“Lotta Love” (Nicolette Larson)

In honor of the late Nicolette Larson’s birthday, today’s classic song of the day is her hit, “Lotta Love.” Released in the fall of 1978, this single went to #8 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.

“Lotta Love” was written by Neil Young, for whom Ms. Larson had been a prominent backup singer. Mr. Young recorded the tune first, in 1976, but didn’t put it on record until his 1978 Comes a Time album.

Ms. Larson said she first heard the song while driving around one day with Mr. Young:

“I got that song off a tape I found lying on the floor of Neil’s car. I popped it in the tape player and commented on what a great song it was. Neil said: ‘You want it? It’s yours.'”

Nicolette Larson was born on July 17, 1952, in Helena, Montana. Her father worked for the government and moved around a lot; Nicolette graduated from high school in Kansas City, attended the University of Missouri, and eventually settled in San Francisco. She first performed professionally at a folk club in Vancouver then, in 1975, got a gig singing backup for Hoyt Axton. That led to her singing backup with Commander Cody, Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Jesse Colin Young, Jesse Winchester, Emmylou Harris, Rita Coolidge, John Stewart, Graham Nash, and the Doobie Brothers.

Through her work with Emmylou Harris, Nicolette became friends with Linda Ronstadt, who recommended her as a backup singer to Neil Young. That association led to her being signed by Warner Bros. Records as a solo artist.

The singer’s first album, Nicolette, was released in 1978 and featured the single “Lotta Love.” She ended up releasing another half-dozen solo albums and a couple of other minor hits, including the captivating “Rhumba Girl.” (She also cameoed with the Dirt Band on their 1980 hit, “Make a Little Magic”—tomorrow’s classic song of the day.) Nicollete then shifted to the country market, where the Academy of Country Music Awards named her the Top New Female Artist in 1985. She also continued to sing backup for Neil Young and other performers.

Ms. Larson had a series of serious relationships with a number of well-known musicians. Her first marriage was to guitarist Hank DeVito, she went out with Neil Young for awhile, was engaged to “Lonely Boy” Andrew Gold, dated “Weird Al” Yankovic, and finally married drummer Russ Kunkel.

Unfortunately, Nicolette Larson’s promising career was cut short when she died of liver failure on December 16, 1997. She was just 45 years old.

And here’s today’s bonus video of the day, Nicolette Larson and her band performing “Lotta Love” live on Budd Friedman’s An Evening at the Improv syndicated television show in July of 1981. I found her a captivating singer and thought she should have had a much longer and more successful career.