Nico's Music

[AnnaPink]

A Cheery Hello All!

The "Wedding Glide" song Nico mentions his mom and George particularly enjoying his playing on the piano can be listened to here: http://parlorsongs.com/content/w/wedglide.htm. You have to install some kind of plug-in but it didn't blow up my computer, so I guess you'll be OK.  This version is a bit "electronicky" sounding (I don't know the technical term), but you get the idea -- quite a catchy little number! I think he might have been mistaken about his mom listening to this song if I have the dates right, as it came out in 1912, which would have been two years too late for poor Sylvia.

His comment in this same clip regarding Michael's "not living long enough for me to have the last laugh" about the Japanese Sandman record is really poignant, in a humorous Nico kind of way... The audio clip I'm talking about is the one with the caption "Nico's love of music and playing the piano, unlike his brothers. His story of going off with Michael to buy their first gramophone records …"

[AnnaPink]

Sorry for not including this in my original post.

I found the exact version of "Japanese Sandman" (by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra) available for listening here: http://nfo.net/ogg.htm. Once again, you are required to install something, but it didn't do anything bad to me!

A very enjoyable tune, too...

[andrew]

Many many thanks for those links - I'd never heard either in my life before, thugh Nico did attempt humming them both...

[ecb]

This thread of Nico and music reminded me of a section of a book I ran across - totally by accident - a few years ago.  The name of the book was "Book Society" and it was by the British literary agent Graham Watson.  When I saw the book passing through my library, I glanced in the index to see if there was anything about Peter Davies Ltd publishers.

There was in fact.  Mr. Watson spoke of needing to find a new publisher for his client Kathleen Winsor (of Forever Amber fame).  Her British publisher had been confusing her with her heroine and had been putting the moves on her - much to her distress.  Mr. Watson quickly moved her to Peter Davies Ltd.  Then he mentions that Nicholas Davies "had a passion for, and an encyclopaedic knowlege of, jazz.  Any spare hour when he was in New York he could be discovered in Eddie Condon's club blowing a trumpet.  He was also a great fisherman.  It was therefore in accordance with the general dottiness of the book trade that Peter Davies Ltd, made most of their money publishing books in which neither of the brothers appeared to have any particular interest, namely, of popular religion."

He goes on to recount how he steered the book " A Man Called Peter" by Catharine Marshall to Nico for that reason.  Nico liked the book, but thought it would have little appeal in the UK.  However after a few months in which Mr. Watson tried in vain to find a British publisher, he received a phone call from Nico making a modest offer for the book which he hadn't been able to put out of his mind.  Apparently the book sold slowly at first, but gradually grew into a steady seller year after year.  

Andrew, I was just wondering about that "blowing a trumpet" mentioned in the above quote.  Do you think Mr. Watson was mixing it up with tinkling the piano keys?  In his letters to Mary Hodsgon (which are treasures by the way), Nico often mentions playing the piano but never the trumpet!

[Dani1923]

In their “My Confession Book” entries (from the database), both Mary Hodgson and George said that their favorite musician was Nico! Awww! 
Nico’s favorite musician was Beethoven.