Lotti Golden

Her life became a whirlwind. Taking the train in from Brooklyn to Manhattan to pitch songs and experience the East Village scene, she landed a song-publishing deal at age 14. In 1968, at 18, after a chance meeting in an elevator, a legendary songwriter/record producer was interested in assisting her in making her debut album. Released on Atlantic Records in 1969, Lotti Golden's Motor-Cycle was wildly experimental and ahead of its time. Seemingly poised for success, the album and her career suddenly vanished.

- BY ROBERT BAIRD

Often described as “Motown meets the Velvet Underground,” Motor-Cycle, which has become a rich source of samples, is a blend of the counterculture street scene in New York City with touches of psychedelia, jazz, soul, and spoken word. Even today it’s beguiling. Original tunes like “Motor-Cycle Michael” and “A Lot Like Lucifer (Celia Said Long Time Loser)” still seem strikingly inspired.

Showered with praise by Atlantic co-owners Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler at the time of its release, Motor-Cycle has now been remastered and reissued for the first time, by a new indie label, High Moon, complete with a 32-page softbound book of photos and essays. A 7" picture-sleeve single is available as an add-on to the LP set.

Golden, who still lives in New York City, released a second album, Lotti Golden, on GRT Records. Later, she wrote about music for Creem and Crawdaddy magazines, produced electro hip-hop with Warp 9, and wrote hit singles including “With Every Beat of My Heart” for Taylor Dayne and “Keep on Pushing Love” for Al Green. The disappearance of Motor-Cycle didn’t break her, but it left her pondering what might have been.