In honor of what would’ve been Ricky Nelson’s 86 birthday today (May 8th), here’s an acoustic at-home performance of his classic song, Lonesome Town. I love that record and Ricky Nelson’s performance on it was a big influence on my own vocal style. But I also dig The Cramps version which appeared on their 1977 album Gravest Hits and was a staple of their live shows throughout their career.
If you’re a fan of rockabilly and punk rock, then you no doubt love The Cramps. Their unique blend of juvenile 1950’s rock-n-roll, b-movie horror references and general tongue-in-cheek weirdness left a major impact on the alternative music scene. It was Bad Music for Bad People. So in 2023, when I was invited to perform at a tribute concert for the band in New York City on Mischief Night, I jumped at the chance.
I was told there’d be a house backing band for the night so all I needed to do was walk onstage and sing. The freedom of not being tied down with an instrument, to be able to grab the mic and stalk the stage, to go full Dean Martin, really excited me. But while honored to be asked, I was also intimidated. Choosing a song I could do justice to onstage was tricky—while I myself am no great exhibitionist, Lux Interior was a legendary performer, known for climbing into the audience with complete abandonment, the microphone, like prey, dangling from his mouth. Still, as a fan, I knew Lux shared a deep appreciation of Ricky Nelson, so I chose Lonesome Town.
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
