A cosmic moment launched Nicolette Larsen’s career with Neil Young
The mid-1970s were a time of creative chaos in singer-songwriter Neil Young’s turbulent career. Having well and truly established himself as the jewel in supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s folk rock crown with his subsequent solo efforts following 1970’s Déjà Vu, a furious spate of bulk recording sessions was feverishly cut across the ensuing years. Much of that material saw the official light of day on the 2020s’ Homegrown and Chrome Dreams releases.
Stylistically, Young was in flux, too. Rust Never Sleep’s punk belligerence was a couple of years off yet, but amid the studio whirlwind with his trusty Crazy Horse band and his downbeat Ditch Trilogy, was a briefly rekindled partnership with Stephen Stills for 1976’s Long May You Run and a feature in Martin Scorsese’s celebrated The Last Waltz concert film, documenting The Band’s final show in San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom.
Careening around hard blues, country twang, morose folk, and just a hint of future snarl that would carry him across the 1980s, Young seemed to be lost in his most transitional episode yet. His wavering creative antenna would characterise 1977’s American Stars ‘n Bars, a record that restlessly pours his myriad musical fancies into an effective but haphazard eighth LP. Along with his immortal ‘Like a Hurricane’, American Stars ‘n Bars is notable for featuring the vocal talents of Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Nicolette Larson.
Later to become a star in her own right in the country-tinged adult contemporary world, Larson credited an almost divine set of fortuitous happenstances that brought her and Young together, forging her career.
Initially, Young’s idea was to hire two unknowns as backing singers. Disatisfied with the results, he reached out to Ronstadt and Harris for vocals, but Harris wasn’t available for the sessions required—her appearance on ‘Star of Bethlehem’, a recording already in the can from late 1974. Having sung on Harris’ Luxury Liner the previous year, Larson’s dependable studio knack was mooted to fill the vacancy.
“Neil kind of functions on cosmic operations, you know, and that was cosmic enough for him,” Larson told The Georgia Straight in 1983. “If everyone had recommended me, then I was supposed to work with him. So Linda and I went up to his ranch and sang backups on that album, and then when he did Comes a Time he called me again to come and sing on it.”
It was during the Comes a Time sessions that Larson would be gifted with one of her biggest hits. Already cut, Larson complimented Young on his breezy country number ‘Lotta Love’. “Oh, do you want it? It’s yours,” Young generously quipped. In the bag and ready to lead 1978’s Nicolette debut, Young decided to include ‘Lotta Love’ on Comes a Time after all, only released after Larson’s effort a few weeks later. Both offering their unique takes, the two respective albums enjoyed shared chart success, with Larson faring especially well in Canada with a number one.
Larson would build a successful solo career before sadly passing at just 45 in 1997. Yet, she would continue to enjoy routine collaborations with Young, singing again on 1992’s Harvest Moon and performing live for his MTV Unplugged set the following year.
