American singer (1952?1997)
Nicolette Larson
|
---|
Larson in 1985
|
|
Born
| (
1952-07-17
)
July 17, 1952
Helena, Montana
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| December 16, 1997
(1997-12-16)
(aged 45)
Los Angeles, California
, U.S.
|
---|
Genres
| |
---|
Occupation(s)
| Singer
|
---|
Instrument(s)
| Vocals
,
guitar
|
---|
Years active
| 1973?1997
|
---|
Labels
| Warner Bros.
,
MCA
,
CGD
,
Sony Wonder
|
---|
Musical artist
Nicolette Larson
(July 17, 1952 ? December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with
Neil Young
and her 1978 hit single of Young's "
Lotta Love
", which hit No. 1 on the
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
chart
[1]
and No. 8 on the pop singles chart.
[2]
It was followed by four more
adult contemporary
hits, two of which were also minor pop hits.
By 1985, she shifted her focus to
country music
, charting six times on the US country singles chart.
[3]
Her only top-40 country hit was "That's How You Know When Love's Right", a duet with
Steve Wariner
. She died in 1997 of
cerebral edema
and
liver failure
.
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Nicolette Larson was born in
Helena, Montana
.
[4]
[5]
Her father's employment with the
U.S. Treasury Department
necessitated frequent relocation for the family. She graduated from high school in
Kansas City, Missouri
, where she attended the
University of Missouri
for three semesters and worked at waitressing and office jobs before beginning to pursue the musical career she had dreamed of since singing along to the radio as a child.
Larson eventually settled in
San Francisco, California
, where she worked in a record store and for the Golden Gate Country Bluegrass Festival. She first performed as the opening for
Eric Andersen
at The Egress, a club in
Vancouver, British Columbia
. In 1975, Larson auditioned for
Hoyt Axton
, who was producing
Commander Cody
. This led to Larson's gig with Hoyt Axton and The Banana Band, who were opening for
Joan Baez
on the 1975 "Diamonds and Rust" tour. She gained her first recording credit on Commander Cody's 1975 album,
Tales From the Ozone
, and also provided background vocals for Commander Cody albums in 1977 and 1978. Other early career singing credits were for Axton and
Guy Clark
in 1976 and in 1977 for
Mary Kay Place
,
Rodney Crowell
,
Billy Joe Shaver
,
Jesse Colin Young
,
Jesse Winchester
, and
Gary Stewart
.
Larson and Guthrie Thomas both worked with Hoyt Axton and recorded their first professional recording session together on Axton's
Southbound
album for A&M Records. As newcomers to the recording industry, they were listed on the back cover of the album as "Street Singers", entirely separate from the highly paid, well-respected artists who also appeared on the album.
[6]
Larson's work with
Emmylou Harris
? the album
Luxury Liner
(1977) prominently showcased Larson on the song "Hello Stranger" ? led to her meeting Harris's associate and friend
Linda Ronstadt
, who became friends with Larson. In 1977, Larson was at Ronstadt's
Malibu
home when neighbor
Neil Young
phoned to ask Ronstadt if she could recommend a female vocal accompanist. Ronstadt suggested Larson; she was the third person that day to mention Larson to Young. Young came over to meet Larson, who recalled, "Neil ran down all the songs he had just written, about twenty of them. We sang harmonies with him and he was jazzed."
[7]
The following week Ronstadt and Larson cut their vocals for Young's
American Stars 'n Bars
album at Young's
La Honda
ranch ? the two women were billed on the album as the Bullets ? and, in November 1977, Young invited Larson to
Nashville
to sing on his
Comes a Time
album. This led to Larson's being signed to
Warner Brothers
, an affiliate of Young's home label
Reprise
.
[
citation needed
]
Larson continued her background singing career into 1978, accruing credit on recordings by
Marcia Ball
,
Rodney Crowell
, Emmylou Harris (
Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town
), and
Norton Buffalo
. She also sang on
the Doobie Brothers
'
Minute by Minute
. That album's producer,
Ted Templeman
, then produced Larson's debut album,
Nicolette
.
[8]
1978?1983
[
edit
]
Larson's work with Commander Cody had led to her being signed to the
C&W
division of
Warner Bros. Records
. However her debut album
Nicolette
, released September 29, 1978, was an eclectic mix of rock, C&W and R&B.
Despite the release of her album so late in the year, Larson was acclaimed Female Vocalist of 1978 by
Rolling Stone
, which wrote no one else could sound as if she were having so much fun on an album.
Nicolette
reached No. 15 on Billboard's album chart aided by the hit single "
Lotta Love
", a
Neil Young
composition. Larson's "Lotta Love" hit #1 on the Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart and went Top 10 Pop in February 1979, the same week the single off
Comes a Time
, "
Four Strong Winds
" (an Ian & Sylvia record with Larson uncredited on the single), debuted on the Hot 100 on its way to a No. 61 peak. ("Sail Away", a track featuring Larson, from the
Comes a Time
sessions or shortly afterwards,
[
citation needed
]
was included on the otherwise live Neil Young album
Rust Never Sleeps
,
released in 1979.)
Warner Brothers also issued the limited edition (5,000 copies) promo-only
Live at the
Roxy
album comprising a December 20, 1978, concert given by Larson at the
Sunset Boulevard
nightclub. Larson was also featured on the
No Nukes
album recorded in September 1979 at
Madison Square Garden
, backed by
the Doobie Brothers
in her performance of "Lotta Love"; Larson can be seen in the
No Nukes
film but her performance was not included.
[
citation needed
]
Larson would be unable to consolidate the commercial success augured by her debut: the second single off
Nicolette
, "Rhumba Girl"
[9]
just missed becoming a major hit for Larson at No. 48. Her second album,
In the Nick of Time,
released November 1979, failed to showcase Larson's voice attractively. Don Shewey in
Rolling Stone
wrote:
Larson's rough-edged, down-home tone is definitely appealing ? especially when she backs up the likes of Neil Young and
Steve Goodman
[whose
High and Outside
album featured a duet with Larson: "The One That Got Away"] ? but as a soloist, her limited vocal resources are "severely taxed" ? "It's symptomatic of Nicolette Larson's problems as a performer that the finest singing on
In the Nick of Time
is by
Michael McDonald
. 'Let Me Go, Love' ... McDonald's entrancing vocal presence ... so overshadows Larson's that she seems to be playing second fiddle rather than sharing the lead. Elsewhere, Larson is dwarfed by
Ted Templeman
's typically luxurious production".
[8]
Released as the album's lead single, "Let Me Go Love" reached only No. 35 in February 1980. That year Larson was heard on the airwaves via guest appearances on "Say You'll Be Mine" by
Christopher Cross
and the
Dirt Band
's "Make a Little Magic". Larson had enough residual popularity from her debut for
In the Nick of Time
to become a moderate success. Because she had no major hit, Larson's 1981 and 1982 album releases,
Radioland
(her last album produced by Templeman) and
All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
, were unsuccessful, even though both releases showed Larson back in strong vocal form. Larson received some
adult-contemporary
radio airplay with her remake of "
I Only Want to Be With You
" (No. 53), perhaps the least effective track on
All Dressed Up and No Place to Go
. The album was produced by
Andrew Gold
.
[
citation needed
]
Larson had continued her background singing career accruing credits on releases by
Tom Johnston
,
Linda Ronstadt
(
Mad Love
),
Graham Nash
,
John Stewart
,
Albert Hammond
, and
Rita Coolidge
. Larson again backed
the Doobie Brothers
on their
One Step Closer
album; she can be heard on the hit "Real Love." A song Larson co-wrote with
John McFee
and
Patrick Simmons
titled "Can't Let It Get Away" was a 1981 single release for the Doobie Brothers in
Japan
. The song was also featured on the Doobie Brothers'
Farewell Tour
album (1983).
[
citation needed
]
Larson contributed a harmony vocal on the track "Could This Be Magic" on the
Van Halen
album
Women and Children First
(1980), to thank
Eddie Van Halen
for playing guitar on the
Nicolette
album track "Can't Get Away From You," against
David Lee Roth
's wishes.
[
citation needed
]
Larson's recording of the
Burt Bacharach
/
Carole Bayer Sager
song "Fool Me Again" was featured on the bestselling soundtrack album for the 1981 film
Arthur
,
despite not being heard in the film. Larson was also featured on the soundtrack album for
National Lampoon's Vacation
(1983) with the track "Summer Hearts".
[10]
1983?1997
[
edit
]
Larson's appearance in a touring production of the
C&W
musical
Pump Boys and Dinettes
garnered enough positive reaction for
MCA Nashville
to sign her in 1983. The Nashville music community was so enthused about Larson's C&W cross-over that in 1984 the Academy of Country Music named her the Best New Female Vocalist before she had any MCA Nashville releases. Larson's MCA debut
...Say When
was not released until 1985 (by which point country pop was no longer in style and
neotraditionalists
had taken over the country scene). The C&W career it ushered in for Larson proved anticlimactic with only one of her six MCA single releases becoming a significant hit: her duet with
Steve Wariner
titled "That's How You Know When Love's Right," taken from the April 1986 album release
Rose of My Heart
.
The record reached No. 9 C&W. Larson's MCA albums, produced by
Emory Gordy Jr.
and
Tony Brown
, attracted little critical attention. Her final mainstream album release was
Shadows of Love
, a 1988 recording made for the Italian
CGD
label and produced by Carlo Stretti and Ernesto Taberelli. It was her only album for a non-US label. In 1990 Larson participated in the
Festival di Sanremo
, duetting with Grazia Di Michele on the song "Me and My Father".
[
citation needed
]
In 1992 Larson reunited professionally with
Neil Young
to sing on his
Harvest Moon
album. In 1993 she was featured on Young's
Unplugged
. She also provided vocal accompaniment on "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Greensleeves", two of the tracks Young contributed to
Seven Gates: A Christmas Album by
Ben Keith
and Friends
(1994).
[
citation needed
]
Larson's final album was the self-produced
Sleep, Baby, Sleep
, consisting of music for children, released on
Sony Wonder
in 1994.
[
citation needed
]
Larson also contributed to the seasonal albums
Tennessee Christmas
(1987) with "One Bright Star",
Acoustic Christmas
(1988) with "Christmas Is a Time for Giving," and
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
(1989) with "Nothing But a Child" and "One Bright Star". In 1988, Larson contributed to the soundtracks of the films
They Call Me Renegade
and
Twins
with the tracks "Let Me Be the One" and "I'd Die for This Dance", respectively; the latter was performed live onscreen by Larson, accompanied by
Jeff Beck
.
[
citation needed
]
While it was recorded in 1978,
Live at the Roxy
was given its first full release in 2006, nine years after Larson's death. It was released by
Rhino
.
[11]
Also in 2006, Rhino Entertainment released the album
A Tribute to Nicolette Larson: Lotta Love Concert
. Two "Lotta Love" concerts were held on February 20 and 21, 1998, in Santa Monica, CA, to benefit the UCLA Children's Hospital.
[1]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Through her early work in the 1970s with
Emmylou Harris
, Larson met guitarist and songwriter Hank DeVito. Larson and DeVito later married and divorced. She also dated Neil Young during the
Comes a Time
sessions. In the early 1980s, Larson was engaged to
Andrew Gold
, but their relationship ended shortly after the completion of Larson's 1982 album
All Dressed Up and No Place to Go,
which Gold had produced. In the late 1980s, she briefly dated
"Weird Al" Yankovic
.
[12]
Yankovic would later compose “You Don’t Love Me Anymore”, a style parody of Larson’s work, for his 1992 album
Off the Deep End
. In 1990, Larson married drummer
Russ Kunkel
, and the two remained married until her death in 1997. The couple's daughter, Elsie May Larson-Kunkel, was born in 1990.
[13]
Death
[
edit
]
Larson died on December 16, 1997, in Los Angeles, California, as a result of complications arising from
cerebral edema
triggered by liver failure.
[14]
She was 45 years old. According to her friend
Astrid Young
, Neil Young's half-sister, Larson had been showing symptoms of depression, and her fatal seizure "was in no small way related to her chronic use of
Valium
and
Tylenol PM
."
[15]
Two benefit concerts were held in Larson's honor in February 1998. Tribute concerts were held on the 10th anniversary of her death in December 2007 and also the following year.
[
citation needed
]
Discography
[
edit
]
Albums
[
edit
]
Singles
[
edit
]
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Billboard > Artists / Nicolette Larson > Chart History > Adult Contemporary"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
August 10,
2017
.
N.B. This page is missing the Adult Contemporary chart peak for "Let Me Go, Love".
- ^
a
b
c
US
Billboard
peaks, other than where specified elsewhere:
- ^
a
b
"Billboard > Artists / Nicolette Larson > Chart History > Hot Country Songs"
. Billboard
. Retrieved
August 10,
2017
.
N.B. This page is missing the peak for "That's How You Know When Love's Right".
- ^
Perrone, Pierre (December 27, 1997).
"Obituary: Nicolette Larson"
.
Independent
. Retrieved
September 5,
2011
.
- ^
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas.
"Biography: Nicolette Larson"
. Allmusic
. Retrieved
September 6,
2011
.
- ^
"Nicolette Larson (vocal credits)"
.
Discogs
. Retrieved
2016-01-14
.
- ^
Crowe, Cameron
(November 14, 1978).
"Nicolette Larson's Time Has Come"
.
Rolling Stone
. No. 280.
ISSN
0035-791X
.
- ^
a
b
Cramer, Christina (December 18, 1997).
"Music World Says Goodbye To Nicolette Larson"
.
Rolling Stone
. Retrieved
August 9,
2011
.
- ^
"Rhumba Girl" was written by Jesse Winchester, who introduced it as "Rhumba Man" on his
Nothing But a Breeze
album. Although Larson had been a session singer on
Nothing But a Breeze
she had not sung on "Rhumba Man", first hearing the song at a live performance by Winchester.
- ^
National Lampoon's Vacation - Original Soundtrack | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic
, retrieved
2022-01-02
- ^
Nicolette - Live At The Roxy
at
Discogs
- ^
Yankovic, Weird Al.
"Ask Al | "Weird Al" Yankovic"
.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
. Retrieved
September 7,
2016
.
- ^
Perrone, Pierre (December 27, 1997).
"Obituary: Nicolette Larson"
.
The Independent
. Retrieved
January 14,
2016
.
- ^
Oliver, Myrna (December 18, 1997).
"Nicolette Larson; Award-Winning Singer"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
Young, Astrid.
Being Young.
p. 107, Insomniac Press, 2007;
ISBN
978-1-897178-45-4
- ^
"Nicolette Larson> Chart History> Top Country Albums"
. Billboard
. Retrieved
August 10,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Kent, David
(1993).
Australian Chart Book 1970?1992
(Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 173.
ISBN
0-646-11917-6
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Nicolette First Gold for Larsson"
(PDF)
.
Cash Box
. March 10, 1979. p. 16
. Retrieved
December 1,
2021
– via World Radio History.
- ^
"charts.nz > Nicolette Larson in New Zealand Charts"
. Hung Medien
. Retrieved
August 10,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]
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International
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National
| |
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Artists
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