Bill Schenley
2005-12-16 05:49:13 UTC
Nicolette Larson; Award-Winning Singer
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FROM: The Los Angeles Times (December 18th 1997) ~
By Myrna Oliver, Staff Writer
Nicolette Larson, pop-rock and country recording artist who soared to
fame in 1978 when she recorded singer and songwriter Neil Young's
"Lotta Love," has died at 45.
Larson died Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center of complications from
cerebral edema (swelling of the brain caused by abnormal fluid
accumulation), said her husband, drummer Russell Kunkel.
The singer's other major hits were "Rumba Girl," "Fool Me Again" and
"That's How You Know Love's Right." She released six well-received
albums during her career and performed with such stars as Jimmy
Buffett, the Beach Boys and Willie Nelson.
"I got that song off a tape I found lying on the floor of Neil's car,"
she once said of her initial hit. "I popped it in the tape player and
commented on what a great song it was. Neil said, 'You want it? It's
yours.' "
"Lotta Love" quickly established the reputation of Larson, who was
soon named best female singer of 1978 by Rolling Stone magazine. In
1985 she collected another spate of best new female vocalist
commendations--for country music--after that style's popularity
swelled.
Born in Helena, Mont., and brought up in Kansas City, Kan., Larson
always wanted to become a singer but worked as a waitress, sure she
could never get a start in music where she lived. A trip to San
Francisco in 1973 changed her life.
"I got to see Tom Waits and Commander Cody and all sorts of bands,"
she told The Times in 1978. "It was great. I'd get up every morning
and say, 'California. I'm in California.' It was like Mecca."
She moved to Berkeley soon after that and got a job as a backup singer
for a short-lived band put together by David Nichtern. Next she sang
backup for Hoyt Axton for a year and then joined the Commander Cody
group. Her solos during their performances caught the attention of
record company representatives.
She made her solo performance debut in 1978 at the Ice House in
Pasadena and afterward performed regularly throughout Southern
California.
Propelled so quickly to success, Larson kept herself in perspective.
When the praise seemed overwhelming, she told The Times in 1978, "I
just try to run off somewhere and do something real normal: go to the
grocery store and stand in line or take the dirty clothes down to the
Laundromat. That's the best way to keep in touch with reality."
In addition to her husband, Larson is survived by her daughter, Elsie
May Larson Kunkel; her parents, Robert and Josephine Larson; her
grandmother, Elsie Hoffman; three brothers, Robert, Daniel and Michael
Larson; two sisters, Judith Havey and Heather Kierszenbaum; and 12
nieces and nephews.
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FROM: The Los Angeles Times (December 18th 1997) ~
By Myrna Oliver, Staff Writer
Nicolette Larson, pop-rock and country recording artist who soared to
fame in 1978 when she recorded singer and songwriter Neil Young's
"Lotta Love," has died at 45.
Larson died Tuesday at UCLA Medical Center of complications from
cerebral edema (swelling of the brain caused by abnormal fluid
accumulation), said her husband, drummer Russell Kunkel.
The singer's other major hits were "Rumba Girl," "Fool Me Again" and
"That's How You Know Love's Right." She released six well-received
albums during her career and performed with such stars as Jimmy
Buffett, the Beach Boys and Willie Nelson.
"I got that song off a tape I found lying on the floor of Neil's car,"
she once said of her initial hit. "I popped it in the tape player and
commented on what a great song it was. Neil said, 'You want it? It's
yours.' "
"Lotta Love" quickly established the reputation of Larson, who was
soon named best female singer of 1978 by Rolling Stone magazine. In
1985 she collected another spate of best new female vocalist
commendations--for country music--after that style's popularity
swelled.
Born in Helena, Mont., and brought up in Kansas City, Kan., Larson
always wanted to become a singer but worked as a waitress, sure she
could never get a start in music where she lived. A trip to San
Francisco in 1973 changed her life.
"I got to see Tom Waits and Commander Cody and all sorts of bands,"
she told The Times in 1978. "It was great. I'd get up every morning
and say, 'California. I'm in California.' It was like Mecca."
She moved to Berkeley soon after that and got a job as a backup singer
for a short-lived band put together by David Nichtern. Next she sang
backup for Hoyt Axton for a year and then joined the Commander Cody
group. Her solos during their performances caught the attention of
record company representatives.
She made her solo performance debut in 1978 at the Ice House in
Pasadena and afterward performed regularly throughout Southern
California.
Propelled so quickly to success, Larson kept herself in perspective.
When the praise seemed overwhelming, she told The Times in 1978, "I
just try to run off somewhere and do something real normal: go to the
grocery store and stand in line or take the dirty clothes down to the
Laundromat. That's the best way to keep in touch with reality."
In addition to her husband, Larson is survived by her daughter, Elsie
May Larson Kunkel; her parents, Robert and Josephine Larson; her
grandmother, Elsie Hoffman; three brothers, Robert, Daniel and Michael
Larson; two sisters, Judith Havey and Heather Kierszenbaum; and 12
nieces and nephews.
---
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