> At a Glance
> – Identical twins Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, sons of Ricky Nelson, release memoir What Happened to Your Hair? December 16, 2025
> – Ricky Nelson died in a 1985 plane crash after secretly attending his sons’ concert and asking them not to board the doomed flight
> – Three-generation musical family holds Guinness record for successive #1 hits
> – Why it matters: Offers rare, first-hand look inside America’s most famous entertainment dynasty and the tragedy that nearly ended it
Rock duo Nelson-identical twins Gunnar and Matthew-are ready to tell their own story. In an exclusive interview with News Of Los Angeles, the 58-year-old brothers unpack 100 years of family history, their father’s final night, and why they once were millions in debt.
A Family of Firsts
The Nelsons are the only clan to notch #1 records across three straight generations: vaudevillian great-grandparents, sitcom pioneers Ozzie and Harriet, teen idol Ricky, and finally the twins’ own platinum-selling band.
Yet accolades skipped some members:
- Ozzie Nelson wrote, produced, directed and starred in all 435 episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet-zero Emmy nominations
- Ricky Nelson sold half a billion singles, helped invent country-rock-zero Grammys
The Night Everything Changed
On December 31, 1985, the brothers-then 18-were supposed to fly with their dad’s band. A last-minute hunch made Ricky switch them to a commercial flight. The private plane crashed near De Kalb, Texas, killing Ricky and six others.
> Matthew Nelson recalls their final conversation after Ricky surprised them at a gig: “The sun was coming up… he said, ‘I want you to know that I love you, but I admire you as my peers.'”
Life Beyond the Spotlight
The memoir tackles more than tragedy:
- Growing up around their mother’s alcoholism
- Surviving their parents’ messy divorce
- Fighting record-label attempts to “sell posters” instead of music
> “We’ve been broker than broke… but we’ve never given up,” Gunnar Nelson says, crediting gratitude and brotherhood for pulling them through.
Key Takeaways
- What Happened to Your Hair? lands December 16, 2025
- Ricky Nelson’s premonition saved his sons from the fatal flight
- The Nelson family holds a unique three-generation music record
- The twins wrote and produced their own hits to escape the “nepo baby” label
After decades of letting their relatives’ successes define them, Gunnar and Matthew step forward-on their own terms-to set the record straight.
