On This Day: Ricky Nelson Stands Up for Country with “Garden Party”

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Most people would associate singer Ricky Nelson with early rockabilly and rock ‘n roll, and the heartthrob performers of the 1950s and ’60s. With songs like “Travelin’ Man” and “Hello Mary Lou,” he helped define the sound of the early ’60s generation, and oldies radio for decades to come.

Ricky Nelson grew up famous. His parents were Ozzy and Harriet Nelson, who starred with the whole family including Ricky in the early radio-turned-TV Show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Being raised in New Jersey wasn’t exactly a down-home setting for a young Ricky Nelson, but nonetheless, from early on in Ricky’s career, he sang and recorded country music, along with the early rock songs that would define his career.

Before finding big success with songs like “Travelin Man,” Nelson recorded a series of singles that all also charted in country. Most notably Nelson did a version of the Hank Williams classic “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It,” which hit #18 in pop, and #10 in country in 1958. His first official #1 song “Poor Little Fool” also charted #3 in country.

Back in those days, whether you called a performer rock or country could just about go either way, and many of Ricky Nelson’s early songs embody this, similar to The Everly Brothers and Johnny Cash. But as rock and country grew apart, Ricky Nelson found himself much more in the rock ‘n roll world for the lion’s share of his popular career, that is until 1966.

Though The Byrds and their landmark 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo is given credit for launching the country rock genre, Ricky Nelson actually beat them to the punch. In 1966 and completely out of the blue, Ricky Nelson released the album Bright Lights and Country Music. Nelson recorded songs by Bill Anderson and Merle Travis, and a little-known up-and-coming songwriter at the time named Willie Nelson.

Similar to Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Ricky Nelson’s 18th studio album came straight out of left field for his established fan base, and ultimately was a commercial flop. But it’s the album’s influence that was important. It included Clarence White of The Byrds on guitar, along with James Burton and Glen Campbell. It truly was one of the very first examples of the country rock sound that would emerge in the coming years. Ricky Nelson followed it up with another album in 1967 called Country Fever. These albums are also where Ricky Nelson first started featuring his own songwriting.

But when the albums mostly failed, and with the “Summer of Love” taking shape in the United States, Ricky moved on into the world of more psychedelic pop in 1967. But even though he was still relatively young, Ricky Nelson was too old for the emerging hippie scene, and he never found the comparable success of his early career … until the song “Garden Party.”

By 1971, Ricky Nelson was a nostalgia act in the popular music realm. But he never gave up chasing the dream or recording the music he loved, even though the popular music world had moved on from him. He formed The Stone Canyon Band, which was one of the first true country rock bands, and early on included Randy Meisner who would go on to become a founding member of The Eagles.

On October 15th, 1971, famous disc jockey and promoter Richard Nader threw a concert called the “Rock ‘n Roll Spectacular VII” at Madison Square Garden in New York. The headliners were Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, with Ricky Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band billed as a “special added attraction.”

Even though this was in the early ’70s, the audience was decidedly old school for the era. So when Ricky came out with shoulder length hair, and in bell bottoms and a purple velvet shirt, it took some of the crowd by surprise. Nelson played “Hello Mary Lou” and other early hits to start, and the crowd enjoyed it. But then Nelson decided to veer into the country side of his influences. It didn’t go well.

Ricky Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band performed the more country version of The Rolling Stones hit “Honky Tonk Women” called “Country Honk” from the Let It Bleed LP. Though some in the audience had put up with Nelson’s bell bottom getup, they balked at the country song, and started booing. Nelson sang one more song to fulfill his performance obligation, and then left The Garden in a huff, not to return for the show’s grand finale.

For the record, some dispute whether the crowd was truly booing Ricky Nelson and his country song, or if a kerfuffle with police near the back of the crowd actually caused the booing. Either way, Ricky took it personally. It couldn’t have been easy for Nelson who’d been put out to pasture by popular music, and was misunderstood as only being a pop and rock star of the past. But Ricky did what any good artist does, and channeled his frustration into song.

By 1971, Ricky Nelson hadn’t appeared in the Top 10 in music for nearly a decade. But he sat down and penned a song he called “Garden Party,” and weaved all sorts of references to his experience at Madison Square Garden on October 15th 1971 into the lyrics.

Nelson sings, “They all knew my name, but no one recognized me,” about his physical appearance, and “Yoko brought her walrus” referencing how John Lennon and Yoko Ono were there. “Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan’s shoes” is apparently a reference to George Harrison, who at the time was recording a Bob Dylan album that ended up never being released. These famous Beatles were there because folks like Chuck Berry and Ricky Nelson were big influences on them.

The song continues, “I said hello to “Mary Lou,’ she belongs to me. When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave,” And of course, Ricky Nelson wrote “Garden Party” as a country song.


“Garden Party” wasn’t just a quiet kiss off to Ricky Nelson’s experience at Madison Square Garden. It was also a hit, reaching #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Most people listening didn’t pick up on the references in the lyrics the first time. They just loved the laid-back mood the song set. Soon, people were dissecting the song and its little Easter eggs, and drew them back to Nelson’s experience. The song charted at #44 in country music as well, and helped revitalize Ricky Nelson’s career.

Listening back to “Garden Party” now and regarding Ricky Nelson’s career at large, it feels like he deserves way more credit for making country music cool to rock ‘n roll kids, and a new generation. He was ahead of his time, before The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, and even The Rolling Stones started dabbling with country songs and country sounds.

And when it mattered, Ricky Nelson stood up for country, and for himself. He didn’t please everyone, but he most certainly pleased himself. And here over 50 years later, “Garden Party” is still pleasing audiences.

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