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.
Downloaders are asked to share their favorite musician joke.
ReplyDeleteI’ll go first.
What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend?
Homeless.
IN THE MIX Nicolette Larson Edition Vol. 1
https://pixeldrain.com/u/dSWouykB
THANK YOUUU
ReplyDeleteNo Joke-Thanks Much for this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Tinman!
DeleteHow can you tell if the stage is level? Drool comes out of both sides of the drummer's mouth. You guise are definitely NOT down to seeds and stems with this post! HANX!!!
ReplyDeleteNICE ONE!
DeleteI had one earlier; How Many Folksingers are needed to change a lightbulb
ReplyDeleteFour. One to do the work, and a folk trio to sing how great the old one was
One was rejected some time ago. Maybe here:
A friend was running a school choir, called Kids Voice. I said that my idea was for young violinists......(auto censor)
I have some (very) old jokes:
Q - What is the difference between a trampoline and a viola? A - You have to take your shoes of to jump on a trampoline.
Q - Why do most people take an instant dislike of violists? A - Saves time.
Q - What's the difference between a violist and a dog? A - A dog CAN stop scratching
Q - How do you get four viola players in tune? A - Shoot three of them
Once, at a classical music interpretation of Star Wars I sat near an oboe player, and was impressed. At a quiet moment he leaned towards me and whispered
Oboe-wan ken-Oboe
The "instant dislike" joke made me laugh out loud. Thank you, Richard!
DeleteWhat do you call a person who hangs out with musicians?
ReplyDeleteA Drummer.
Sweet! Thanks Anonymous!
DeleteWhat do you call a beautiful woman on a trombonist's arm?
ReplyDeleteA tattoo
Best regards
Zippy
A Classic, Zippy!
DeleteWhat do you call a gingerbread man with one leg bitten off?
ReplyDeleteLimp Bizkit.
Nice!
DeleteI had no idea that "Queen of Hearts" was about Nicolette! I guess writing a hit song was bittersweet revenge for her ex-husband. Nicolette probably didn't enjoy hearing it everywhere: first in 1979, when Dave Edmunds' "Queen of Hearts" became a UK hit; and again in 1981, when Juice Newton's version was a US hit single.
ReplyDeleteRodney Crowell (best man at Nicolette's wedding) also recorded a version of "Queen of Hearts". Rodney must have known how Nicolette felt after his own broken marriage inspired a hit song for his ex ("Seven Year Ache" by Rosanne Cash) -- in 1981, the same year of Juice Newton's crossover pop/country hit!
There's a great ROLLING STONE article I got most of the info from--and there's more to come with Vol. 2!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a joke, but I want to say, man, that Linda Ronstadt new wave record, Mad Love, is crazy good, and a sleeper.
ReplyDeleteThere are some memorable songs on it, her voice sounds great, and in retrospect I think it was a brave step on her part.
DeleteI wholeheartedly agree, James. It lead to me checking out THE CRETONES--the LA-based band lead by Mark Goldenberg--who wrote the title track, "Cost Of Love", & "Justine". It drove home that Ronstadt was far more than just an interpreter--she greatly IMPROVED those songs. Goldenberg went on to back Jackson Browne for many years.
DeleteWhat do you call it when you throw a banjo into a dumpster and it spears an accordion?
ReplyDeletePerfect pitch!
Thanks for the tunes!
You're certainly welcome. Thank YOU for the joke!
DeleteTerrific!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping in, Berni!
DeleteExcellent collection Stinky, I knew some of these songs already but had no idea about her involvement.
ReplyDeleteLame joke: With the rise of self-driving vehicles, it's only a matter of time before we get a country song where a guy's truck leaves him too.
Not only his truck leaves him (for another), his playlist starts playing Oh Danny Boy and other funeral greats
DeleteI love it!
DeleteJ Hartman (Hawkster) NO jokes---More more more......
ReplyDeleteNear the end of his life, Gene Krupa writes a letter and addresses it simply to The World's Greatest Drummer. The postman looks at and takes it immediately to Keith Moon. Moons says, nah this needs to go to Hal Blaine. Blaine gets it and passes it on to Ginger Baker. And so on. Each drummer in succession declines and suggests a drummer they think is better. It finally gets to Buddy Rich, who, being Buddy Rich opens it in front of the mailman and reads the first line out loud:
ReplyDelete"Dear Ringo..."
FANTASTIC Sir Otter! Well done.
ReplyDeleteI only know one joke so here it is again in modified form:
ReplyDeleteA drummer fell off a cliff --- ba dum tss!!
This looks like a great collection -- what a great resume Nicolette has! Thanks Stinky!
Great joke, Mr. Dave. The Nicolette collection was my pleasure! Come back for Vol. 2!
ReplyDeleteHere's another good musician joke.
A three-piece band made up of accordion, banjo, & zither get a call from their agent to play a NEW YEAR'S EVE party.
They eagerly show up on time, and give it their all, and to their amazement, they go over well!
They went over SO well that the organizer asks them if they'll play the NYE Party again, NEXT year?
They say: "Of course! Do you mind if we leave our instruments?"