The album debuted on the Billboard Best Selling LPs chart in the issue dated September 29, 1959, remaining on the chart for 26 weeks and peaking at number 22.[3] It reached No. 9 on the Cashbox albums chart during a 19-week stay on the chart.[4] Successful singles from the album include "Just a Little Too Much" and "Sweeter Than You", both of which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[5] They reached numbers 11 and 18, respectively, on the Cashbox Singles Chart[6] and peaked at numbers 11 and 65 in the UK[7]
The album was released on compact disc by Capitol Records on June 19, 2001, as tracks 18 through 29 on a pairing of two albums on one disc with tracks 1 through 12 consisting of Nelson's other Imperial album from January 1959, Ricky Sings Again.[8]Bear Family included also the album in the 2001 The American Dream box set.[9]
Variety notes "Nelson has a pleasnt set of pipes which he uses well within the relatively narrow vocal and emotional range of songs",[11]Cashbox gave the album a positive reviews, describing the album as a "Great teen merchandise"[12]
William Ruhlmann of AllMusic thought "The result was a consistent record by a writing and performing team at the peak of its powers, everyone contributing to an overall sound that was a rhythmic, smooth development on the kind of raw rockabilly invented in Memphis by the original artists at Sun Records. and Nelson had turned into a supple vocalist with a sure sense of the material."[1]
