IN THE MIX Nicolette Larson Edition Vol. 1 - Lotta Love

IN THE MIX Nicolette Larson Edition Vol. 1 contains a lot of Neil Young.  Young photographer/archivist Joel Bernstein said: “With the possible exception of (Crazy Horse guitarist) Danny Whitten, Nicolette sang better with Neil than anyone.  Nicolette and Danny absolutely were the two best singers with Neil who really understood his singing, his soulfulness, and what to get across.”

And, of course, Neil wrote her #8 hit Lotta Love, which was everywhere in 1978.

But she really elevated the role of backup singer and managed to supply exactly what was needed in songs by Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Commander Cody, Jesse Winchester, Andrew Gold, The Georgia Satellites, Gary Stewart, Weird Al Yankovic, & Linda Ronstadt who was also her roommate and roller skating partner.  In fact, Larson bought Ronstadt the roller skates she wore on the cover of her Living in The USA album.

Nicolette’s also the only female to sing on a Van Halen track.  She was a collaborator at heart, and co-wrote songs with Hoyt Axton among others.  When the pop hits dried up, she recorded country music in Nashville, and had a hit duet with Steve Wariner that’s included here.

She moved from Missouri to California to be a singer, and David Nichtern, who wrote Midnight At The Oasis, hired her to sing in his band.  She eventually married his steel guitar player Hank DeVito, & the best man was fledgling songwriter Rodney Crowell.  Hank was hired as a member of Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band, which lead to Larson’s duet with Emmylou on Hello Stranger.

Emmylou introduced Larson to Linda Ronstadt, and Ronstadt recommended her to Neil Young.  In fact, Young asked three different people to suggest a background singer, and all three of them recommended Larson.  She wound up having an affair with him, and her husband wrote Queen Of Hearts about it.  She didn't seem to have "a type" having dated; De Vito, Young, Andrew Gold, Cameron Crowe, & Weird Al Yankovic.

I’ll share some more of her history when I post Volume 2.  I really enjoyed my deep dive into Nicolette’s music, and I hope you do, too.