Spotlight on Rick

{{Infobox album

| name = Spotlight on Rick

| type = studio

| artist = Rick Nelson

| cover = Spotlight on Rick.jpg

| released = November 23, 1964

| genre = Rock and roll

| length = 28:00

| label = Decca

| producer = Charles "Bud" Dant

| prev_title = The Very Thought of You

| prev_year = 1964

| next_title = Best Always

| next_year = 1965

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Spotlight on Rick

| type = studio

| single1 = A Happy Guy

| single1date = November 9, 1964

}}

Spotlight on Rick is the eleventh studio album by rock and roll and pop idol Rick Nelson and his fourth for Decca Records, released on November 23, 1964.

The track, "A Happy Guy", was released as a single and peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstop00whitbur/page/502/mode/2up |title=Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002 |date=2003 |publisher=Record Research |isbn=0898201551 |location=Menomonee Falls, Wisc. |pages=502}} and number 83 on the Cashbox singles chart.{{Cite book |last=Downey |first=Pat |url=https://archive.org/details/cashboxpopsingle00down/page/244/mode/2up |title=Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993 |date=1994 |publisher=Libraries Unlimited |isbn=1-56308-316-7 |location=Englewood, Colo. |pages=244–245}} it features the early recording of "I'm a Fool" (which would later be a hit for Dino, Desi & Billy the following year) and a cover of Chuck Berry "I'm Talking About You",{{Cite book |last=Selvin |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/rickynelsonidolf00selv/page/161/mode/2up |title=Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation |date=1990 |publisher=Contemporary Books |isbn=978-0-8092-4187-3 |location=Chicago |pages=161–162}}(which he would re-record it on his album Garden Party 8 years later).{{Cite book |last=Selvin |first=Joel |url=https://archive.org/details/rickynelsonidolf00selv/page/207/mode/2up |title=Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation |date=1990 |publisher=Contemporary Books |others= |isbn=978-0-8092-4187-3 |location=Chicago |pages=207}} Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and Charles "Bud" Dant produced it.

The album debuted on the Cashbox looking ahead albums chart in the issue dated January 16, 1965, and remained on the chart for four weeks, peaking at number 107.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

The album was released on compact disc by Ace Records on December 9, 1997, as tracks 13 through 24 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 1 through 12 consisting of Nelson's 1964 album, The Very Thought of You.{{cite web |title=Very Thought of You/Spotlight on Rick |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/very-thought-of-you-spotlight-on-rick-mw0000054522 |access-date=15 September 2024 |work=allmusic.com |publisher=}} Bear Family included the album in the 2008 For You: The Decca Years box set.{{cite web |title=For You: The Decca Years |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/for-you-the-decca-years-mw0000495779 |access-date=29 November 2024 |website=AllMusic}}

Reception

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}

| rev2 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2score = {{rating|2|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2007 |publisher=Omnibus Press |page=1020 |isbn=9781846098567 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofpo0000unse_v3u2/page/1020/mode/2up |accessdate=23 July 2024}}

| rev3 = Record Mirror

| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite news |date=April 10, 1965 |title=A POUNDING BLUESY ALBUM FROM JOHN MAYALL AND AN INDIVIDUAL SEARCHERS SOUND |work=Record Mirror |page=8 |issue=213}}

}}

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic wrote that 'Nelson's mid-'60s albums would have seemed like far more respectable efforts had they been able to escape comparison with a fast-changing rock scene. which had some average contributions by above-average writers like Baker Knight and Jerry Fuller. An energetic stab at Chuck Berry's "I'm Talking About You," and a nice tune from the pen of ex-Cricket Sonny Curtis ("Don't Breathe a Word"), were mild highlights'.{{Cite web |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=Rick Nelson – ''Spotlight on Rick": Album Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/spotlight-on-rick-mw0000848754 |access-date=2023-10-09 |publisher=AllMusic}}

Billboard selected the album for a "Spotlight Album" review, and stated his easy-going ballads and delivered in his usual winning style. The songs are teen-grooved".{{cite magazine |date=November 28, 1964 |title=Billboard Spotlight Pick: Spotlight on Rick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OyAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PT1&vq=rick%20nelson&pg=PT1#v=onepage&q&f=false |magazine=Billboard |page=64 |volume=76 |issue=48 |editor=}}

Cashbox stated his "distinctive wide range baritone voice and emotion-packed delivery carries him in good stead."{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox26unse_10/page/22/mode/2up |title=Cash Box |date=1964-11-28 |publisher=Cash Box Pub. Co. |isbn= |location= |pages=22}}

Record World described the album as a "plain good listening".{{Cite magazine |last1= |first1= |date=November 21, 1964 |title=Album Reviews: Pick Hits |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/64/RW-1964-11-21.pdf |access-date=May 27, 2025 |magazine=Record World |page=10 |volume=18 |issue=911}}

Variety praised Nelson for "his delivering his ballads with strong rock feeling and belting out the uptempo sides in a manner that should catch the teen beaters."{{Cite magazine |date=November 25, 1964 |title=Variety Record Reviews Mexico, Bobby Darin, Ethel Ennis, Coyle & Sharpe, Nelson, The Kinks, Springfield, Welk Top New LPs: Spotlight on Rick |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1964-11-25_237_1/page/46/mode/2up |magazine=Variety |pages=46 |volume=237 |issue=1}}