Dagmar Nordstrom
Encyclopedia
Dagmar Nordstrom was an American
composer, pianist and singer. She performed together with her sister Siggie
as a cabaret
singing duo known as The Nordstrom Sisters
.
, the second daughter of Anna and Alexander Nordstrom. The family were of Swedish and Norwegian extraction. Dagmar was married briefly to a society playboy, but lived most of her life with her older sister after the death of Siggie's husband, Samuel Ferebee Williams, in 1931.
s for Steinway
and Duo-Art
. These included:
Dagmar and Siggie had a flat
in London
for a year in 1939 when they were the resident performers at The Ritz
. With the exception of their October trips to Bad Gastein
for the baths, they regularly performed either in clubs in New York City
or on board transatlantic ocean liners, most commonly on the Cunard Line
and Norwegian America Line
. The duo were on the maiden around the world voyage of the combined ocean liner/cruise ship MS Sagafjord
.
Dagmar wrote the music for Remembering You, a foxtrot which was published as sheet music and a full orchestration in 1940. During the 1940s she and her sister were often on the radio and through the 1960s when they were not otherwise engaged as a team, Dagmar would at times take an assignment alone playing in a club.
until her death in 1976 when she suffered a massive stroke. Several good friends, including the photographer Edgar de Evia
, arrived for dinner and she was reclined in their living room, her mind still clear, saying "Oh, my dear boys, I believe that I've had a stroke." She died that night, aged 72. Following services at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, she was cremated and interred with her mother in the mausoleum
at Ferncliff Cemetery
, Westchester County, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer, pianist and singer. She performed together with her sister Siggie
Siggie Nordstrom
Sigfred Ann "Siggie" Nordstrom was an American model, actress, entertainer, socialite and lead singer of The Nordstrom Sisters....
as a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
singing duo known as The Nordstrom Sisters
Nordstrom Sisters
The Nordstrom Sisters were an American cabaret act which performed internationally from 1931 to 1976.Dagmar Nordstrom the younger of the two sisters was a composer, arranger and the pianist of the duo...
.
Background
Dagmar Nordstrom was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, the second daughter of Anna and Alexander Nordstrom. The family were of Swedish and Norwegian extraction. Dagmar was married briefly to a society playboy, but lived most of her life with her older sister after the death of Siggie's husband, Samuel Ferebee Williams, in 1931.
Career
During the 1920s she cut piano rollPiano roll
A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. A piano roll is a continuous roll of paper with perforations punched into it. The peforations represent note control data...
s for Steinway
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
and Duo-Art
Piano roll
A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. A piano roll is a continuous roll of paper with perforations punched into it. The peforations represent note control data...
. These included:
- "I Still Love You" (by Milton AgerMilton AgerMilton Ager was an American composer.Ager was born in Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of nine children. Leaving school with only three years of formal high-school education, he taught himself to play the piano and embarked on a career as a musician. After spending time as an accompanist to silent...
) - "If You Don't Love Me" (by YellenJack YellenJack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...
-AgerMilton AgerMilton Ager was an American composer.Ager was born in Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of nine children. Leaving school with only three years of formal high-school education, he taught himself to play the piano and embarked on a career as a musician. After spending time as an accompanist to silent...
) - "Happy Days and Lonely NightsHappy Days and Lonely NightsHappy Days and Lonely Nights is a torch song written by Billy Rose and Fred Fisher which Ruth Etting introduced in 1928. The song was successfully revived in the 1950s in the US by the Fontane Sisters and in the UK most successfully by Ruby Murray....
" - "Sweet Dreams" (Ager)
- "Are You Happy?" (Ager)
- "Blue River"
- "Glad Rag DollGlad Rag DollGlad Rag Doll is a 1928 song composed by Milton Ager with lyrics by Jack Yellen and Dan Dougherty. It was Ager and Yellen’s first movie theme song, written for the motion picture of the same name starring Dolores Costello....
" (by YellenJack YellenJack Selig Yellen was an American lyricist and screenwriter.-Life and career:Born in Poland, Yellen emigrated with his family to the United States when he was five years old. The oldest of seven children, he was raised in Buffalo, New York and began writing songs in high school...
-AgerMilton AgerMilton Ager was an American composer.Ager was born in Chicago, Illinois, the sixth of nine children. Leaving school with only three years of formal high-school education, he taught himself to play the piano and embarked on a career as a musician. After spending time as an accompanist to silent...
-Dougherty) - "That's the Good Old Sunny South"
Dagmar and Siggie had a flat
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for a year in 1939 when they were the resident performers at The Ritz
Ritz Hotel
The Ritz London is a luxury 5-star hotel located in Piccadilly and overlooking Green Park in London.- History :Swiss hotelier César Ritz, former manager of the Savoy Hotel, opened the hotel on 24 May 1906...
. With the exception of their October trips to Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...
for the baths, they regularly performed either in clubs in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
or on board transatlantic ocean liners, most commonly on the Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
and Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line
Norwegian America Line , was a cruise ship line, originally an operator of passenger and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later to East Africa as well....
. The duo were on the maiden around the world voyage of the combined ocean liner/cruise ship MS Sagafjord
Saga Rose
MS Saga Rose was an ocean liner formerly owned and operated by Saga Cruises on worldwide cruises targeted at the senior market out of the United Kingdom. She was built in 1965 by Société Nouvelle des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée for Norwegian America Line as the combined ocean...
.
Dagmar wrote the music for Remembering You, a foxtrot which was published as sheet music and a full orchestration in 1940. During the 1940s she and her sister were often on the radio and through the 1960s when they were not otherwise engaged as a team, Dagmar would at times take an assignment alone playing in a club.
Death
The sisters maintained an active social life and were the toast of many private parties in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
until her death in 1976 when she suffered a massive stroke. Several good friends, including the photographer Edgar de Evia
Edgar de Evia
Edgar Domingo Evia y Joutard, known professionally as Edgar de Evia , was a Mexican-born American photographer....
, arrived for dinner and she was reclined in their living room, her mind still clear, saying "Oh, my dear boys, I believe that I've had a stroke." She died that night, aged 72. Following services at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, she was cremated and interred with her mother in the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
at Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian...
, Westchester County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
.