Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson(6/15/41 - 1/15/91)
Nilsson was a Brooklyn born singer/songwriter, hits include "Without You" (which he didn't write) and "Jump into the Fire" (which he did), he also had a hit with (but didn't write) the song "Everybody's Talkin'" which was the theme song to the movie "Midnight Cowboy", he also wrote the story and music for the animated movie "The Point" about a little boy named Oblio. He also wrote and performed the theme for "The Courtship of Eddie's Father".
Nilsson started with a plastic ukulele, which he learned to play, and he later developed the ability to play the guitar and piano. When Nilsson could not remember lyrics or parts of the melodies to popular songs, he began to make up his own. This led to writing original songs (The Ramones, reputedly, had a similar beginning in songwriting.Being unable to figure out the tunes of their favorite artists, they decided to write their own.).
In 1966 Nilsson signed with RCA and the following year released Pandemonium Shadow Show (yet another amazing album from 1967 -what a year for music). That album was a true psych-pop masterpiece along with Sgt. Pepper and Odessey and Oracle.

"Harry Nilsson's debut album, Pandemonium Shadow Show, was notoriously loved by the Beatles, and it's easy to see why. This is the only record of its time that feels akin to Sgt. Pepper, and in some ways, it's every bit as impressive. Nilsson works on a much smaller scale, leaning heavily on whimsy yet cutting it with sardonic humor and embellishing it with remarkable song and studiocraft; it's as if McCartney and Lennon were fused into the same body. Pandemonium can't help but feel like a cheeky show of strength by a remarkably gifted imp, spinning out psychedelic fantasias and jokes and trumping his idols by turning out a cover of "She's Leaving Home" (recorded ten days after Sgt. Pepper's release) that rivals the original. Beneath all the light playful melodies ("There Will Never Be" is swinging London, L.A. style) or glorious laments (he rarely equaled "Sleep Late, My Lady Friend"), there are serious strains: the lyrics of "Cuddly Toy" are as unsettling as the melody catchy, the circus-stomp "Ten Little Indians" is a darkly addictive retelling of the Ten Commandments, and "1941" is quietly heartbreaking beneath its jaunty cabaret. Throughout it all, Nilsson impresses with his humor, cleverness, and above all, how his songwriting blossoms under his shockingly inventive studiocraft. Psychedelic pop albums rarely came better than this, and it remains a thorough delight." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide.

Nilsson's 1971 project The Point was an animated film (and album) based on a fable by Harry about a boy and his dog. The film teaches us a lesson about what it means to have a point or be pointless.

In '73 Harry Nilsson released A Little Touch Schmilsson In The Night, a collection of pop standards recorded with an orchestra. At the time this was an unusual undertaking.It's now become common place, for old washed up artists (Rod Stewart, Michael MacDonald, etc.).

Nilsson would also go on to write the songs for Altman's Popeye. (The village/set of Popeye in Malta has now become a vacation spot.)

Harry was also a companion to John Lennon during "The Lost Weekend"( the pair were once thrown out of a club for heckling the Smothers Brothers), and kept a flat in London where both Cass Elliot and Keith Moon would perish.

Nilsson died of heart failure in earl 1994.He would have turned 67 today. He did leave quite a legacy behind.

Here's a trailer for a documentary about him.
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