Chelsea Girls
The title song of her first album, a portrait of the residents of the Hotel Chelsea, written by two Velvet Underground members and sung by the woman who starred in the film.
Nico, from Chelsea Girl (1967)
- Written by
- Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison
- Released
- 1967
- Length
- 7:22
- Album
- Chelsea Girl
Chelsea Girls was written by Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison and is the title track of Chelsea Girl, released by Verve in October 1967. It was recorded on April 4, 1967 at Mayfair Recording, with flute and strings added in May, Tom Wilson producing; it runs 7:22. The subject is the residents of the Hotel Chelsea as they appeared in Andy Warhol's 1966 film Chelsea Girls, in which Nico starred, and the lyrics touch on bohemians, dropouts, drug addicts, heroin, amphetamine and sadomasochism. Nico said in interviews that she hated the flute.
Covers include Bernie Torme in 1982, Miki Nakatani in 2001, as the B-side of a single produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Stereo Total in 2005; Elliott Smith played it live at least once, on October 14, 1999 in Portland, Oregon. Setlist.fm counts a single Nico performance, with no date captured.
On stage
- 1999-10-14, Portland, Oregon Elliott Smith played it live.
Covers and versions
- Bernie Torme (1982) On Turn Out the Lights.
- Miki Nakatani (2001) B-side of Air Pocket, produced by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
- Stereo Total (2005) On Do the Bambi.
More songs by Nico
Frozen Warnings, Afraid, Janitor of Lunacy
Where to go next
Reference
- Chelsea Girls (song) Origin, recording date and covers.
Sources
- Chelsea Girls (song), Wikipedia
- Chelsea Girl, Wikipedia