When you hear the name "Nelson" and the word "music", your mind may wander to Willie Nelson, but this week I covered a few of a long line of Nelsons that have no relation with the Willie Nelson in fact, are descendants of the legendary Ricky and Kristen Nelson. This is more than the story of how two twin brothers, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, became multi-platinum songwriters. This is the Nelson family legacy.
It was 1:20pm in the afternoon towards the middle of a long week. My phone buzzed in a silent apartment space with my friend's dog sitting at my feet. I answered the phone hearing Matthew Nelson's voice on the other line. We began our conversation relating all of the details of how we live in the Nashville area, his two year old child, the music industry, but, more importantly, the story he had to tell that lead him and his twin brother to this point.
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson grew up in a household of entertainers. Their father, Ricky Nelson was a well known singer, songwriter, and actor appearing in the show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet". Their mom, Kristen Nelson, also starred in the show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet", and created artwork, such as "Mother May I?"
The line of performers stretches back farther than the eye can see. Born in Santa Monica, California, Matthew and Gunnar were raised into greatness with mom, dad, and grandpa always around the house playing music, practicing their performance skills, and interacting with the twins without missing a beat, pun intended. Matthew received his first bass at the age of seven, and his brother received drums at the same age. They learned to play their respective instruments by ear over a series of years.
By the age of 12, they were playing in nightclubs. This was a time in their lives where the ruthless grunge scene was emerging. The twins learned quickly to protect their equipment after meeting other bands.
Matthew described some of the devious things grunge bands would do to other band's equipment to ruin their show from destroying tubes in the amp to cutting cords. This was in reaction to envy of successful bands. Thankfully, the Nelson family name was well respected enough to not mess with the twins.
How the twins pulled off playing in nightclubs under age was a law passed in California that allowed underage performers to play in nightclubs/ bars if they are accompanied by a parent or guardian, and they must leave as soon as their set is over.
In 1985, their father died in a tragic plane accident. The accident was not easy for the family to take in, but a breath of relief came when Saturday Night Live asked the twins not only play a set on the show, but to be the first unsigned band to play.
At the age of 19 years old, the two brothers received their first deal with Geffen Records. The twins worked hard on their songwriting skills at this point learning new instruments, taking instruction from their mentors, and creating a hit #1 song titled "Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection." The RIAA certified the song as a double platinum record selling over 3,000,000 copies in its June 26th, 1990 debut.
Not only was this a huge success for the twins, but the Nelson family was put into the Guinness Book of World Records for the first family to have three generations of #1 status performers.
The Nelson brothers continued to write music after touring off of their first album. They created a concept album titled Imagination, which aimed towards how the media was shaping people's minds. Geffen did not want to release the album so the brothers went back to the drawing board with the option to either leave or create a new album. The result was the release of "Because They Can", but it was not what the brothers really wanted to release.
Shortly after the release, the brothers left their contract where they started Stone Canyon Records to tie in with their independent release of "Imaginator". Matthew stated, "One copy sold was a victory for us."
The Nelson brothers continued onward with their success. In 2010, Frontier records signed the brothers. They released three consecutive albums under the label.
In 2017, the twins are starting to re surge writing more music, influencing the community, and starting to get the pieces of their show back together. With so much more time left for the Nelson twins, a legacy continues to shape the minds of the music industry. Their fanbase is growing even faster than before with word getting out of the two making more music, and I hope that you take a moment to end your day with this song.
