Ricky Nelson was a rockabilly guy and a very good one. He gets lost in the shuffle because he was a huge teenage actor at the time on his family’s show…The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Actors that switch to music are sometimes looked over but Nelson was very successful. All in all, he released 94 singles and 24 studio albums in his career. When talking about the fifties though….Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, and Elvis get brought up a lot but Nelson not as much.
t’s Late was written by Dorsey Burnette and his cousin Johnny Burnette and Dorsey released it in 1958. The following year Nelson recorded and released the song. It peaked at #9 on the Billboard 100 and #3 in the UK in 1959.
I went through a Ricky Nelson phase when I graduated high school in 1985. I purchased a greatest hits package and was learning more songs from him. I wanted to go see him perform that year and I kept waiting for him to appear somewhere because I heard he was touring. This was before the internet and you had to look at the newspapers for any announcements and listen to the radio. Musicians would play at places and you would never know sometimes.
I never got a chance to see him because on December 31, 1985, his chartered jet crashed killing him and six other passengers.
I have to admit…I like the Dorsey Burnette version of this also.
It’s Late
It’s late, it’s late
We gotta get on home It’s late, it’s late We’ve been gone too longToo bad, too bad
We shoulda checked our time Can’t phone, can’t phone We done spent every dimeIt’s late, it’s late
We’re ’bout to run outta gas It’s late, it’s late We gotta get home fastCan’t speed, can’t speed
We’re in a slow-down zone Baby, look at that clock Why can’t it be wrongIf we coulda left home at a quarter to nine
Woulda had fun and plenty of time We got started just a little bit late Hope this won’t be our last dateLook up, look up
Is that the moon we see? Can’t be, can’t be Looks like the sun to meIt’s late, it’s late
I hate to face your dad Too bad, too bad I know he’s gonna be madIt’s late, it’s late
We gotta get on home It’s late, it’s late We’ve been gone too longIt’s late, it’s late
We’re ’bout to run outta gas It’s late, it’s late We gotta get home fastCan’t speed, can’t speed
We’re in a slow-down zone Baby, look at that clock Why can’t it be wrongIf we coulda left home at a quarter to nine
Woulda had fun and plenty of time We got started just a little bit late Hope this won’t be our last dateLook up, look up
Is that the moon we see? Can’t be, can’t be Looks like the sun to meIt’s late, it’s late
I hate to face your dad Too bad, too bad I know he’s gonna be madIt’s late, it’s late
We gotta get on home It’s late, it’s late We’ve been gone too longIt’s late
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