From: MCINTYRE@MSUPA.BITNET
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Subject: Nico and "My Funny Valentine"
Date: 15 Oct 92 20:47:00 GMT
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
Original_To:  BITNET%"allmusic@auvm"
Original_cc:  MCINTYRE

>From:         Ilia <CC29@IONA.BITNET>

>     I continue my stream of questions caused by cultural shock from
>meeting a foreign culture. This one is:

>       I heard (read) Marco mention _Bloody Valentine_, so my brain(?)
>extracted a verbal association with the song _My Funny Valentine_. I
>think, it is a quite famous jazz tune, but the version I heard was
>sung by Nico, and it sounded very different from the original. It
>was a while ago, so the only things I remember are that it was sad and
>that I liked it. Does anybody know this version? What was Nico doing
>after her Velvet Underground period?

"My Funny Valentine" was written by Rogers and Hart, so I suspect it
is from a musical, but I do not know which one.  It's considered a
standard and has been performed by lots of musicians.  I do have a
special fondness for Nico's version.  It was released as a 12 inch
single in 1985 and appears on the 1985 studio album _Camera Obscura_
and the live albums _Behind the Iron Curtain_ and _In Tokyo_.  Alas,
the CD version of _Behind the Iron Curtain_ is only three sides of
the two record set, and the side they omitted was the side with
"My Funny Valentine".

Oops, forgot one.  "My Funny Valentine" is also on the 1986 _Live
Heroes_ album.

Here's the "as complete as I can make it" Nico discography.  A couple
dates are in question as once upon a time the copyright laws did not
require the year as part of the copyright notice, and several of my
records are undated.  And some CDs give the year of the CD, and
some give the year of the original recording.  Much info
is from Dave Thompson's book _Beyond the Velvet Underground_; the
rest is from my shelves.

UK Singles
8/65  I'm Not Saying/The Last Mile (Immediate IM 003)
         "I'm Not Saying" was written by Gordon Lightfoot.
         "The Last Mile" was written by Andrew Oldham.
9/81  Vegas/Saeta (Flicknife FLS 206)
2/82  I'm Not Saying/The Last Mile (Immediate IM 003)
         ? Reissued with the same catalog number as before?
7/82  Procession/All Tomorrow's Parties (Half REC 1)
7/82  Procession/All Tomorrow's Parties/Secret Side/Femme Fatale (Half REC 1)
         ?  I think the last catalog number is a typo.  The four song
            version is a twelve inch and should have a different number
            than the two song seven inch.  I have the twelve inch, and
            my copy has the catalog number 112.
6/83  Heroes/One More Chance (Aura AUS 137)
6/85  My Funny Valentine/My Heart Is Empty (Beggars Banquet BEG 139/139T)
10/85 I'm Waiting For The Man/Purple Lips (Aura AUS 147)

UK LPs
 7/69  The Marble Index (MGM EKL/EKS 74029)
 1/71  Desert Shore (Reprise RSLP 6424)
10/71  Chelsea Girl (Verve MGM 2353 025)
           This was actually her first solo album and was released
           in the US 10/67 as Verve V/V6-5032
10/74  The End (Island ILPS 9311)
 7/81  Drama of Exile (Aura AUL 715)
  /83  Do Or Die (ROIR A117)
           ROIR used to be a cassette only label, so this was probably
           a cassette rather than vinyl.  I think this is a duplicate
           of the cassette _Nico's European 1982 Diary_ (Half CASS 1).
           I know that I did buy a tape that turned out to be _Diary_
           under another name and gave it to a friend.  I think the
           duplicate was entitled _Do Or Die_.
 7/85  Camera Obscura (Beggars Banquet BEAG 63)
 8/85  The Blue Angel (Aura AUL 731)
            An excellent compilation with some previously unreleased
            material.
 4/86  Behind the Iron Curtain (Castle Communications DOJOLP 27)
  /87  Live In Tokyo (Castle Communications DOJOLP 50)

Nico has one cut on the _June 1, 1974_ album (Island ILPS 9291),
performing "The End".

She sings on Kevin Ayers' _The Confessions of Dr. Dream_ LP (Island
ILPS 9263, released 8/74) and the 10/82 Bauhaus 45 "Waiting For
The Man" (Beggars Banquet BEG 83T).

The Velvet Underground had two US singles with Nico.
3/67  All Tomorrow's Parties/I'll Be Your Mirror (Verve 10466)
6/67  Sunday Morning/Femme Fatale (Verve promo)
One album
3/67  The Velvet Underground and Nico (Verve SVLP 9184)

The above was from _Beyond The Velvet Underground_ with a few comments
from me.  The rest is from my shelves.

I have a Velvet Underground bootleg with Nico.  It's been released
in at least two versions.  One is mostly white with a small picture
of a drugged out dancer and claims to be recorded in 1966 and
manufactured in W Germany.  There is no label name, but it does claim
a catalog number of 104025.  The second version is all black, cover
and label both.  But they did include a sheet of liner notes: black
type on black paper. 8-)  These notes say the material was recorded
in Columbus OH November 1966.  I really wonder how the audience
reacted.  This was a performance of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable,
Andy Warhol's road show, and before the release of any recordings.
The portion of the show that is on the bootleg contains no songs,
just an extended wall of noise with occasional moans from Nico.

Besides the albums Dave Thompson mentioned, I have a 1983 _Live
In Denmark_ picture disc (VU Records NICO 1) and two versions
of a disc entitled _Live Heroes_.  Actually, one is entitled
_(Live) Heroes_.  It's orange vinyl and came in a clear plastic bag.
No label is named, but the catalog number is PERF 385.  A sticker
on the bag says it is live and in the studio and says it contains
"Heroes, Femme Fatale, All Tomorrow's Parties, The End + 2 extra tracks."
The other version came in a conventional cover.  It's entitled _Live
Heroes_ on the Performance label catalog number PERF385A copyright 1986.
It makes no mention of studio recordings.  It has the four songs named
on the orange version plus *three* others: Procession, My Funny Valentine,
and Secret Side.

As for Nico on CD, all of the albums Thompson lists except _The End_
and _Do Or Die_ have been released on CD.  _The Velvet Underground
and Nico_ has a different version of "All Tomorrow's Parties" than
on the LP.  _Live Heroes_ is on CD.  Nico did a John Peel show
February 2, 1971.  It was released on CD as Strange Fruit SFPSCD064.
_The Marble Index_ CD has one bonus cut.  _Behind the Iron Curtain_
omits one side of the double LP.  In 1990 Restless released Nico's
last recordings as _Hanging Gardens_ (Restless 7 72383-2).  The
1985 _The Immediate Singles Collection_ (Castle Communications CCSCD102)
has Nico's "I'm Not Saying".  And last year saw the bootleg CD
_Velvet Underground - The Bedroom Tape_.  It is a tape of Lou Reed and
Nico practicing in their hotel room in 1968.  It is a *practice* tape:
multiple versions of most songs, none of them complete.  But it is
interesting to hear Lou trying to explain Chuck Berry to Nico.

John McIntyre
Physics - Astronomy Dept
Michigan State University
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic