Nelson brothers to be inducted into Hall of Fame

MONTVILLE, Conn. (WTNH) -- The Mohegan Sun Casino will induct a pair of musicians with a unique performing lineage into its Wolf Den Hall of Fame next week.

For those who came of age in the 1950's and 60's, Ricky Nelson was one of the biggest stars of the era, first on the Ozzie and Harriet TV show and later as a chart topping pop star.

"This was a guy who actually Life Magazine coined the phrase 'teen idol' to describe. It was created for him, but at that particular time what set him apart from everybody else that came after him was that he was the real deal," his son, Gunner, said.

News 8's Keith Kountz recently talked via Skype with Nelson's two sons, Matthew and Gunner, who have carved out their own successful careers in the music industry, highlighted by their number one single "I can't live without your love and affection" in 1990.

On Monday, the Nelsons will be inducted in the Wolf Den Hall of Fame at the Mohegan Sun Casino. A tribute show in honor of their famous father is also scheduled to air the same night.

"We always say it's the show we want to do, not the show we have to do," Matthew said.

That performance is sure to bring back memories.

"For those people who grew up with 435 episodes of Ozzie and Harriet, the longest running live action sitcom in history, we've got clips with us and interviews with our dad's friends, Kris Kristofferson, Paul McCartney, Chris Isaac and we get to tell the stories of our dad, the way his sons only would," Matthew said.

Ricky Nelson's music career faded with the end of the family's television show in the mid 1960's, but in the 70's Nelson returned to the spotlight as Rick Nelson with a new country-rock sound.

The defining moment of his comeback came at Madison Square Garden, after he was booed off the stage by a sell-out crowd.

"He always used to say a career is nothing but a series of comebacks and we call him the Comeback Kid," Matthew said.

From that comeback Nelson wrote his last major hit "Garden Party."

"So he took that experience, which might have been the end of lesser people, and wrote a son with the hook 'You can't please everyone so you gotta please yourself.' It was a real victory dance for him," Gunner said.

The induction ceremony for the Nelsons will be on Monday at 1 p.m. in the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun. Their show, Rick Nelson Remembered, is scheduled for 8 o'clock that night.