Ricky Nelson died on December 31, 1985, at age 45, in a plane crash near De Kalb, Texas, along with his fiancée and five others, en route to a New Year’s Eve concert in Dallas after a show in Alabama. The crash of the chartered DC-3 was caused by a fire that started in the cabin, possibly from a faulty heater, leading to a crash landing where only the two pilots survived. His song “Poor Little Fool”: Made history as the first song to top the newly launched Billboard Hot 100 in August 1958, selli