Ricky Sings Again

Ricky Sings Again
Studio album by Ricky Nelson
Released	January 1959
Recorded	1958–1959
Genre	Rock and roll rockabilly
Label	Imperial
Producer	Charles "Bud" Dant
Ricky Nelson chronology
Ricky Nelson (1958) Ricky Sings Again (1959) Songs by Ricky (1959)
Singles from Ricky Sings Again
"Believe What You Say" Released: March 10, 1958 "Lonesome Town" Released: August 29, 1958 "It's Late" Released: February 9, 1959 "Old Enough to Love" Released: April 1963

Ricky Sings Again is the third album by Ricky Nelson, released in 1959.^[1] It features a group of songs from The Burnettes, & Baker Knight,^[2] including covers of Elvis Presely & Hank Williams"^[3] The Jordanaires provide vocal accompaniment.

The album debuted on the Billboard Best Selling LPs chart in the issue dated February 2, 1959, remaining on the chart for 19 weeks and peaking at number 14.^[4] It debuted on the Cashbox albums chart in the issue dated January 10, 1959, and remained on the chart for in a total of 27 weeks, spending a week at number one^[5] Five singles were released from the album: "Lonesome Town", "It's Late", "Never Be Anyone Else But You", "Believe What You Say" and "Old Enough To Love". They peaked at No. 9, No. 6, No. 7, No. 4, and No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.,^[6] They reached numbers 12, 7, 5, 6, and 86, respectively, on the Cashbox Singles Chart,^[7] "Never Be Anyone Else But You" and ''It's Late" peaked at number 14 and 3 in the UK^[8]

The album was released on compact disc by Capitol Records on June 19, 2001, as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one disc with tracks 18 through 29 consisting of Nelson's other Imperial album from November 1959, Songs by Ricky.^[9] Bear Family included also the album in the 2001 The American Dream box set.^[10]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
MusicHound	[12]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic said that the album showed off Nelson's "much more confident vocals" but with more original songs and fewer covers, he "still sounded like a carbon copy of his betters." Ruhlmann concludes that Ricky Sings Again "did not live up to his star status."^[1]

Billboard notes "Nelson packs plenty of heart and sales savvy into his rendition of a group of teen-appeal tunes".^[13]

Cashbox described the songs from the album as "uptempo and ballad beat Nelson sessions".^[14]

Gary Graff, & Daniel Durchholz of MusicHound described the album as "one of the great, unhearlded rock 'n' roll albums of the '50s"^[12]

Track listing

1. "It's Late" (Dorsey Burnette) - 1:59
2. "One of These Mornings" (Dorsey Burnette) - 1:54
3. "Believe What You Say" (Dorsey Burnette, Johnny Burnette) - 2:05
4. "Lonesome Town" (Baker Knight) - 2:14
5. "Tryin' to Get to You" (Rose Marie McCoy, Charlie Singleton) - 2:15
6. "Be True to Me" (James Kirkland, Nat Stuckey) - 2:23
7. "Old Enough to Love" (Al Jones, Bill Jones, Merle Kilgore) - 2:17
8. "Never Be Anyone Else But You" (Baker Knight) - 2:16
9. "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" (Hank Williams) - 2:20
10. "You Tear Me Up" (Baker Knight) - 2:21
11. "It's All in the Game" (Charles Dawes, Carl Sigman) - 1:58
12. "Restless Kid" (Johnny Cash) - 1:57

Charts

Album

Chart (1959)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Best Selling LPs (Billboard)[4]	14
U.S. Cashbox[5]	1

Singles

Year	Title	U.S. Hot 100[6]	U.S. Cashbox[7]	U.K. Singles Chart[8]
1958	"Believe What You Say"	4	12	—
	"Lonesome Town"	7	7	—
1959	"Never Be Anyone Else But You"	6	5	14
	"It's Late"	9	6	3
1963	"Old Enough to Love"	94	86	—

References

1. "Ricky Nelson – Ricky Sings Again: Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
2. Homer, Sheree (2012). Rick Nelson, Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-7864-6060-1.
3. Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-8092-4187-3.
4. Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's top pop albums : 1955-1996 : compiled from Billboard magazine's pop album charts, 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wis.: Record Research. p. 556. ISBN 0898201179.
5. Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 268. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
6. Whitburn, Joel (2009). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles (12th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 697. ISBN 978-0898201802. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
7. Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 244–245. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
8. "RICKY NELSON". Official Charts. 1958-02-27. Retrieved 2024-05-19.
9. "Ricky Sings Again - Songs By Ricky". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
10. "The American Dream: The Complete Imperial and Verve 1957-1962". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
11. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
12. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1996). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 482. ISBN 0-7876-0780-0.
13. "Billboard Spotlight Pick: Ricky Sings Again". Billboard. Vol. 72, no. 2. January 12, 1959. p. 28.
14. "Album Reviews Popular Picks Of The Week: Ricky Sings Again". Cash Box. Vol. 20, no. 16. January 17, 1959. p. 44.