It's Up to You


manXcat
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manXcat
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05/13/2022 1:50 am

Probably for reasons of copyright, none of the songs made hits and famous by the late Ricky Nelson in the last years of the 1950s through early '60s are taught here despite there being a significant audience of late starters on Guitar Tricks who might be familiar with them having grown up during that period with them playing on the radio, or older brothers and sisters playing his records as was my experience. [br][br]Reason for posting. For those starting out, pleasing to the ear as they were as commercially appealing as Ricky was to every teenage girl not legally blind,[u] most of his big hits have a fairly straightforward open chord structure any beginner with a couple of months exposure to Guitar Tricks under their belt should be able to attempt to play easily enough[/u], but which present a great vehicle e.g. for developing musicality. [br][br][br][u]How to play[br][/u][br]"It's Up To You" (1962). key of D. This one is simple enough to learn with a little persistence. Just one barre chord, Bm, which you can sub with open Bm if necessary. Even its short but pretty and effective solo (bridge) is simpler than it at first might appear. Transpose to G for an easier chord progression version if if preferred.[br][br]Others worth a visit if the style appeals and you're looking for easy songs to play on acoustic within early capability are;[br][br] "Poor Little Fool" (1958) key of C and,

"Travellin' Man" (1961) key of D[br][br]Although the latter does use Bm & F#m barre chords, both are pretty easy.[br][br]Enjoy![br][br][br][br][br][br][br][br]


# 1
john of MT
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john of MT
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05/13/2022 2:43 am

manXcat -

A fun post.

I confess to having a soft spot for Nelson's records which comes with my extended time hanging around the planet. The thing is... at this time in life it's hard for me to pull off Teenage Idol with a straight face. But... 'I gotta please myself.'


"It takes a lot of devotion and work, or maybe I should say play, because if you love it, that's what it amounts to. I haven't found any shortcuts, and I've been looking for a long time."
-- Chet Atkins
# 2
manXcat
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manXcat
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05/13/2022 3:47 am

Thanks john.[br][br]Ricky's performance of his songs pleasing to my ear too. Until late 1962 and the impact of The Beatles -at least outside the US who were late to that party, challenged only by Elvis most teen girls wanted him, and most boys wanted to look like him, and I can't say I blame either. [br][br] I loved "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" in all its glorious B&W on a 21" CRT in its day, although the capital city in Australia I grew up in didn't even have a single TV channel until September 1959! In hindsight, that wasn't actually a life negative. [br][br]We didn't have a household TV until October '64, so I used to lie on neighbours' floor to watch it on their TVs with their kids and teen daughters as it was one of the first programs typical of sitcoms of the day broadcast on TV here. As that was around the time Ricky was a teen idol and his songs were playing on the radio ....

Wth three much older brothers, the closest to me then still in his teen years I was very aware of Ricky Nelson.[br][br] Hearin' ya re the titles, lyrics and their intended target audience vs a fit for this singer 60 years later. = ] The mirror's reflection doesn't match this souls ínner projection of the song any more either.


# 3
manXcat
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manXcat
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05/13/2022 10:25 pm

Probably because of checking those links in my initial post in this thread, this popped up in my list of suggestions later in the day. [br][br]Always interested to see other's interpretations and perform, I watched it without preknowledge of who Brooke White was, or of her 2008 American Idol contestant history until afterwards.[br][br]Uploaded 9 years ago now, not only a great clip to accompany an appealing performance, this is as cute as it gets. To think that 'poor little fool' would be around 9 going on 10 YOA now.[br][br]So talented and entertaining, how the (now no longer quite so) young generation perform it. Check it out.[br][br]Brooke White sings "Poor Little Fool" (cover) at home.


# 4
john of MT
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john of MT
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05/13/2022 10:40 pm

Oh. My.


"It takes a lot of devotion and work, or maybe I should say play, because if you love it, that's what it amounts to. I haven't found any shortcuts, and I've been looking for a long time."
-- Chet Atkins
# 5

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