Dagmar Nordstrom (December 12, 1903 – April 9, 1976) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

composer, pianist and singer. She performed together with her sister Siggie as a

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

singing duo known as The Nordstrom Sisters.

Background

Dagmar Nordstrom was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. She was the second daughter of Anna and Alexander Nordstrom. The family were of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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.

Career

Dagmar and Siggie had a flat in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for a year in 1939 when they were the resident performers at The Ritz. With the exception of their October trips to

Bad Gastein Bad Gastein ( is a spa town in the St. Johann im Pongau District. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it is known for the Gastein waterfall and a variety of grand hotel buildings. Geography Bad Gastein i ...

for the baths, they regularly performed either in clubs in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

or on board

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

ocean liners An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

, most commonly on the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

and

Norwegian America Line The Norwegian America Line (), was a shipping line, originally an operator of ocean liners and cargo ships. Founded in 1910, the company ran a regular transatlantic service between Norway and the United States, and later included a route to East ...

. 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 The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

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.

Musical selection

During the 1920s she cut

piano roll A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with holes punched into them. These perforations represent note contro ...

s for the Aeolian Company's

Duo-Art Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company (Ampico), introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of ...

reproducing piano A player piano is a self-playing piano with a pneumatic or electromechanical mechanism that operates the piano action using perforated paper or metallic rolls. Modern versions use MIDI. The player piano gained popularity as mass-produced home ...

. These included: * "I Still Love You" (by

Milton Ager Milton Ager (October 6, 1893 – May 6, 1979) was an American composer, regarded as one of the top songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s. His most lasting compositions include " Ain't She Sweet” and “Happy Days Are Here Again”. Biography Ag ...

) * "If You Don't Love Me" (by Yellen-

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) * "

Happy Days and Lonely Nights "Happy Days and Lonely Nights" is a torch song written by Billy Rose and Fred Fisher, first recorded by The Harmony Brothers on May 18, 1928. The song was successfully revived in the 1950s in the US by the Fontane Sisters and in the UK most succe ...

" * "Sweet Dreams" (Ager) * "Are You Happy?" (Ager) * "Blue River" * "

Glad Rag Doll "Glad Rag Doll" is a 1928 song composed by Milton Ager and Dan Dougherty with lyrics by Jack Yellen. It was Ager and Yellen's first movie theme song, written for the motion picture of the same name (released in 1929) starring Dolores Costello. ...

" (by Yellen-

- Dougherty) * "That's the Good Old Sunny South"

Later years

The sisters maintained an active social life and were the toast of many private parties in

until her death in 1976 when she suffered a massive stroke. Several good friends, including the photographer

Edgar de Evia Edgar Domingo Evia y Joutard, known professionally as Edgar de Evia (July 30, 1910 – February 10, 2003), was a Mexican-born American interiors photographer. In a career that spanned the 1940s through the 1990s, his photography appeared in maga ...

, 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,"Beloved sister of S Nordstrom Williams"
(''The New York Times'', April 10, 1976); retrieved February 24, 2025. she was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

and

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

with her mother in the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

Ferncliff Cemetery Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is a cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, United States, about north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian. Ferncliff has columbariums, a crematory, a small chapel, and a main office loca ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordstrom, Dagmar 1903 births 1976 deaths 20th-century American composers American women singer-songwriters American women pop singers Burials at Ferncliff Cemetery Nightlife in New York City Singers from Chicago People from the Upper East Side American people of Swedish descent Singer-songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American women pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American women composers 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Illinois