Gunnar Nelson Net Worth

What is Gunnar Nelson's Net Worth?

Gunnar Nelson is an American musician who has a net worth of $3 million. Gunnar Nelson is best known as a member of the rock band Nelson alongside his twin brother Matthew. The group had its breakthrough in 1990 with its debut album, "After the Rain," which launched the number-one hit single "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection." Other albums by Nelson include "Imaginator," "Life," and "Peace Out."

Early Life

Gunnar Nelson was born on September 20, 1967 in Santa Monica, California to musician and actor Ricky Nelson and his wife Kristin Nelson, a painter and actress. His mother's brother is actor Mark Harmon and his grandfather was musician/band leader/actor Ozzie Nelson. Ricky Nelson died in 1985 in a plane crash at the age of 45. Thanks to divorces and bad management, Ricky was actually in debt to the tune of nearly $1 million at the time of his death.

Gunnar has a twin brother, Matthew Nelson, with whom he got involved in music at an early age. The boys began writing songs when they were just six years old.

Career Beginnings

In the 80s, the Nelson twins performed both as the Nelsons and as the Strange Agents. They were regulars on the Los Angeles club scene. One year after the death of their father in a plane crash, the Nelsons were booked as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live," making them the first unsigned group to perform on the show. During this time in the band's existence, Gunnar played the drums while his brother was the lead singer and bassist. Returning home from the show, Gunnar suggested to his brother that they retool the band so that both of them would share the front stage together. Within a year, he learned the guitar. The Nelsons went on to begin a partnership with A&R executive John Kalodner at Geffen Records. A little later, they co-wrote the song "Two Heads are Better Than One" with Dweezil Zappa; it became the theme song to the 1989 film "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure."

Commercial Breakthrough

Finally signed to Geffen Records, the Nelsons began preparing to record their first studio album. They assembled personnel including drummer Bobby Rock, guitarists Joey Cathcart and Brett Garsed, and keyboardist Paul Mirkovich. Going by the name Nelson, the group released its debut album, "After the Rain," in mid-1990. An instant commercial success, the album reached number 17 on the Billboard 200. Moreover, it launched the number-one hit song "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection," the only single by Nelson to top the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles from "After the Rain" included the title track, "More Than Ever," and "Only Time Will Tell," all solid commercial performers.

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Further Albums

Following a couple years of being on tour, Nelson returned to the studio to record the concept album "Imaginator." Featuring a darker sound than the group's first album, "Imaginator" displeased the executives at Geffen Records, who told Nelson to record another album in its stead. The band subsequently recorded the acoustic-oriented "Because They Can," which was released in 1995. Not long after that, Nelson was released by Geffen. The group went on to finally release its shelved album "Imaginator" in 1996 via Victor Entertainment.

After the release of "Imaginator," Nelson launched its own record label, Stone Canyon Records. The group then released the album "The Silence is Broken" in 1997, followed by "Life" in 1999. Going by the Nelsons, the band released a country album in 2000 entitled "Brother Harmony." The same year, they released a tribute album to their father under the banner of Matthew & Gunnar Nelson; the album was called "Like Father, Like Sons." Following a long hiatus from recording, Nelson returned in 2010, signing to Frontiers Records and releasing the album "Lightning Strikes Twice." Nelson's second and final album with Frontiers, "Peace Out," was released in 2015. Meanwhile, as Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, the twins released a pair of Christmas albums.

Personal Life

In 2014, Nelson married his girlfriend Lila. The couple has three daughters from Lila's prior marriage: Kaithlyn, Aja, and Ariana.

Real Estate

In 2002 Gunnar paid $215,000 for a home in Nashville, Tennessee. He sold the home in September 2014 for $827,000.