Ed Nelson Jr.

Induction Year: 1973

Birth Name: Edward G. Nelson Jr.

Birth Date: 03-26-1916

Place of Birth: Bronx, New York

Death Date: 05-21-1989

Ed Nelson Jr. was born in New York in 1916. He was the son of pop songwriter and bandleader Ed G. Nelson ("I Apologize," "Setting the Woods on Fire") and the younger brother of fellow Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Steve Nelson.

During World War II, Ed Nelson Jr. was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Special Services as an Army entertainer. He joined ASCAP as a composer in 1952 and often collaborated on songs with his father or with his brother. Like his brother Steve, he began as a pop songwriter but gravitated to country music when he went to work for the Hill & Range music-publishing company.

His biggest song was "I'm Throwing Rice (At the Girl I Love)," a 1949 country hit for both Eddy Arnold and Red Foley. Arnold's version was #1 on the charts for four weeks and was also a Top 20 pop music success. It was co-written with his older brother Steve.

Ed Nelson Jr. was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame along with his brother Steve in 1973.

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Song Catalog

 

"I Wish I Had a Girl Like You, Mother"

(written with Eddy Arnold, Steve Nelson)

Eddy Arnold1949 
 

"I Wish I Had a Sweetheart"

Al Morgan1949 
Dick Haymes1949 
 

"I'll Do as Much for You Someday"

(written with Ed G. Nelson)

Eddy Arnold1962 
Slim Whitman1963 

"I'm Throwing Rice (At the Girl I Love)"

(written with Steve Nelson)

Eddy Arnold1949 #1 country, #18 pop
Red Foley1949 #11 country
Slim Whitman1966 
Jerry Lee Lewis1970 

"My Tormented Heart"

(written with Enrico Toselli)

Sarah Vaughan1952  #27 pop

"One Kiss Too Many"

(written with Eddy Arnold, Steve Nelson)

Eddy Arnold1949 #1 country, #23 pop
 

"Paving the Highway with Tears"

(written with Steve Nelson)

Hank Snow1950 
 

"Send Ten Pretty Flowers (To My Girl in Tennessee)"

(written with Steve Nelson)

Spade Cooley1949 
 

"Show Me the Way Back to Your Heart"

(written with Eddy Arnold, Ed Nelson, Jr. , Zel Soehnel)

Eddy Arnold1949 #7 country
 

"Two Kinds of Love"

(written with Eddie Thorpe, Steve Nelson)

Eddy Arnold1955 #9 country

"Will Santy Come to Shanty Town?"

(written with Eddy Arnold, Steve Nelson)

Eddy Arnold1949 #5 country

"With This Ring, I Thee Wed"

(written with Jack Rollins, Steve Nelson)

Hank Snow1950 

Other Media

Ed Nelson Jr.

Induction Year: 1973