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Music Match

If You Like Ricky Nelson, Try Andrew Belle

Andrew Belle performing at Off Broadway in St. Louis in May.Credit...Tim Bottchen

Each week, Val Haller, a music-obsessed baby boomer and the founder of the Web site Valslist.com, matches tracks from her generation to those of her 20-something sons’ generation.

Is TV the new radio? I know I have discovered songs on shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Newsroom" and found myself paying attention to a Cadillac commercial because the music drew me in. This week's pair of artists is matched in part because they owe much of their fame to TV. Their careers are separated by five decades — from the rabbit ears era to the flat screen — but it was television that introduced Ricky Nelson and Andrew Belle to a wider public.

Ricky Nelson~It's All In The GameCredit...CreditVideo by marieren

RICKY NELSON

Ricky Nelson was born Eric Hilliard Nelson in 1940 to Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard, his real-life and TV parents. Their long-running TV series, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952 to '66), invited you into the Nelson living room, although not in quite the same way as when the Kardashians invite you in. Ricky's character started as the athletic little brother and turned into a musical heartthrob, often performing with his band on the show. To quote his online bio, "Through the novel power of television, Rick Nelson became one of the first artists that audiences saw and heard simultaneously.” During the 1950s, the bio points out, rock ’n’ roll still had a salacious reputation for a segment of the American public, but it was not quite so threatening when sung by "that nice Nelson boy."

ANDREW BELLE

The music career of Andrew Belle, a Chicago singer/songwriter, was bolstered when tracks from his 2008 self-released debut EP, “All Those Pretty Lights,” and his 2010 album, "The Ladder," were featured in an impressive collection of hit TV shows, including "Grey's Anatomy," "One Tree Hill," "The Vampire Diaries," "90210" and "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." In a recent interview Mr. Belle said, "When we released the EP we hired a radio promoter, hoping to get our music to college radio stations." Turned out, his big break came when a music supervisor (someone who places music in film, TV, advertising and other media) heard him online. Next came a licensing deal; national radio airplay; a John Lennon songwriting grand prize award; a No. 1 spot on iTunes Charts; Nashville's Ten Out of Tenn songwriters' touring group; and this summer, a national tour as the headliner. His new album, "Black Bear," which has a touch of electronica, will be out on Aug. 20.

I’ve personally witnessed this rise. Andrew Belle was my first house concert five years ago. Since then he has become quite a heartthrob to his many fans. Recently married, Andrew lives in Chicago with his wife, a chef, and to his music manager’s chagrin, he has also taken up cooking as a serious pursuit.

He was born Drew Fortson, in Wheaton, Ill.,to artistic parents who discouraged listening to popular music. His early music influences were smuggled in on a friend’s Walkman. It paid off, as this stellar voice was meant to sing. As a bonus track, here he is covering Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

Previous Music Matches can be found here.

Booming: Living Through the Middle Ages offers news and commentary about baby boomers, anchored by Michael Winerip. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here. You may also follow Booming via RSS here or visit nytimes.com/booming. Our e-mail is booming@nytimes.com.

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