I woke up to Nilsson singing Without You, the 1973 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Then I noticed on the TV screen something about Nilsson Schmilsson. My first thought was that this was his real name. Turns out that Nilsson Schmilsson (the whole CD) is Harry Nilsson's seventh album, which also includes Coconut. Sure, you've heard it, for... featured in the films The Addams Family, Reservoir Dogs, Practical Magic, Dick, and Hey Arnold!: The Movie; and heavily referenced on the television show Bones.
Nilsson sings and composes. However, Without You was written by Peter Hamm and Tom Evans for Badfinger, their group, for release in 1970, and in addition to Nilsson, was recorded by over 180 artists. Paul McCartney described Nilsson's version as the killer song of all time.
Harry Edward Nilsson III was born nearly 81 years ago in Brooklyn and passed away in 1994 at the age of 52. With a 3.5 octave range, he was one of the few commercially successful stars who never once performed a major public concert. About his musical life:
By 1964 he was working with Phil Spector, co-writing three songs.- Soon thereafter, The Monkees recorded his Cuddly Toy.
- 1968 saw a notorious experimental film, Head, featuring a Nilsson composition, Daddy's Song. Yup, the whole movie, given 71/71 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes.
In 1969 Nilsson recorded Fred Neil's Everybody's Talkin, which hit #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, winning a Grammy Award, and was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy.- Also that year, a song he wrote in 1968, One, was recorded by Three Dog Night.
Nilsson Schmilsson was released in 1971.- Included Nilsson's cover of Without You, which was completed in one take.
- As indicated earlier, Coconut was also in this album, and you probably did not notice, but the entire song is played using one chord, C7.
- Son of Schmilsson came in 1972.
- From 1973 he became a maverick, and in one incident, he, John Lennon and Ringo Starr were ejected from the Troubadour nightclub for drunken heckling of the Smothers Brothers. That year he performed in Song of Dracula, a musical, with Ringo. Yes, that is the whole film.
- In 1978 the Who drummer Keith Moon died in Nilsson's London apartment of drug overdose.
Was profoundly affected by the death of John Lennon in 1980. Became a gun control advocate.- Worked in 1984 with Yoko Ono on a Lennon tribute album, Every Man Has a Woman.
In 1988 did a tribute album of various artists performing Disney film songs: Stay Awake. Donated his royalties to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.- In 1990 was in debt because his financial adviser embezzled all his funds.
Joined Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to sing Without You. His only live performance of this song! (Need to scroll down.)- Died of a heart attack in 1994.
Who is Harry Nilsson (and Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? is a 2006 documentary on his life. Watch the complete film of nearly two hours. Got excellent 86/87 ratings from Rotten Tomatoes. What a cast: Eric Idle, Micky Dolenz, Terry Gilliam, Randy Newman, Yoki Ono, Paul Williams. Robin Williams, Brian Wilson and even the Smothers Brothers. Ringo was so emotional that he just could not participate.
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