Harry Nilsson
b. Harry Edward Nelson, 15 June 1941, Brooklyn, New York, USA, d. 15 January 1994, Los Angeles, California, USA. Nelson moved to Los Angeles as an adolescent and later undertook a range of different jobs before accepting a supervisor's position at the Security First National Bank. He nonetheless pursued a concurrent interest in music, recording demos of his early compositions which were then touted around the city's publishing houses. Producer Phil Spector drew on this cache of material, recording Paradise and Here I Sit with the Ronettes and This Could Be The Night with the Modern Folk Quartet. None of these songs was released contemporaneously, but such interest inspired the artist's own releases for the Tower label. These singles—credited to 'Nilsson'—included You Can't Take Your Love Away From Me and Good Times (both 1966). The following year the Yardbirds recorded his Ten Little Indians, and Nilsson finally gave up his bank job upon hearing the Monkees' version of another composition, Cuddly Toy, on the radio. He secured a contract with RCA Records and made his album debut with the impressive PANDEMONIUM SHADOW SHOW. The selection was not only notable for Nilsson's remarkable three-octave voice, it also featured You Can't Do That, an enthralling montage of Beatles' songs which drew considerable praise from John Lennon and inspired their subsequent friendship. The artist's own compositions continued to find favour with other acts; the Turtles recorded The Story Of Rock 'N' Roll, Herb Alpert and Blood, Sweat & Tears covered Without Her, while Three Dog Night enjoyed a US chart-topper and gold disc with One. Nilsson's own version of the last-named song appeared on ARIEL BALLET—a title derived from his grandparents' circus act—which also included the singer's rendition of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talking. This haunting recording was later adopted as the theme to the film Midnight Cowboy and gave Nilsson his first US Top 10 hit. HARRYincluded The Puppy Song, later a smash for David Cassidy, while HARRY NILSSON SINGS NEWMAN comprised solely Randy Newman material and featured the songwriter on piano. This project was followed by THE POINT, the soundtrack to a full-length animated television feature, but Nilsson's greatest success came with NILSSON SCHMILSSON and its attendant single, Without You. His emotional rendition of this Badfinger-composed song sold in excess of 1 million copies, topping both the US and UK charts and garnering a 1972 Grammy for Best Male Pop and Rock Vocal Performance. Having completed the similarly-styled SON OF SCHMILSSON, this idiosyncratic performer confounded expectations with A LITTLE TOUCH OF SCHMILSSON IN THE NIGHT, which comprised beautifully orchestrated standards including Makin' Whoopee and As Time Goes By. Nilsson's subsequent career was blighted by well-publicized drinking with acquaintances John Lennon, Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. Lennon produced Nilsson's PUSSY CATS (1974), an anarchic set fuelled by self-indulgence, which comprised largely pop classics, including Subterranean Homesick Blues, Save The Last Dance For Me and Rock Around The Clock. Starr meanwhile assisted the artist on his film soundtrack, SON OF DRACULA. Ensuing releases proved inconsistent, although a 1976 adaptation of The Point, staged at London's Mermaid Theatre, was highly successful, and marked the reunion of former Monkees Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz. By the '80s Nilsson had largely retired from music altogether, preferring to pursue business interests, the most notable of which was a film distribution company based in California's Studio City. However, in 1988 RCA released A TOUCH MORE SCHMILSSON IN THE NIGHT which, in common with its 1973 predecessor, offered the singer's affectionate renditions of popular favourites, including two of E.Y. 'Yip' Harburg's classics, It's Only a Paper Moon and Over The Rainbow. The unyielding paradox of Nilsson's career is that despite achieving recognition as a superior songwriter, his best-known and most successful records were penned by other acts.