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Nelson News    For the latest info on Rick and the club Gypsy Pilot Documentary Update -Fan Club member Guy Clover was in the States recently and attended an art show reception held by Kris Nelson in Santa Fe, New Mexico on July 13. Along with fan club members Peggy O'Neal and the late Sandie Johnson. Kris was interviewed on camera the next day at her Santa Fe home. Tracy Nelson was visiting and answered a few questions along with her mother, whose 7 dogs joined in the talk with great enthusiasm. Gordon Jones filmed the interview, which will be used in "Gypsy Pilot," a documentary focusing on Rick's own self-penned songs. The documentary team includes fan club member Ian Cooke whose DVD, "A Musician's Journey," has enjoyed great success with club members. Ian is a co-producer and the musical historian for the documentary; Peggy O'Neal is the business manager/producer; Gordon Jones is the videographer/editor; Sandie Johnson was the producer/writer/director, and Guy Clover is an interviewer, co-producer, and will sing several of Rick's songs in the documentary. Kris and Tracy said that Guy's voice was alot like Rick's and had a certain "roundness" in the tone that sounded familiar to them. This documentary will be a fitting tribute to Sandie and the love she had for Rick. Sandie Johnson R.I.P. -We heard this week (Feb 15th) of the very sad news that our dear friend and club member Sandie Johnson has passed away. Sandie has worked tirelessly through the years to keep Rick's memory alive and we will miss her greatly. Below is a message from her son, Gordon. Dear family and friends, this is to let you that while we where on a vacation cruise in the western Caribbean with my mother Saundra Ann Johnson she became ill and was removed from the ship in Cozumel and taken to the hospital because of difficulty with her breathing. When it was found that she had had a heart attack they air lifted her from Cozumel, Mexico to Jackson memorial hospital in Miami Fla. Where a heart catheterization was done. They found no more blood clots but her lungs were full of fluid and she was having a high fever. They had her intubated on a ventilator to help with her breathing and keep her blood oxygen level up. At 12:38 am this morning the doctor contacted me with new that her heart was not beating properly and her blood pressure was dropping they gave her medicine to stimulate her heart to try to get her blood pressure back up. At 5am this morning the doctor called me to verify the advanced directive and the DNR-order that my mother had in place since her emergency operation of 3.5 years ago. At 6am this morning the doctor contacted me to let me know that the medicine had not worked and she had passed away. We will be making arrangements to have her cremated here in Fla. and we will be bringing her home Monday where we will make the final arrangements to have her interred with my father in Harrisburg, PA. Regards, Gordon E Jones 2008 Caribbean & USA Tour -Sea Air Specialities is proud to be the booking agent for the 2008 Ricky Nelson International Club Caribbean Cruise & USA Tour!! The Travelin Man group is "on the road again"!!! This is the 3rd such trip since the first one to Los Angeles back in 1993, which saw many celebrities connected with Rick come and join us for a very special Gala Tribute Dinner that received Nationwide coverage on U.S. T.V. (Entertainment Tonight) and the press. our second trip was in 2001 when Peggy organised a wonderful trip that started off in Nashville and saw us travel to Memphis, New Orleans and ont to Guntersville, Alabama before travelling back to Nashville. This time around we begin in Orlando Florida, taking in a seven night Caribbean Cruise visiting Jamaica, Grand Caymen and Cozume, before heading back for 3 days relaxing in the Florida Keys. We are not sure of any dignitaries joining us on this trip, but, if this things do work out, we can promise you something very surprising and we hope to be able to report more soon. A lot of time and money has been spent to make this a successful and highly affordable experience for all fans of Rick, our thanks go out to all concerned. The folks wanting to do the entire two week itinerary or indeed those who can only attend for a few days, can contact Andrew A.S.A.P. (awilkinson@uko2.co.uk) and he can give you all the help you need in sorting out bookings.. And remember, like all club events, this is open to all fans of Rick be they members or not! The entire 2 week trip runs from October 3rd - October 17th 2008 For more details and to make a reservation click on the below image or go to http://seaair2.tripod.com/id8.html The Nelsons - Live In Concert -Andrew recently received an e-mail from Obi Steinman, the Manager of Team Nelson, who represents Rick's twins Matthew & Gunnar. We have included the e-mail below. We would encourage all fans to support the boys who have always been so dedicated to keeping their fathers memory alive. I am the manager of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson ( Rick's Sons). For the last Year and half we have been producing a wonderful new show here in the states. Ricky Nelson Remembered featuring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson with the Stone Canyon Band. We sell out Casinos, Fairs, Festivals, Car Shows, Cruises. and 50's/ 60's oldies shows. This is an amazing show. They play all the hits and there is a video interactive presentation of the life and music of Rick Nelson. To my point, We want to start bringing this amazing show to the UK. We would appreciate it if your fan wonderful club could help us. We need to start contacing all the promoters and venues that specialize in this genre of music. Festivals, Casinos and radio shows. We would like to know if you would spotlight our show on your site. Any information that you could foward to us to make this process go quicket would be much apprciated. Here is a link to our tour info site: www.Nelsontourinfo.com Please let me know your thoughts. We would appreciate your help. Sincerely, Obi Steinman Manager Team Nelson Just Having Fun Productions (818) 292-8767 Office (818) 292- 8768 Office (818) 292-8771 Fax Rio Bravo: 2 Disc DVD -Warner Home Video (WHV) and Paramount Home Entertainment (PHE) will join forces to honor the great John Wayne on May 22 -- the week that would have been ‘the Duke’s’ 100th birthday. With 9 new titles due the studios combined DVD libraries now offer 48 Wayne popular classics. The lead title in the promotion is Rio Bravo in both a Two-Disc Special Edition ($20.97 SRP) and Ultimate Collectors Edition ($39.92 SRP), This is currently only schedueled as a Region 1 release, but will probably be available in other regions in the future. DVD Special Features: Disc One New digital transfer from restored picture and audio elements. Commentary by John Carpenter and Richard Schickel (Renowned director Carpenter and film critic Schickel explore how this legendary Western was an extension of Hawks’ own personality and why it’s considered such an influential classic today) Wayne trailer gallery Disc Two The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks (1973 documentary) Two All New Featurettes: Commemoration: Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo Old Tucson: Where the Legends Walked Ultimate Collector’s Edition includes everything in the Rio Bravo Special Edition plus the following collectible memorabilia: Press book Dell comic book Lobby cards Easy to be Free: MySpace - The tribute CD has got it's own MySpace page. Further details of this release can be found by scrolling through the news. Click on the album art to go to the MYSpace page. 2007 Caribbean Cruise/U.S.A. Tour - Peggy has been in touch with details of the proposed Cruise she is organising for this year. Peggy has put in a lot of work to organise the trip, so I'm sure it will be a most enjoyable holiday for all Ricky fans. Plus it's bound to be a great way to introduce your family and friends to the joys of Ricky and his music. Details can be found can be found by clicking here Official Ozzie & Harriet DVD Box Set -Looks like a long awaited DVD box set of the Adventures Of Ozzie & Harriet is finally due for release. Sony Music video have teamed up with Shout Factory and, most importantly The Nelson Family to produce a 4 disc set. Sadly it's not the start of a complete series release but a best of compilation. Here are the details as we know it so far: There are 24 episodes (at least one from each season) on 4 discs. There are 8 performances by Ricky, none of which are tagged on to the end. They are part of the episodes. You can access just the songs on each disc from the special features menu. The extras include: Commentary Tracks with David Nelson and Ricky's youngest son Sam Nelson. "The Story Of Ozzie & Harriet" - a short featurette. An original promo for a special episode (included in this set). Home Movies There's an audio only special feature of the radio show episode where David and Ricky first perform as themselves. There are two trivia quizzes. One focussed on Ozzie and Harriet, and the other focussed on Dave and Rick. Sounds pretty good so far. The release date is 1st of May. This will be a Region 1 (U.S.) release. Click on the image to pre-order from Amazon.com New Rick Biography -A new book has just come out from the USA - AMAZON USA price is $30.95 incl p & p, or the AMAZON U.K. price is £20.14 Plus £2.75 p & p. It's entitled: Lonesome Town - The real story of "America's favorite family", contains 706 pages and is a warts and all account of Rick's life. It goes from when Ozzie and Harriet first met right through to Rick's last days and beyond. Andrew has just got a copy sent to him from the publisher, and so far he says it is very concise. Could this finally be the biography we've all been waiting for? More info when we get it. Click on the image to buy from Amazon.co.uk 2007 Annual Garden Party Reunion - Details of our next weekend, to Torquay, can be found by clicking here You can also find it by going to the Club Trips section. I've also, finally, added the review for our great weekend in Bridlington last year, to this section. Loss of a dearly beloved member - It was with great sadness that we learned that one of our members has passed away. Jane Hetherington from Scarborough got in touch to say that Roy passed away on 29th of June. He was only in his 30's. These are the funeral details for those who may be able to attend: Leaving 20 Lowdale Avenue, Scarborough, YO12 6JW. Thursday 6th of July, at 1.15. pm. to St. Mary's Church, and then afterwards to Woodlands Drive Crematorium. Rest in peace dear friend. Easy to be Free: The Songs of Rick Nelson - A new release is upon us... Finally hitting record store shelves on JUNE 6, 2006 is the latest Planting Seeds' various artist release "Easy To Be Free: The Songs of Rick Nelson" (PSRCD-046)--20 artists/tracks celebrating the legacy of underrated rock/folk/country pioneer Rick Nelson. The LP includes a wide array of artists from friends to great singer/songwriter/bands. The set features exclusive tracks from Marshall Crenshaw, Linda Draper, The Voyces, Astropop 3, 1888, The Primary 5 (Paul Quinn of Teenage Fanclub), John Beland (Rick Nelson/The Flying Burrito Brothers, etc.), Nic Dalton (from The Lemonheads) & The Gloomchasers, Liz Durrett (Vic Chesnutt), Dolorean w/ Holy Sons (Yep Roc Records), Jeffrey Foskett (The Beach Boys/Brian Wilson), Oed Ronne (from The Ocean Blue), Allen Clapp (from The Orange Peels), John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)/Jim Ratts and Runaway Express, The Autumn Leaves plus lots more! $1.60 of the sales of each CD supports CancerCare. It'll be distributed via Darla, Carrot Top, Revolver USA, Tonevendor, Amazon.com and more. You can also purchase it and view the complete track list by clicking on the image below. Here's a review of the CD: "A drastic reinterpretation of someone else's song can be exciting, though also disastrous, but there's something refreshing about a tribute album that leaves the experiments for someone else. Easy to Be Free is a true tribute - a bunch of musicians who obviously love Rick Nelson's music singing and playing them straight-ahead, trying to capture some of the grace and spirit of them. It's a rock-solid, enjoyable album, with no major disasters and a fair share of renditions that show a genuine understanding of Nelson's gifts as a songwriter and performer, and yet are not so direct that they come off like cheap imitations. Instead the contributors' own musical personalities shine through, but so does Nelson's, at very moment. Including both songs Nelson wrote and songs he didn't, and capturing the varied stages of his career as teen pop idol, as country-rock singer, etc. The album kicks off with The Primary 5, Paul Quinn (ex-Teenage Fanclub)'s current band doing an energetic "One X One," followed by a nice and smooth "Poor Little Fool" from "The Voyces. Linda Draper's spellbinding "How Long" properly demonstrates the dreamy quality of Nelson's music. Astropop 3 keep their take on "Life" pure and simple, and benefit greatly for it. Micheal Barrett's "Nightime Lady" is hushed and romantic. Liz Durrett's "Try (To Fall in Love)" swoons in slow-motion, like her own songs, while capturing, as many of the songs do, the sensitive, introspective aspects to Nelson. The whole affair feels particularly attuned to why Nelson is a musician to pay attention to, yet it's also a completely listenable and rewarding collection. Review by: Dave Heaton Thanks to Ann and Sandie for the info. Larry King Live - From club member BJ Carlson: Larry King Live (CNN) did a special tribute show to Rick with all of his four kids, brother, James Burton and Glen Campbell as guests. I'm not sure if you get this show or already know about it, but as a fan club member, I thought you'd be interested to know that the transcript of it can be located at: http://www.aros.net/~gr8escap/Legacy/ or see transcripts for Larry King Live at CNN. It was a great show and gave a terrific boost to the new CD and DVD that has come out on Dec 27th. Finally, Rick has received some long overdue recognition! (Thanks also to Daniel Bacelar for this info.) Carlsberg use Ricky for advert - You may have seen that the latest avert for carlsberg beer uses Ricky singing "Lonesome Town". It's played over images of townsfolk lamenting the fact that the trucks are exporting the beer. It's a good avert and showcases Ricky very well. look out for it! Good news from Louisianna - Marcia Wyse has written to us to say that U.S. club member and Louisianna resident Judy Cahill, her family, pets and home, all survived Hurticane Katrina in fine shape, and are safe sound. That's great news! Those who wish to make a donation to the American Red Cross, who are doing sterling work in bringing aid to those less fortunate than Judy, can do so by clicking on the image below. New Photos Added - There are some new photos in the Ricky And Family section of Teenage Idol. Also the second page of Rick On The Cover has been updated to show larger images. Feels Mighty Good To Me! - In case you are wondering when the next copy of Mighty Good will be posted out, you can expect it in the middle of October. Andrew is flat out at the moment and, to top it all, his daughter is getting married in Cyprus at the start of September, (congrats from the all at the club!) Search The Site - You can now search the entire site using a keyword of your choice. Simply visit the Search Site area of the Life Section of the site and type in the word you are looking for. Simple! New Forums - After all the hassle with spammers infiltrating the last guestbook, I have re-launched Conversation as a new and hopefully spam free forum. Feel free to check it out and add your comments on all things relating to Rick and the club. Unfortunatley this means that I have had to lose all previous posts, apologies to all concerned. Hardy Boys on DVD - The first series of the Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Mysteries has been released on DVD. The series starring Shaun Cassidy, Parker Stevens and Pamela Sue Martin was a big hit in the seventies. This 2 disc set includes all 14 episodes including Rick's performance in the episode The Flickering Torch Mystery. This really is a great chance to see concert footage of The Stone Canyon Band at their peak. The DVD is Region 1, so you will need a multi-region player outside of the US/Canada. You can learn more by clicking the cover artwork. You can purchase a copy with free delivery from DVD Box Office. Meanwhile the first 2 series of McCloud are due on DVD soon. Rick appeared in the first episode of series 3. With luck this series will be released in the future. Rio Bravo : Empire's 10 Greatest Ensemble Casts - In March's edition of the U.K.'s largest Movie Magazine, Empire, the list of the top ten greatest ensemble casts was compiled. Coming in at no. 5 was Rio Bravo. Here's what the magazine had to say: "John Wayne is on top form as the leather-faced sheriff of a Texan border town whose attempts to bring a murderer to justice are threatened by an armed blockade by the killer's brother. Still, despite The Duke's intrinsic star power, he shares the spotlight gallantly with his rag-tag posse: Dean Martin (playing wonderfully to type as the town drunk), Walter Brennan (the definative old coot) and Ricky Nelson (holding his own against his heavyweight compadres as a hot-headed young buck). The result is a prototypical buddy movie, brimming with warmth, camaradarie and uplifting man's-gotta-do heroics." The full list: 1: The Godfather, 2: Nashville, 3: Glengarry Glen Ross, 4: The Philadelphia Story, 5: Rio Bravo, 6: Resevoir Dogs, 7: The Royal Tenenbaums, 8: Ocean's Eleven, 9: The Usual Suspects, 10: The Breakfast Club. Darrel Higham releases Rick Tribute CD - Club Friend Darrel Higham has released a tribute CD to Rick. Entitled "Believe What You