Travelin' Man Ricky Nelson Written by Jerry Fuller. Rick Nelson released this song in May 1961 and it shortly hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 45 flip side of this famous song contained another great hit, "Hello, Mary Lou." The song details the loves of a traveling man: a pretty senorita in Mexico, an eskimo in Alaska, a fraulein in Berlin a china doll in Hong Kong, and a Polynesian in Waikiki. Although quite popular in his heyday, rick Nelson's popularity declined with the advent of the Beatles. In fact, his last hit song, "Garden party," 1972, was written in disgust after a Madison Square Garden audience booed him becasue he trie dto play new songs instead of his old ones. Ricky was born Eric Hilliard Nelson but later changed his name. From 1957 to 1962, Nelson had thirty Top-40 hits, more than any other artist at the time except Presley (who had 53) and Pat Boone (38). Only Elvis surpassed his popularity in as a rock and roll artist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Ricky was the first teen idol to use TV to promote his music. The short film used to promote Travelin' Man is often considered to be the very first music video. Nelson was a brown belt in karate before going to learn Jeet Kunde Do, and was considered an accomplished martial artist. In 1985 Nelson joined a nostalgia rock tour of the United States and was on his way to Dallas, Tx from Guntersville, Alabama in a chartered DC3 when it crashed in De Kalb, Texas. Nelson and six others were killed, but the pilot and co-pilot survived.