Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Harry Edward Nilsson III |
Also known as | Nilsson |
Born | New York City, U.S. | June 15, 1941
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | January 15, 1994 Agoura Hills, California, U.S. | (aged 52)
Genres | Rock, pop[1] |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) |
|
Discography | Harry Nilsson discography |
Years active | 1958–1992 |
Labels | |
Spouse(s) |
|
Website | harrynilsson |
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal
Born in
He created the first remix album, Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, in 1971, and recorded the first mashup song ("You Can't Do That”) in 1967.[3] His most commercially successful album, Nilsson Schmilsson (1971), produced the international top 10 singles "Without You" and "Coconut". His other top 10 hit, "Everybody's Talkin'" (1968), was featured prominently in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. A version of Nilsson's "One", released by Three Dog Night in 1969, also reached the U.S. top 10.[4]
During a 1968 press conference, The Beatles were asked what their favorite American group was and answered "Nilsson". Sometimes called "the American Beatle",[3] he soon formed close friendships with John Lennon and Ringo Starr, joining them in the Hollywood Vampires drinking club. He and Lennon produced one collaborative album, Pussy Cats (1974). After 1977, Nilsson left RCA, and his record output diminished. In response to Lennon's 1980 murder, he took a hiatus from the music industry to campaign for gun control. For the rest of his life, he recorded only sporadically. In 1994, Nilsson died of a heart attack while in the midst of recording what became his last album, Losst and Founnd (2019).
The craft of Nilsson's songs and the defiant attitude he projected remain touchstones for later generations of
Early life
Nilsson was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, on June 15, 1941.[7][8] His paternal great-grandfather, a Swede who later emigrated to and became naturalized in the United States, created an act known as an "aerial ballet" (which is the title of one of Nilsson's albums).[9]
His mother, Elizabeth (née Martin) Nilsson, was known as "Bette" to the family. She was born in 1920 in New York to Charles Augustus Martin and Florence Madeline (née Stotz) Martin. Bette had a brother, John, and a sister, Mary. Her parents were the cornerstones of her son's young life. While his maternal grandmother played piano, his maternal grandfather, Charlie Martin, supported the family in a tiny railroad apartment on Jefferson Avenue in Brooklyn.[10] His father, Harry Edward Nilsson Jr., abandoned the family when Harry was three years old. An autobiographical reference to this is found in the opening to Nilsson's song "1941":
Well, in 1941, a happy father had a son.
And by 1944, the father had walked right out the door
Nilsson's "
Due to his family's poor financial situation, Nilsson worked from an early age, including a job at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles. When the cinema closed in 1960, he applied for a job at a bank, falsely claiming he was a high school graduate on his application (he completed through ninth grade).[12] He had an aptitude for computers, which were starting to be used at banks at the time. He later performed so well in his role, the bank retained him even after they discovered he had lied about his education. He worked on bank computers at night and, in the daytime, pursued his songwriting and singing careers.[12]
Career
This section's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (December 2017) |
1962–1966: Musicianship beginnings
By 1958, Nilsson was intrigued by emerging forms of popular music, especially
His uncle's singing lessons, along with Nilsson's natural talent, helped him when he got a job singing demos for songwriter Scott Turner in 1962. Turner paid Nilsson five dollars for each track they recorded. (When Nilsson became famous, Turner decided to release these early recordings, and contacted Nilsson to work out a fair payment. Nilsson replied that he had already been paid – five dollars a track.)[11]
In 1963, Nilsson began to have some early success as a songwriter, working with John Marascalco on a song for Little Richard. Upon hearing Nilsson sing, Little Richard reportedly remarked: "My! You sing good for a white boy!"[12] Marascalco also financed some independent singles by Nilsson. One, "Baa Baa Blacksheep", was released under the pseudonym "Bo Pete" to some small local airplay. Another recording, "Donna, I Understand", convinced Mercury Records to offer Nilsson a contract, and release recordings by him under the name "Johnny Niles".[12]
By 1964, Nilsson worked with Phil Spector, writing three songs with him. He also established a relationship with songwriter and publisher Perry Botkin Jr., who began to find a market for Nilsson's songs. Botkin also gave Nilsson a key to his office, providing another place to write after hours.[11]
Through his association with Botkin, Nilsson met and became friends with musician, composer and arranger
Nilsson's recording contract was picked up by Tower Records, which in 1966 released the first singles actually credited to him by name, as well as the debut album Spotlight on Nilsson. None of Nilsson's Tower releases charted or gained much critical attention, although his songs were being recorded by Glen Campbell, Fred Astaire, The Shangri-Las, The Yardbirds, and others. Despite his growing success, Nilsson remained on the night shift at the bank.[11]
1967–1968: Signing with RCA Victor
Nilsson signed with RCA Victor in 1966 and released an album the following year,
Some of the albums from Derek Taylor's box eventually ended up with the Beatles themselves,[16] who quickly became Nilsson fans. This may have been helped by the track "You Can't Do That", in which Nilsson covered the John Lennon penned tune – and also worked references to 17 other Beatles tunes in the mix, usually by quoting snippets of Beatles lyrics in the multi-layered backing vocals. When John Lennon and Paul McCartney held a press conference in 1968 to announce the formation of the Apple Corps, Lennon was asked to name his favorite American artist. He replied, "Nilsson". McCartney was then asked to name his favorite American group. He replied, "Nilsson".[11]
"You Can't Do That" was Nilsson's first hit as a performer; though it stalled at No. 122 on the US charts, it hit the top 10 in Canada.[11]
When RCA had asked if there was anything special, he wanted as a signing premium, Nilsson asked for his own office at RCA, being used to working out of one. In the weeks after the Beatles' Apple press conference, Nilsson's office phone began ringing constantly, with offers and requests for interviews and inquiries about his performing schedule. Nilsson usually answered the calls himself, surprising the callers, and answered questions candidly. (He recalled years later the flow of a typical conversation: "When did you play last?" "I didn't." "Where have you played before?" "I haven't." "When will you be playing next?" "I don't.") Nilsson acquired a manager, who steered him into a handful of TV guest appearances, and a brief run of stage performances in Europe set up by RCA. He disliked the experiences he had, though, and decided to stick to the recording studio. He later admitted this was a huge mistake on his part.[11]
John Lennon called and praised Pandemonium Shadow Show, which he had listened to in a 36-hour marathon.[12] Paul McCartney called the following day, also expressing his admiration. Eventually a message came, inviting him to London to meet the Beatles, watch them at work, and possibly sign with Apple.
Pandemonium Shadow Show was followed in 1968 by
Aerial Ballet also contained Nilsson's version of his composition
With the success of Nilsson's RCA recordings, Tower re-issued or re-packaged many of their early Nilsson recordings in various formats. All of these reissues failed to chart, including a 1969 single "Good Times".[11] This track, however, was resurrected as a duet with Micky Dolenz for the 2016 Monkees' album of the same name by adding additional parts to an unused Monkees backing track recorded in 1968.
1969–1972: Chart success
Nilsson's next album, Harry (1969), was his first to hit the charts, and also provided a Top 40 single with "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" (written as a contender for the theme to Midnight Cowboy), used in the Sophia Loren movie La Mortadella (1971) (US title: Lady Liberty). While the album still presented Nilsson as primarily a songwriter, his astute choice of cover material included, this time, a song by then-little-known composer Randy Newman, "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear".
Nilsson was so impressed with Newman's talent that he devoted his entire next album to Newman compositions, with Newman himself playing piano behind Nilsson's multi-tracked vocals.
The self-produced Nilsson Sings Newman also marked the end of his collaboration with RCA staff producer Rick Jarrard, who recounted in the documentary Who is Harry Nilsson? that the partnership was terminated by a telegram from Nilsson, who abruptly informed Jarrard that he wanted to work with other producers, and the two never met or spoke again. Jarrard states in the documentary that he never found out why Nilsson had decided to terminate their professional relationship.[11]
Nilsson's next project was an animated film, The Point!, created with animation director Fred Wolf, and broadcast on ABC television on February 2, 1971, as an "ABC Movie of the Week". Nilsson's self-produced album of songs from The Point! was well received and it spawned a top 40 single, "Me and My Arrow".[18]
Later that year, Nilsson went to England with producer Richard Perry to record what became the most successful album of his career, Nilsson Schmilsson, which yielded three stylistically different hit singles. The first was a cover of Badfinger's song "Without You" (by British songwriters Pete Ham and Tom Evans), featuring a highly emotional arrangement and soaring vocals to match – recorded, according to Perry, in a single take. It was alleged, by Harry himself, that, upon hitting the highest note of the song, he burst a large haemorrhoid.[11] The performance earned him his second Grammy Award.[15]
The second single was "Coconut", a novelty calypso number featuring four characters (the narrator, the brother, the sister, and the doctor) all sung (at Perry's suggestion) in different voices by Nilsson.[19] The song is best remembered for its chorus lyric ("Put de lime in de coconut, and drink 'em both up"). Also notable is that the entire song is played using one chord, C7.[20] The third single, "Jump into the Fire", was raucous rock and roll, including a drum solo by Derek and the Dominos' Jim Gordon and a detuned bass part by Herbie Flowers.[20]
Nilsson followed quickly with
Nilsson was known as a "singer-composer who is heard but not seen", as he did not do concerts or shows. Prior to agreeing to be featured on an episode of director and producer's
1973–1979: Maverick
Nilsson's disregard for commercialism in favor of artistic satisfaction was on display in his next release,
Nilsson appeared in a
In 1973, Nilsson was back in California, and when John Lennon moved there during his separation from
To make matters worse, at a late night party and jam session during the recording of the album, attended by Lennon, McCartney, Starr, Danny Kortchmar, and other musicians,[25] Nilsson ruptured a vocal cord, but he hid the injury for fear that Lennon would call a halt to the production. The resulting album was Pussy Cats. In an effort to clean up, Lennon, Nilsson and Ringo Starr first rented a house together, then Lennon, Nilsson and Starr left for New York.[11] After the relative failure of his latest two albums, RCA Records considered dropping Nilsson's contract. In a show of friendship, Lennon and Starr accompanied Nilsson to negotiations, and both intimated to RCA that Lennon and Starr might want to sign with them, once their Apple Records contracts with EMI expired in 1975, but would not be interested if Nilsson were no longer with the label.[12] RCA took the hint and re-signed Nilsson (adding a bonus clause, to apply to each new album completed), but neither Lennon nor Starr signed with RCA.
In 1973, Nilsson performed in a film with Ringo called Son of Dracula, a musical featuring many of his songs and a new cut, "Daybreak". The subsequent soundtrack produced by Richard Perry was released in 1974.
Nilsson's voice had mostly recovered by his next release, Duit on Mon Dei (1975), but neither it nor its follow-ups, Sandman and ...That's the Way It Is (both 1976), were met with chart success. Finally, Nilsson recorded what he later considered to be his favorite album Knnillssonn (1977). With his voice strong again, and his songs exploring musical territory reminiscent of Harry or The Point!, Nilsson anticipated Knnillssonn to be a comeback album. RCA seemed to agree, and promised Nilsson a substantial marketing campaign for the album. However, the death of Elvis Presley caused RCA to ignore everything except meeting demand for Presley's back catalog, and the promised marketing push never happened.[26] This, combined with RCA releasing a Nilsson Greatest Hits collection without consulting him, prompted Nilsson to leave the label.[11]
Nilsson's London apartment
Nilsson's 1970s London residence, at Flat 12, 9
On September 7, 1978, the Who drummer Keith Moon returned to the same room in the apartment after a night out, and died at 32 from an overdose of Clomethiazole, a prescribed anti-alcohol drug.[12] Nilsson, distraught over another friend's death in his apartment, and having little need for the property, sold it to Moon's bandmate Pete Townshend[27] and consolidated his life in Los Angeles.
1980–1992: Winding down
Nilsson's musical output after leaving RCA Victor was sporadic. He wrote a musical, Zapata, with Perry Botkin Jr. and libretto by
Nilsson was profoundly affected by the death of
Nilsson was asked by Graham Chapman to contribute a score and songs to the 1983 movie Yellowbeard. However, after Nilsson had done some preliminary writing and recording work, the producers of the film decided not continue with Nilsson's music, telling Chapman that they didn't think Nilsson could be counted on to finish the material in the allotted time.[29] None of Nilsson's music was used in the finished film.
After a long hiatus from the studio, Nilsson started recording sporadically once again in the mid to late 1980s. Most of these recordings were commissioned songs for movies or television shows. One notable exception was his work on a Yoko Ono- Lennon tribute album,
In 1985, Nilsson set up a production company, Hawkeye, to oversee various film, TV, and multimedia projects with which he was involved. He appointed his friend, satirist and screenwriter Terry Southern, as one of the principals. They collaborated on a number of screenplays including Obits (a Citizen Kane-style story about a journalist investigating an obituary notice) and The Telephone, a comedy about an unhinged unemployed actor.[11]
The Telephone was virtually the only Hawkeye project that made it to the screen. It had been written with Robin Williams in mind but he turned it down; comedian-actress Whoopi Goldberg then signed on, with Southern's friend Rip Torn directing, but the project was troubled. Torn battled with Goldberg, who interfered in the production and constantly digressed from the script during shooting, and Torn was forced to plead with her to perform takes that stuck to the screenplay. Torn, Southern, and Nilsson put together their own version of the film, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival in early 1988, but it was overtaken by the 'official' version from the studio, and this version premiered to poor reviews in late January 1988. The project reportedly had some later success when adapted as a theatre piece in Germany.[30]
In 1990, Hawkeye floundered, and Nilsson found himself in a dire financial situation after it was discovered that his financial adviser, Cindy Sims, had embezzled all the funds he had earned as a recording artist. The Nilssons were left with $300 in the bank and a mountain of debt, while Sims was imprisoned for less than two years before her 1994 release and was not required to pay restitution.[31]
In 1991, the Disney album For Our Children, a compilation of children's music performed by celebrities to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, included Nilsson's original composition "Blanket for a Sail", recorded at the Shandaliza Recording Studio in Los Angeles.[11] Also in 1991, he recorded a cover of "How About You?" for the soundtrack of the Terry Gilliam film The Fisher King. In 1992, he wrote and recorded the title song for the film Me Myself & I.[32]
Nilsson made his last concert appearance on September 1, 1992, when he joined Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band on stage at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, to sing "Without You" with Todd Rundgren handling the high notes. Afterward, an emotional Starr embraced Nilsson on stage.[11] Nilsson's final album, tentatively titled Papa's Got a Brown New Robe (produced by Mark Hudson) was not released, though several demos from the album were later made available on promotional CDs and online.[11]
1993–1994: Heart attack and death
Born with congenital heart problems, Nilsson suffered a heart attack on February 14, 1993.[33] After surviving that, he began pressing his former label, RCA Records, to release a boxed-set retrospective of his career, and resumed recording, attempting to complete one final album. He finished the vocal tracks for the album with producer Mark Hudson, who held onto the tapes of that session.[34]
Nilsson died of heart failure on January 15, 1994, in his Agoura Hills, California, home at the age of 52.[33]
Nilsson is interred in the Valley Oaks Memorial Park at Westlake Village, California.[35]
Post-mortem releases
In 1995, the 2-disc CD anthology he worked on with RCA, Personal Best, was released.[11][failed verification]
On November 22, 2019, the final album was eventually released as Losst and Founnd.[36]
Personal life
Nilsson married Sandi McTaggart on October 24, 1964.[37] They had no children other than his stepson, Scott Roberts. They divorced in 1967. Nilsson married Diane Clatworthy on December 31, 1969. They had one son, Zak Nine Nilsson, who died of colon cancer on March 4, 2021.[38]
Nilsson and Clatworthy divorced in 1974. Nilsson married Una O'Keeffe on August 12, 1976.[39] They remained married until his death on January 15, 1994. They had six children.[40]
Legacy
Who Is Harry Nilsson?
Nilsson is the subject of the 2006 documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? written, directed, and co-produced by John Schienfeld, the film was screened in 2006 at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. In August 2006, the film received its Los Angeles premiere when it was screened at the 7th Annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival, followed by a panel discussion featuring the filmmakers and two friends of Nilsson: producer Richard Perry and attorney/executive producer Lee Blackman.[11]
The filmmakers re-edited the film with rare found footage of Nilsson, additional interviews, and family photographs, and released it on September 17, 2010, at selected theaters in the United States. A DVD, including additional footage not in the theatrical release, was released on October 26, 2010.[11]
The RCA Albums Collection
On July 30, 2013, Sony Music released a definitive box-set of his RCA era albums called The RCA Albums Collection.[41] Each of the albums in the 17-CD set had additional bonus tracks, and three of the 17 discs contained rarities and outtakes spanning his entire career. Several weeks later on August 13, Flash Harry was finally issued on CD, which also featured additional material.[42]
Awards and accolades
- 2007: The New York Post rated Nilsson's cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" No. 51 on their list of the 100 Best Cover Songs of All Time[43]
- 2012: Rolling Stone ranked Nilsson as 62nd on its list of "The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time"[6]
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1970
|
"Everybody's Talkin'" | Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male | Won |
1973
|
"Without You" | Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Won |
Record of the Year | Nominated | ||
Nilsson Schmilsson | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
Son of Schmilsson | Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical | Nominated |
Discography
- Spotlight on Nilsson (1966)
- Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967)
- Aerial Ballet (1968)
- Skidoo (1968) (soundtrack)
- Harry (1969)
- Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)
- The Point! (1970) (studio album and soundtrack)
- Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)
- Son of Schmilsson (1972)
- A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973)
- Son of Dracula (1974) (soundtrack)
- Pussy Cats (1974)
- Duit on Mon Dei (1975)
- Sandman (1976)
- ...That's the Way It Is (1976)
- Knnillssonn (1977)
- Flash Harry (1980)
- Popeye (1980) (soundtrack)
- Losst and Founnd (2019)
Filmography
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2021) |
Title | Year | Notes |
---|---|---|
I Spy | 1966 | In episode Sparrowhawk "Untitled Composition", sung by Nilsson in background of a conversation scene |
Skidoo
|
1968 | Songs written and performed, soundtrack music composer, actor (bit role) |
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | 1969 | Acted and sang – He appeared in the episode "The Music Maker", and his character name was Tim Seagirt. He sang "Without Her" and "If Only I Could Touch Your Hand". |
The Courtship of Eddie's Father | 1969–1972 | Theme song written and performed, incidental music |
Midnight Cowboy | 1969 | Cover of the Fred Neil song of "Everybody's Talkin'" performed and used as theme |
Jenny | 1970 | Song "Waiting" written and performed |
The Point! | 1971 | Story, all songs written and performed |
Son of Dracula | 1974 | Actor (lead role), all songs performed |
In God We Tru$t | 1980 | New version of "Good for God" written and performed |
Popeye | 1980 | All songs written, except "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man" |
Handgun | 1983 | Song "Lay Down Your Arms" written and performed |
First Impressions | 1988 | Theme song co-written, performed |
The Telephone[44] | 1988 | Screenplay co-written by Harry Nilsson and only released film of Nilsson's production company, Hawkeye |
Camp Candy | 1989–1992 | Theme song written, and performed with John Candy |
Goodfellas | 1990 | "Jump into the Fire" performed |
The Fisher King
|
1991 | Version of "How About You?" performed |
Me Myself & I | 1992 | Song "Me Myself & I" written and performed |
You've Got Mail
|
1998 | Songs "The Puppy Song," "Remember (Christmas)," "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" written and performed. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" performed. Progression and melody of "Remember (Christmas)" used as incidental music in film score |
Shanghai Knights | 2003 | Song "One" written and performed |
Michael: Everyday | 2011 | Song "Gotta Get Up" written and performed (used as theme song) |
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | 2016 | Song "Without You" performed |
Russian Doll | 2019 | Song "Gotta Get Up" written and performed (used as theme song) |
Tributes and cover versions
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2020) |
- "One" was covered by Three Dog Night in 1969, among many others
- "Perfect Day" was covered by Dresage and Slow Shiver, featured in the intro of the Better Call Saul episode "Fun and Games."
- Nilsson by Tipton (1970, Warner Bros. Records), Although it may not be considered a tribute, it featured George Tipton conducting instrumental versions of 11 Nilsson songs.
- For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson (1995, MusicMasters/BMG), featured Nilsson's songs performed by Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Richard Barone, Brian Wilson, Aimee Mann, Fred Schneider, and others, with proceeds benefiting the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
- I'll Never Leave You: A Tribute to Harry Nilsson (2005, Wood Records). A percentage of profits from sales of the CD went to benefit Amnesty International
- Ringo Starr wrote "Harry's Song" as a tribute to Nilsson on his 2008 album Liverpool 8.
- "Pussy Cats" Starring The Walkmen (2006, Record Collection) The whole of the Pussy Cats album covered by The Walkmen.
- Billy J. Kramer recorded the song "1941" in 1968 before Nilsson was well known.
- "Without Her" has been covered by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Astrud Gilberto, and George Benson.
- This Is the Town: A Tribute to Nilsson, Vol. 1 and This Is the Town: A Tribute to Nilsson, Vol. 2 (2014, 2019, The Royal Potato / Royal Potato Family Records),[45][46] feature Nilsson songs performed by various indie artists.
- Sean Nelson released Nelson Sings Nilsson, a whole album of Nilsson's songs, in 2019.
- Ty Segall released a set of covers of six Nilsson Schmilsson tracks, Segall Smeagol, on Bandcamp in March 2020.[47]
- The title track of Lana Del Rey's 2023 studio album Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd was inspired by Nilsson's 1974 track Don't Forget Me from Pussy Cats.
Bibliography
- Shipton, Alyn (2013). Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-933069-0.
References
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. "Harry Nilsson – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
- ^ a b Shipton 2013, pp. xi, 290–291.
- ^ a b Fennessey, Sean (August 6, 2013). "Deconstructing Harry". Grantland.
- ^ "Three Dog Night-Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
- ^ Staff. "Harry Nilsson's Childhood Home - The childhood home of one of America's greatest unsung troubadours still stands in a much changed Brooklyn neighborhood", Atlas Obscura. Retrieved June 17, 2017. "The crooner was born to a poor family in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn on June 15th, 1941. He lived on the top floor of 762 Jefferson Avenue, a simple Romanesque Revival-style apartment building constructed in 1901, until the family fled to California a decade later."
- ^ Shipton 2013, p. 1.
- ^ "Nilsson's Aerial Ballet". NilssonSchmilsson.com. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
"Carl Emanuel Nilsson". NilssonSchmilsson.com. Retrieved September 8, 2021. - ^ a b Shipton, Alyn, Harry Nilsson: Life and Times of a Singer-Songwriter, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
- ^ Lorber Films. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Eden, Dawn (April 29, 1994). "One Last Touch of Nilsson". Goldmine Magazine. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ Shipton 2013, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Lounge, The Art Music (March 24, 2016). "Dreams Are Nothing More Than Wishes: The Harry Nilsson Story". THE ART MUSIC LOUNGE. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c Lyons, Richard D. (January 16, 1994). "Harry Nilsson, Singer, Dies at 52". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ "Harry Nilsson Biography". NilssonSchmilsson.com. 2008. Archived from the original on June 17, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ Shipton 2013, pp. 65–96.
- ^ Shipton 2013, pp. 108–124.
- ^ Shipton 2013, pp. 125–127.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-37907-9.
- ^ "Harry Nilsson First Show". The Evening Post. p. 3. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
- ^ "John Tobler, Stuart Grundy, 'The Record Producers', BBC Books, 1982: Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages". www.rocksbackpages.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ 45press (June 1, 1973). "A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night". The Official Harry Nilsson Site. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "The John Lennon we did not know". Today.com. June 27, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ Browne, David (April 11, 2013). "The Knights of Soft Rock". Rolling Stone. No. 1180. pp. 52–59, 70.
- ^ Fennessey, Sean (August 2, 2013). "Deconstructing Harry". Grantland. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
- ^ Shipton 2013, p. 235.
- ^ 45press (January 1, 1980). "Popeye (Soundtrack)". The Official Harry Nilsson Site. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Chapman, Graham (2005). Yellowbeard: High jinks on the high seas. Carroll & Graf, pp. 24-25
- ^ Lee Hill – A Grand Guy: The Life and Art of Terry Southern (Bloomsbury, 2001).
- ^ "In The End, Only Creditors Talked To Nilsson". The Seattle Times. November 7, 1994. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- ^ "Harry Nilsson Discography". Retrieved July 12, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 1846090911.
- ^ Schonfeld, Zach (November 21, 2019). "Harry Nilsson Serenades Fans From Beyond the Grave on Losst And Founnd". Paste. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ Shipton 2013, p. 287.
- ^ Edgers, Geoff (September 25, 2019). "Pop genius Harry Nilsson left an unreleased record behind. Now you can finally hear the completed version". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ Shipton 2013, p. 34.
- ^ Cashmere, Paul (March 5, 2021). "Zak Nilsson Loses His Battle With Cancer". Noise11. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ Shipton 2013, p. 266
- ^ Leahey, Andrew (February 12, 2013). "Everybody's Talking About Harry Nilsson". American Songwriter.
- ^ Label: Sony Legacy ASIN: B00CJCHJ8S
- ^ Label: Varèse Sarabande Records ASIN: B00DJYK3X8
- ^ Huhn, Mary and Maxine Shen. "THEY'VE GOT IT COVERED - NYPOST.com". Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved May 29, 2010. "They've Got It Covered: The 100 Best Cover Songs of All Time". New York Post. July 18, 2007
- ^ Shipton 2013, p. 272.
- ^ "This Is the Town: A Tribute to Nilsson, Vol. 1". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "This Is the Town: A Tribute to Nilsson, Vol. 2". AllMusic. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ "Segall Smeagol, by Ty Segall". Tysegall.bandcamp.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.