> Two of the main stars of Rio Bravo, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, were also known for their careers as popular singers - although their styles were very different and they appealed to different generations of fans. Martin was well known as a singer and straight man from his ten-year-long (1946-1956) partnership with comedian Jerry Lewis. Martin's recording career spanned from 1946 to 1985 during which he released 32 studio albums and 83 singles. Martin was renown for his breezy crooner style and is remembered for such songs as "That's Amore," "Memories Are Made of This," "Standing on the Corner," "Volare," "Ain't That a Kick In the Head?," "Who's Got the Action?," and "Everybody Loves Somebody" -- all of which charted in the 1950s and early 1960s.

> Ricky Nelson was a child actor who became a famous singing star. He was the real-life son of the stars of the comedy The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which was a hit on radio starting in 1944, then on television beginning in 1952. Their sons on the show were first played by actors, but in 1949 eight-year old Ricky joined the show along with his twelve-year old brother David. Ricky's parents had a musical background (Ozzie was a big band orchestra leader while Harriet was the band's singer) so it was natural for Ricky to be inclined toward music as well. In 1956, sixteen-year-old Ricky fell in love with Rock 'n' Roll, and particularly the Rockabilly sounds of Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley. Thanks in part to exposure on his TV show, Ricky's first release, a cover of the Fats Domino song "I'm Walkin'," went to #4 on the Billboard charts, while the flip-side of the single charted even higher. Ricky went on to become a "teen idol" and his popularity even rivaled that of Elvis (especially when Elvis became sidelined by the draft and sent to serve the military, stationed in Germany). In the years from 1957 to 1962, Ricky had a staggering 30 top-charting songs, second only to Elvis. It would have been easy for the teenager to have been marketed through television and to have turned out a string of forgettable prefabricated pop songs, but what is remarkable is that Nelson exerted control over his output and kept his love of Rockabilly pure. Utilizing top California songwriters and expert players like his close friend, guitarist James Burton, Ricky Nelson hits such as "Believe What You Say," "Hello May Lou," "Be-Bop Baby," "Poor Little Fool," and "Lonesome Town" helped define the California Rockabilly sound and have remained respected examples of the form ever since.

> Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson performed one song together in Rio Bravo, "My Rifle, My Pony, and Me" (Music by Dimitri Tiomkin, lyrics by Paul Francis Webster). In addition, Martin can be heard singing the title tune (also by Tiomkin and Webster) under the credits, and Nelson performs a novelty song called "Cindy" with co-star Walter Brennan.