Nico (born Christa Päffgen; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988) was a German singer-songwriter, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress who became famous as a Warhol superstar in the 1960s. She is known for her vocals on The Velvet Underground’s debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), and her work as a solo artist. She also had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960) and Andy Warhol’s Chelsea Girls (1966). (More from Wikipedia)
Album sales by the Velvet Underground were low in spite of the prominent connection with legendary pop artist Andy Warhol at the top of his fame. Though officially their producer, Andy Warhol’s input was evidently minimal, although he insisted on their including ethereal vocalist Nico on three songs on their first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967). Warhol also contributed artwork for some of the band’s album covers, such as the peelable banana on that album. Brian Eno – another highly experimental musician – is the source of the famous quotation about this album: While selling only 30,000 copies, “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band”.
John Cale has also had an important impact on music following his time with the Velvet Underground, though mostly behind the scenes. He produced and arranged albums for a host of important bands and musicians, including three albums by Nico.
(December 2013)
The truly heartbreaking part of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis is that Glen Campbell had just launched a comeback a few years before, with his 2008 album Meet Glen Campbell that features Campbell covering songs by U2, Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, and Green Day – “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” being the latter song – plus one of the last songs written by John Lennon, “Grow Old with Me”, and an early Jackson Browne song, “These Days” that was first recorded by Nico in 1967.
(February 2015)
