Nico

Nico.

Nico (October 16, 1938 - July 18, 1988) was a German model, actress and singer. She gained fame as guest singer with The Velvet Underground on their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967). Included at the request of Andy Warhol, Nico sang three songs: Femme Fatale, All Tomorrow's Parties and I'll Be Your Mirror. Nico was an eccentric personality, who sang in very serious, atonal voice with a distinctive German accent.

Gary Kellgren worked as an engineer for Nico. Her debut album Chelsea Girl (1967) was produced by Tom Wilson. Together with her other album, The Marble Index (1969) both have gained a cult following.

Frank Zappa

On October 23, 1967, in New York, singer Nico sang with The Velvet Underground. Chris Darrow of the magazine "Kaleidoscope" recalled: "The opening night was very crowded and Zappa and members of the Mothers of Invention showed up to show their support. (...) Nico's delivery of her material was very flat, deadpan, and expressionless, and she played as though all of her songs were dirges. She seemed as though she was trying to resurrect the ennui and decadence of Weimar, pre-Hitler Germany. Her icy, Nordic image also added to the detachment of her delivery. (...) The audience was on her side, as she was in her element and the Warhol contingent was very prominent that night. However, what happened next is what sticks in my mind the most from that night. In between sets, Frank Zappa got up from his seat and walked up on the stage and sat behind the keyboard of Nico's B-3 organ. He proceeded to place his hands indiscriminately on the keyboard in a total, atonal fashion and screamed at the top of his lungs, doing a caricature of Nico's set, the one he had just seen. The words to his impromptu song were the names of vegetables like broccolli, cabbage, asparagus... This "song" kept going for about a minute or so and then suddenly stopped. He walked off the stage and the show moved on. It was one of the greatest pieces of rock 'n roll theater that I have ever seen."

Later in life, Zappa became more appreciative of the Velvet Underground, particularly their singles All Tomorrow's Parties and Femme Fatale, interestingly enough both sung by Nico. During Star Special (27 January 1980), Zappa played All Tomorrow's Parties.