This blog tips my hat to Harry Nilsson.
Born Harry Edward Nilsson III, 1941-1994, Nilsson’s iconic “Without You” is the only song when it comes on the radio, I will stop everything I’m doing at the moment and savour the 1971, 3:17 minute song.
Ironically a gifted songwriter, song arranger and singer, his greatest hits were not written by him. “Everybody’s Talking” was written by Fred Neil and “Without You” was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of the British band, Badfinger.
Nilsson was known for his silky, highly versatile tenor voice which boasted 3.5 octave range.
Nilsson’s most accessible and highest chart topping album is “Nilsson Schmilsson” released in 1971, containing “Without You”. The iconic song spent four weeks at the top of the charts. My other favourite songs in the album are “Jump Into The Fire”, “Coconut” and “Gotta Get Up”.
My Nilsson CD Collection (above image).
I especially loved the 1972 “Pussycats” album, a delightful and fruitful collaboration between the two notorious hard-drinking buddies, Harry Nilsson and John Lennon. I have two versions of the album.
My other favourite songs in the album are “Many Rivers To Cross”, “Subterranean Homesick Blues”, “Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga”, and “Save The Last Dance For Me”.
My friend. May Pang, was at the Pussycats recording sessions during Lennon’s “Lost Weekend” era. May is officially credited on the album as “Production Assistant”.
History has, no doubt, revealed that the one and a half years spent in Los Angeles was not at all “lost” for the highly productive and prolific Lennon.
During that one and a half year period, John Lennon released three major best-selling albums – “Mind Games”, “Walls And Bridges” and “Rock ‘N’ Roll”, not to mention producing Nilsson’s great “Pussycats” album, during his supposed “lost weekend”. I like to think May Pang had something to do with grounding and encouraging Lennon and being his Muse.
Unfortunately drugs and booze took control of Nilsson’s short 52 year-old life. I collected his solo recordings through the years. From time to time, I will give Nilsson’s more obscure albums a fond listen – “Son Of Schmilsson” (1972), “A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night” (1973), “Duit On Mon Dei” (“Do It On Monday”) (1975) and “Sandman” (1976).
Cover of “A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night” Album (above image). Nilsson subtly included three Easter eggs in the album cover – see the two buttons on Nilsson’s jacket? The left button is Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr’s son. The right button is Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the Watergate break-in. The album is dedicated to Frank Wills. The flame extending from Nilsson’s thumb is a homage to a gag performed by Stan Laurel in the 1937 Laurel and Hardy movie “Way Out West”.
A bit of Schmilsson rock folklore: Nilsson’s London two-bedroom residence in the 1970s – Flat 12, 9 Curzon Place – was the residence where Mama Cass (aged 32, died of heart failure) and Keith Moon (aged 32, died from overdose of prescribed anti-alcohol drug) spent their final nights. Nilsson eventually sold his flat to Pete Townshend of The Who, Keith Moon’s band mate.
Coincidence – It’s now 3.33 pm as I’m typing this and The Who’s song “Athena” from the album “It’s Hard” comes on the air. A sign?
Sadly, in 1994, at 52 years young, Harry Nilsson died of aheart attack in the midst of recording his final album, “Losst And Founnd”. The album was finally released in 2019.
