Gunnar Nelson

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Gunnar Eric Nelson (born September 20, 1967 in Santa Monica, California) is an American musician.

1 Family
2 Music
3 Celebrity Fit Club 3
4 Misc
5 Recent Work
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Family

Gunnar is the son of the late American teen idol Ricky Nelson and actress Kristin Harmon. He is the identical twin brother of musician Matthew Nelson and brother of actress Tracey Nelson and musician Sam Nelson.

His paternal grandparents are Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard from the long running TV series Ozzie and Harriet.

His maternal grandparents are football player and sports broadcaster Tom Harmon and the 1940s "B" movie actress Elyse Knox. His maternal uncle is actor Mark Harmon.

[edit] Music

Gunnar began playing music when he was 7-years-old after receiving a drum kit on his birthday. His twin brother followed 6 months later with a bass guitar of his own. They played together for five years in a hayloft above the barn at their parent's Studio City farm.

Gunnar began his professional debut at 12 years of age, when he and his brother began to circuit the LA club scene in the early 80's with their punk/power pop trio The Strange Agents sharing the stages of world famous clubs like Madame Wongs, The Whiskey, The Roxy, The Central, and the Blue Lagoon Saloon with New Wave and Power Pop icons of the day like The Go Go's, The Plimsouls, The Knack, The Bangles, and The Romantics.

As an underage act, they were instrumental in the formation of a current California law that makes legal for an underage performer to play an over 21 establishment as long as the act is escorted out of a nightclub immediately following their performance.

Two months after their father, Ricky Nelson died in a tragic airplane accident, Gunnar and Matthew's band became the only unsigned band in history to play on a previously booked engagement on the television show Saturday Night Live.

However, Gunnar was unsettled about the direction the band was headed in and on the plane ride home following what should have been the national kick-off of a very promising career, he did something completely unexpected: He informed his brother that he was going to stop playing the drums and learn how to play the guitar in order to co-front the band and immersed himself in the guitar playing to instructional audio and video tapes every single day eight hours a day for a full year after which he emerged as a professional-level guitar player.

The two spent the next two years learning how to write songs and in the process, met LA artist/producer Marc Tanner who became their mentor. Together, Marc, Gunnar, and Matthew brainstormed and wrote what would become the triple-platinum After The Rain album in 1990 after beign signed to Geffen Records in 1989.

Their singles, "(I Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection", "After the Rain", "More Than Ever", Only Time Will Tell" and "(You Got Me) All Shook Up" the After the Rain all held positions on Billboard's top 40 with Love and Affection reaching #1 in September of 1990 after receiving airplay on MTV where they also had #1 videos.

With the hit Gunnar and Matthew penned, (I Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection reaching the #1 position on the charts, the Nelsons landed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only family have #1 records in three successive generations (their grandfather, Ozzie Nelson, had a #1 hit with "And Then Some" in 1934 and their father Ricky Nelson had #1 hits with "Poor Little Fool" in 1960 and "Travelin' Man" in 1962).

Gunnar co-founded Stone Canyon Records label with brother Matthew in 1995 after leaving Geffen Records and released seven albums on that lable.

Gunnar plays a variety of instruments, including the drums,electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, piano, and bazouki.

Nelson has also had success overseas garnering #1 hits in Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Phillippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Magazines including Rolling Stone and People Magazine did cover stories on Gunnar and Matthew and they have performed on popular television shows including Late Night With David Letterman and Saturday Night Live in 1986.

Recently Nelson has toured extensively with Peter Frampton and Styx.

Gunnar and Matthew continue to tour the world performing for audiences ranging from 20 close friends at Nashville's intimate Blue Bird Cafe to crowds of over 60,000 (their largest) at Erie, PA's Party at the Pier.

[edit] Celebrity Fit Club 3

In 2005, Gunnar became a cast member of Celebrity Fit Club (US TV series) 3 after actor Jeff Conaway left due to drug related problems. The show began airing on VH1 in 2006.

Even though to most observers -- including the other cast members -- Gunnar wasn't extremely overweight (he was only a few pounds from the ideal weight for someone of his stature according to the show's experts), Gunnar said he wanted to exchange fat for muscle during his first appearance on the show and noted that he had already been losing weight on his own before being asked to become a cast member.

Gunnar also appeared to have issues with his mother which the show's psychologist, Linda Papadopoulos, helped him work through during a televised trip to see his mother in New Mexico. On the trip home, Gunnar told Papdopoulos he felt validated by his mother for the first time.

During the show, he lost a total of 23 pounds and he continued to lose weight after the show ended.

[edit] Misc

Gunnar and his brother have appeared on VH1 in the "I LOVE THE" series appearing in "I Love the '70s: Volume 2" in 2006 and "I Love the 80's 3-D" in 2005.

Gunnar was also the co-host of LIFETIME Radio’s nationally syndicated morning show in 2005.

The A&E Channel’s Nelson Family “Biography” episode is reported to have been the top-rated Biography installment ever.

Gunnar performed the theme song "Team Chaotix" for Team Chaotix in the Sega game Sonic Heroes in 2003.

The band Nelson has a large and active Street Team that is involved with, among other activities, charitable work.

[edit] Recent Work

Currently Gunnar is touring with his band Nelson performing full band shows as well as acoustic duos with his brother. The shows include their own hits as well as those of their late father. Along with the pop/metal music they have always performed, the Nelson brothers have also recorded country music.

In addition, Gunnar along with fellow musicians Kelly Keagy and Mark Slaughter have formed a band called Scrap Metal for which they are currently recording material and planning a tour.

Gunnar currently resides in Nashville, TN.