I’m still lost in the ozone and down to seeds and stems riding in my hot rod Lincoln munching on two cheeseburgers side order of fries!

Ya Mon 💨

Nicolette Larson...God Love Her.

https://music.

This was one of my favorite bands when I was in high school in the 70s.

Bill Kirchen, the Commander’s guitarist still tours and plays regularly at a club in Troy, NY. If you get a chance, he’s really fun to see live. https://www.billkirchen.com/bill-kirchen-tour-dates/

John Tichy, the other guitarist in Commander Cody, lives nearby and was the head of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s nuclear engineering department. He still comes and sits in for a few when Bill plays in town.
George Frayne, the Commander, had lived locally in Saratoga Springs before he passed a few years back.

I am told that this Kirchen tour is going to be Bill reprising much of Bob Dylan’s July 25, 1965 show, where Bob first went electric.

Since you brought up Nicolette, I had such a crush on her when I was a kid. She died far too young. Take a look at this video and see if you recognize her backing band, which is one of my favorite of all time, and a band that should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I believe Nicolette and Linda Ronstadt were roomies for awhile. I think she married Russ Kunkel and had a family with him. Sad that she passed decades ago.

Last edited Mon Mar 31, 2025, 11:06 AM - Edit history (2)

Nicolette sang on Emmylou’s Luxury Liner LP, and was introduced by Emmylou to Ronstadt. Ronstadt later suggested her as a backup singer to neighbor Neil Young, and Ronstadt and Nicolette sang on some of Neil’s stuff. They all were part of the Laurel Canyon/LA music scene. There are some good documentaries that might be worth watching.
https://amblin.com/tv/laurel-canyon/#:~:text=Laurel%20Canyon%20is%20a%20two,unearthed%20footage%20and%20audio%20recordings; https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-echo-in-laurel-canyon-documentary-20190525-story.html

As to Little Feat, every member of that band was an in-demand session player. They never got the recognition when Lowell George was alive. Payne and Barrere were incredible players too, and there is something about Richie Hayward’s backbeat that is immediately recognizable. Waiting for Columbus is amongst the best live albums ever recorded.

Nor did Commander Cody & the Airmen get the recognition they were due for that matter. Their label pushed them to be more commercial and the second coming of the Eagles and they said no, and stuck to their raw honkytonk, Texas swing inspired country rock.