When Elvis joined the army in 1958, Ricky Nelson was the young man who, it was predicted, would fill the King's blue suede shoes.
He went on to become a country-rock pioneer, but everybody still remembered his pop hits.
Ricky Nelson's teenage celebrity typecast him for life, but these recordings from his heyday reveal a solid musician who matured and grew over time.
It's also fair to say that his later music opened the door for the Eagles, featuring ex-Stone Canyon Band bass player Randy Meisner, to pass through.
It was more than a sympathy vote that saw Nelson posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.