What a nice clip from back in the day. Loved the Smothers Brothers show. Nilsson wrote such good songs and had such a great voice. I discovered him through the movie "Midnight Cowboy". Look for his work on Utoob or other for an animated special called "The Point". He's well worth checking out for many of his works.

[www.youtube.com]

Love love love this clip, and Nilsson! I regret never seeing him live - gone far too soon. I was far too young to watch the Smothers Bros … but an older sibling in the house made it unavoidable! They were pretty clean cut, but their show was pretty subversive for the times … Pat Paulson included. Tommy was with John and Yoko at the Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal when they recorded Give Peace A Chance. They showcased a lot of great artists at the time.

While waiting to hit the airport for a flight to Vancouver many years ago, I killed some time in a downtown Toronto Starbucks surfing Netflix and came across this interestingly titled documentary:

"Who Is Harry Nilsson And Why Is Everyone Talking About Him?"

Well, a great title, because I didn't know who Harry Nilsson was, and I did wonder why everyone was talking about him.

And then I realized I did know who Harry was, through all the great music. And what an interesting and ultimately tragic story. Highly recommend it.

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SomeTorontoGirl
I regret never seeing him live - gone far too soon.

I'm not sure he ever really toured???

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treaclefingers
While waiting to hit the airport for a flight to Vancouver many years ago, I killed some time in a downtown Toronto Starbucks surfing Netflix and came across this interestingly titled documentary:

"Who Is Harry Nilsson And Why Is Everyone Talking About Him?"

Well, a great title, because I didn't know who Harry Nilsson was, and I did wonder why everyone was talking about him.

The title is a reference to a now-forgotten Dustin Hoffman movie.

[en.wikipedia.org]


Nilsson didn't tour or do live performances except for a few things early in his career, and a special for the BBC when his standards album came out.


There used to be a (very)rough cut on YouTube of a film never completed documenting the making of Son of Schmilsson. This clip remains of a song that I think will become an anthem in the comimg years.

[www.youtube.com]

Nilsson is a legend and always underrated. Incredible he's not in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (not that they're the arbiter of anything, but just is my go to to show how out of touch they still are) and the doc about him that's been mentioned here is brilliant and was overdue. His interview with Pete Fornatele late in life was also a gem:

[www.youtube.com]

So sad we lost him so early. He never toured, very few live performances ever. Just an enigma of a guy that did things his way. And Nilsson Schmilsson is one of the greatest albums ever. As is the Point and a few others. Love Nilsson.

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kovach

I'm not sure he ever really toured???

I’m sure you”re right.

Nilsson trivia - he owned an apartment in London that he only used part time. He rented it to various friends over the years, including Cass Elliot and Keith Moon, who both died there. After Keith Moon passéd, Nilsson never wanted to see it again. Pete Townsend bought it from him.

[rulefortytwo.com]

I found the doc that I mentioned previously:





My favorite album by him was his last one for RCA in 1977 that he wrote all the songs for.





The label didn't promote it because they were too busy pushing the Elvis catalog right after his death.

It doesn't sound like 1977 music. It could be 1957. Or 2007. It is pretty much timeless.


I once saw Harry at the LA premiere of "That'll Be The Day" outside of the Beverly Canon theater in 1974. He arrived in a limo and was ten steps ahead of Ringo. Mr. Starr walks out, and the cameras begin flashing and everything goes slow motion. I turn my head to look over to Harry, and he's standing back waiting and watching.

I say, "Hey! Harry!!" and give him the thumbs up. He nods with a smile and returns it. I wanted him to know he wasn't invisible. (Keith Moon had walked in just earlier and wasn't even spotted by the Beatle crowd)

It was a nice moment. Harry didn't perform live, but at least I saw him in person.

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loog droog

I once saw Harry at the LA premiere of "That'll Be The Day" outside of the Beverly Canon theater in 1974. He arrived in a limo and was ten steps ahead of Ringo. Mr. Starr walks out, and the cameras begin flashing and everything goes slow motion. I turn my head to look over to Harry, and he's standing back waiting and watching.

I say, "Hey! Harry!!" and give him the thumbs up. He nods with a smile and returns it. I wanted him to know he wasn't invisible. (Keith Moon had walked in just earlier and wasn't even spotted by the Beatle crowd)

It was a nice moment. Harry didn't perform live, but at least I saw him in person.

Awesome.

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loog droog
I found the doc that I mentioned previously…:

This made me unreasonably happy. Lavish thanks!

Harry Nilsson -Girlfriend

The Courtship of Eddie's Father theme song is by Nilsson. It was originally called Girlfriend, but he changed it to fit with the story of the show.

His Nillson Schmillson album was always one of my favorites! Jump Into the Fire, Coconut, etc.!

I have to buck the trend here -- I enjoyed son of schmillson and pussy cats, as well as everybody's talking, but I personally don't think nillson was the genius a lot of people say he was. Yeah he wrote a few good things, made a couple decent albums but that was it. He blew his voice out, and due to his alcohol-ism became more notable for his partying with Lennon, Ringo, Keith Moon and Mickey dolenz than doing anything substantial -from everything I have read he was a nasty drunk who torpedoed his own career. I have heard a few of his albums after pussy cats and they are pretty rough going

He never toured and never really played live. He played a "concert" on the BBC, but it didn't have a real live audiance.

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LeonidP
Harry Nilsson -Girlfriend

The Courtship of Eddie's Father theme song is by Nilsson. It was originally called Girlfriend, but he changed it to fit with the story of the show.

His Nillson Schmillson album was always one of my favorites! Jump Into the Fire, Coconut, etc.!

Son of Schmilsson, The Point, and Arial Ballet are all pretty good too.