LOS ANGELES (Geffen/UMe Records) - The above quote could very well be repeated by Gunnar and Matthew
Nelson in 2004. As
Nelson performs on the VH1 Classic Summer Hits Tour with Styx and
Peter Frampton this May-June, the identical twin sons of rock 'n' roller Rick
Nelson and grandsons of '50s/'60s television stars Ozzie and Harriet
Nelson relive with their fans that joy of music.
The Best Of Nelson edition of '20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection' (Geffen/UMe), released June 15, 2004, does the same by bringing together 11 digitally remastered selections, including their four Top 30 pop hits, from Nelson's pair of major label albums.
With their long blonde hair, wholesome good looks, and big, melodic, vocal guitar rock, Matthew and Gunnar became MTV idols with the 1990 release of their triple platinum debut album 'After the Rain.' When "(Can't Live Without Your) Love And Affection" hit No 1 pop, the Nelsons became the only family to reach No 1 in three successive generations.
When they were seven, their parents bought Gunnar a drum set and Matthew a bass. They wrote their first song when they were going on 10. At 13, they started playing nightclubs with their own band. In 1986, shortly after their father died in a New Years' Eve plane crash, the band played on "Saturday Night Live" - but they would not be signed to Geffen until 1988.
When released as After The Rain's first single, "(Can't Live Without Your) Love And Affection" hit No 1 in 1990 on the brothers' 22nd birthday.
The Best Of Nelson also includes the album's "After The Rain" (No 6), "More Than Ever" (No 14), "Only Time Will Tell" (No 28), "I Can Hardly Wait" and "Fill You Up." But Nelson's sharp rise to stardom was followed by drastic changes in pop music - and at Geffen, which launched Nirvana.
Nelson's next album, 'Because they Can, would not be heard until 1995. Its "(You Got Me) All Shook Up," "Cross My Broken Heart," "Won't Walk Away," "Love Me Today" and "Nobody Wins In The End" unveiled a more organic, acoustic-textured sound, but the momentum was gone and the times had changed.
After that, the Nelsons started their own independent label, Stone Canyon Records, and have since continued to tour, performing their hits, new originals and even a selection of their late father's rock 'n' roll classics for fans who remember Nelson with love and affection.
The series 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection, featuring new "best of" albums from the most significant music artists of the past century, is the most successful single artist series in music history.
