Nelson (duo) - WikiHQ

Nelson is an American hard rock duo consisting of brothers Matthew and Gunnar Nelson. They are the twin sons of Rick Nelson and Kristin Nelson. The duo achieved success during the early 1990s with their debut album After the Rain, that included "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection".

After the success of their first album, Nelson claimed they experienced conflicts with their record label, lack of support from the media, and the shift in music towards grunge and alternative rock. They eventually split with Geffen Records in 1995. Despite this, the duo has continued to produce and release albums independently under their own label, Stone Canyon Records.

Matthew and Gunnar also perform under the name of Ricky Nelson Remembered, as a tribute to their father. They are listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only family to reach number one record status in three successive generations (beginning with grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson).

History

Early years

Born on September 20, 1967, Matthew and Gunnar Nelson are the twin sons of Rick Nelson and Kristin Nelson, and were involved in music from an early age. In an interview, Gunnar once said that he and Matthew had been writing songs since they were six years old.

As the band tried to find a record deal, they settled with Geffen Records and began approaching A&R executive John Kalodner. According to Gunnar, they met with Kalodner "every month for a year", during which he filtered the songs they brought him until they had enough for an album. They were also introduced to Marc Tanner, who helped them polish their songwriting skills.

Record deal and success with After the Rain

upright=1.2|thumb|Nelson in 1991

After a year of meeting with Kalodner without being signed, Matthew and Gunnar met with him, against the wishes of their managers, and played an acoustic version of "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". Kalodner was impressed and the band was signed the next day.

The full band headed to the studio where they worked with Marc Tanner. According to the Nelsons, John Kalodner "basically let us do our own thing".

In 2004, the brothers went out on the road for the summer opening for Styx and Peter Frampton in arenas.

Later years

In 2010, Nelson reached a record deal with Frontiers Records. They released three albums almost consecutively. The first, Before the Rain, is a collection of demos made during the After the Rain sessions. The second one is Perfect Storm, which is a compilation of live recordings from the After the Rain world tour. This is notable because, despite being such a massive world tour that covered almost 300 dates across the world, no official recording was made of it. The third album was a new studio album called Lightning Strikes Twice, which features new material from the band. It is the first original studio album from the band since Life was released in 1999.

The release of the three albums in 2010 coincided with the band's official anniversary. For it, they organized a 20th Anniversary Tour around several countries. Singer/guitarist Mark Slaughter joined Nelson for the tour, which began at the Firefest in Nottingham, England.

In addition to touring as Nelson, the twin singer-songwriters also perform a separate tribute act for their father, called Ricky Nelson Remembered. Additionally, they perform with celebrity all-star rock band Scrap Metal.

In 2015, the band released their final album with Frontiers, Peace Out. That same year, the brothers released a Christmas album titled This Christmas; it was followed up with a deluxe edition the following year titled This Christmas Too.

In 2025, the band was featured in the finale of season 2 of Peacemaker, playing their song "To Get Back to You". They also released their autobiography What Happened To Your Hair?!<nowiki/>' in December of that year.

In April 2026, Nelson announced a return to Frontiers Records after a decade hiatus from rock music. A new comeback album is currently in the works; it is their first rock album since 2015 with a full band. They are also expected to make a full band appearance at the next Frontiers Rock Festival, which is due to take place on May 3, 2026 in Italy.

Band members

Current members

Matthew Nelson – lead vocals, bass, guitars
Gunnar Nelson – lead vocals, guitars, drums, keyboards

Former members

Brett Garsed – guitars, backing vocals
Joey Cathcart – guitars, backing vocals (died: 2021)
Paul Mirkovich – keyboards, backing vocals
Bobby Rock – drums

Discography

thumb|Nelson in 2007

Albums

After the Rain (1990) No. 17 US – RIAA: Double Platinum, AUS No. 100

!width="40"|NZ

!width="40"|UK

! Album

| rowspan="2"|1990

| "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection"

| align="center"| 1

| align="center"| 20

| align="center"| 11

| align="center"| 20

| align="center"| 44

| align="center"| 54

| rowspan="4"|After the Rain

| "After the Rain"

| align="center"| 6

| align="center"| 39

| align="center"| 6

| align="center"| 75

| align="center"| —

| rowspan="2"|1991

| "More Than Ever"

| align="center"| 14

| align="center"| 44

| align="center"| 30

| align="center"| 191

| align="center"| —

| "Only Time Will Tell"

| align="center"| 28

| align="center"| —

| align="center"| 81

| align="center"| 124

| align="center"| —

| rowspan="3" |1995

| "(You Got Me) All Shook Up"

| 104

| align="center"| —

| rowspan="3" |Because They Can

| "Cross My Broken Heart"

| align="center"| —

| "Won't Walk Away"

| align="center"| —

Guest singles

{| class="wikitable"

! Year

! Song

! Artist

! width="40"| US Hot 100

! width="40"| US AC

! width="40"| Can RPM 100

! rowspan="1"| Album

| 1991

| "Voices That Care"

| Various artists

| align="center"|11

| align="center"|6

| align="center"|61

| align="left"| single only

Music videos

{| class="wikitable"

! Year

! Video

! Director

| 1991

| "Voices That Care"(Various Artists)

| Jim Yukich

References

External links

Gunnar Nelson Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2018)
Matthew Nelson Interview at NAMM Oral History Library (2018)