Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson (born June 15, 1941, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.—died January 15, 1994, Agoura Hills, California) was an American singer-songwriter of immense talent. A self-taught musician who rose from working in a bank to become an international star, Nilsson had the distinction of once being cited by Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney as their favorite recording artist. Despite his fame as a recording star, he seldom appeared on television and never performed a public concert.

Early life

Nilsson was the son of Harry Edward Nilsson, Jr., and Elizabeth (née Martin) Nilsson. Soon after Nilsson Jr. returned from serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he and his wife separated, largely as a consequence of Elizabeth Nilsson’s struggles with alcoholism. Nilsson III, still a young child, remained in Brooklyn with his mother. His father’s absence had a lasting psychological impact on Nilsson. In 1952 he, his mother, and his sister relocated to southern California, where Nilsson attended parochial schools and learned to play the guitar and piano. At 15, he ran away from home and hitchhiked to Los Angeles. While trying to launch a musical career, he worked as a computer specialist for a Van Nuys, California, bank. Along the way, he began writing songs and adopted the mono moniker Nilsson as his musical identity.

Fame as songwriter and singer

One of Nilsson’s first breaks in the music industry came when he collaborated on the writing of three songs with famed record producer Phil Spector. One of them was recorded (but not released) by the Modern Folk Quartet, the other two by the Ronettes. The first song penned by Nilsson to become a hit was “Cuddly Toy,” which was released by the Monkees in 1967. That year Nilsson signed a recording contract with RCA and released his debut album, The Pandemonium Shadow Show. Although the album was not a commercial success, it won praise from critics. Already in evidence was Nilsson’s remarkable velvety voice (singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb called Nilsson the best singer of their generation), which could be both warm and edgy as well as soar in high register. Using overdubbing techniques, Nilsson provided rich harmony backing himself. The album also made clear that Nilsson was an accomplished lyricist and master of melody.

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His second album, Aerial Ballet (1968), contained all Nilsson originals except for Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talkin’,” which became the theme song for the film Midnight Cowboy (1969) and earned Nilsson a Grammy Award for best contemporary male vocal performance. Commissioned to write the film’s theme song, Nilsson had come up with “I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City,” which reached number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but it was his cover of Neil’s song that captivated director John Schlesinger. Another single from the album, “One” (the “beep, beep, beep” rhythm of which had been inspired by a telephone “busy” signal), became a huge hit in 1969 for the rock group Three Dog Night.

Much impressed by the then relatively unknown singer-songwriter Randy Newman, Nilsson recorded the critically acclaimed Nilsson Sings Newman (1970). He also wrote and recorded the original score for an animated television movie musical, The Point, which included the hit “Me and My Arrow” (1971). Nilsson’s only number-one hit was his cover of Badfinger’s “Without You,” which appeared on his gold-selling album Nilsson Schmilsson (1971), produced by Richard Perry, who had won acclaim for his work with Barbra Streisand. “Without You” garnered Nilsson the Grammy for best pop male vocal performance. The album also featured the whimsically quirky “Coconut” (number eight on the Billboard Hot 100) and the raucous “Jump into the Fire” (number 27 on the Hot 100).

Nilsson was at the top his game, but he began to exhibit increasingly self-destructive behavior, leading celebrity friends on notorious extended binges of wild partying and succumbing to alcoholism and drug abuse, possibly a consequence of what some of those close to him characterized as his deep insecurity.

Later career and death

Nilsson’s friendships with members of the Beatles led to musical collaborations in the early 1970s. He appeared in and recorded the soundtrack for Ringo Starr’s film Son of Dracula (1974). Nilsson also became a close companion of John Lennon (particularly during Lennon and Yoko Ono’s separation), with whom he recorded Pussy Cats (1974), an album of pop classics. Throughout the 1970s Nilsson continued to record, but he experienced only occasional hits. During the 1980s he retreated from the music scene to start a family (his third marriage) and develop businesses, including a Hollywood film distribution company. After Lennon’s murder in 1980, Nilsson became active in gun-control organizations. Following a heart attack in 1993 he began writing and recording once again, which he continued until his death from heart disease in 1994. His story is told in the documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? (2010).

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