joined fellow early-rock luminaries like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley on October 17, 1971, for this particular iteration.

Nelson’s performance started well, as he received rousing ovations for some of his early classics like “Hello Mary Lou” and “Be Bop Baby”. The mood in the crowd changed a little when he played a cover of Bob Dylan’s “She Belongs To Me”. And it cratered when he played a version of The Rolling Stones’ “Country Honk” that included feedback-drenched guitar from Stone Canyon Band member Allen Kemp.

“Party On”

Boos rained down on Nelson. Since “Country Honk” was the last song in his set, they followed him off the stage. After the fact, some claimed that the catcalls were directed at an unruly fan member and not Nelson. But the timing seemed way too coincidental for that explanation.

Press reports of the incident were everywhere in the wake of the show. But far from licking his wounds, Rick Nelson simply went back to work. He wrote a wry, surreal take on the incident entitled “Garden Party”. The song espoused his wise philosophy on fan expectations: “You see, you can’t please everyone/So you got to please yourself.”

“Garden Party” soared to the US Top 10 upon its release in 1972, Nelson’s first hit of that magnitude in 1972. And it also meant that the next time someone asked him to play the hits, he could honor that request while simultaneously pointing out the silliness of it.

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