Posted on 11/07/2016 9:38:40 PM PST by Bubba Gump Shrimp
Harry Nilsson was arguably the most interesting man in rock and roll, but he may have been a bit too interesting for his own good. As an artist, Nilsson was willfully elusive and peculiar, and the wild swath of his creative output may have kept his legacy too far on the down-low. It certainly kept him under the radar of the likes of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who've yet to give Nilsson his props.
Truth is Nilsson liked to work. So he became a chameleon who would change musical spots depending on the gig. He was an acrobatic vocalist who crafted impeccable pop tunes, but his highest charting song,
(Excerpt) Read more at web.musicaficionado.com ...
The Big Lebowski: “No Eagles man.”
It was a joke.
:D
I was out of college and on the fringes of the old Fayetteville Arkansas Dickson street crowd when word went around that “The Point” was going to air on TV. It was going to be on cable and that was new so only a few people had it. A number of parties were organized and it turned into an event. I hadn’t seen it since until I looked it up tonight, brought back a lot of good memories.
A great song too, in fact it has a very similar piano riff to begin the songs.
Is he the father of the Nilsson brothers, who did hair rock in the 80s?
I went to this site, and just saw that Randy Newman actually wrote Remember, which surprised me—though Randy Newman does have a great talent for writing interesting, memorable tunes.
Without You was written by Peter Ham of Badfinger, but Badfinger’s original version wasn’t a hit. Nilsson made the song famous and did a great job with it.
The whole idea that the same guy could do Without You, Coconut (back to back on the same album no less), and You’re Breaking My Heart (aka The FU song, on the next album) is always mind boggling to me. Amazingly eclectic, odd, talented guy. Died too soon from drinking too much.
And who corrupted him to begin with?!
Hard to say what concert tours might have done to his record sales, but in any case, he enjoyed a stellar career. He also became a doting father to six children in his last years.
By the way, both Cass Elliot and Keith Moon died in a London flat he owned. He eventually sold it to Pete Townshend.
A documentary about him, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)? , is excellent.
bump
I don’t remember Terry Anderson, but I will never forget George’s leftist detractors Moscow Mary, The Documentation Person (aka Doc), and Lefty Louie. I also recall Mr. Asia, an expert on all things Asian.
Ha, I’d forgotten about all of those jerks. I had the impression that Lefty Louie might have been someone whose name we would have recognized immediately from Hollywood. Like say a Jack Lemmon, but that’s just my guess.
I remember catching Doc calling in to some show over on KPFK, which if it wasn’t sponsored by Moscow it should have been. A show run by some woman Commissar, and Doc was obsequiously grovelling for some violation of the official Party line. Pathetic but amusing.
Here’s a tribute to the late, great Terry Anderson who got his start from George:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tj4RvhB_L70
wasn’t Mr Asia a retired meteorologist? I remember him. George had some excellent regular callers.
...Well I felt so sad and lonely, I threw my drink across the lawn,”
I can’t find that song. Which is it?
I see Pete Ham is an alumnus of the 27 club (Jimi Hendrix Janis Joplin Jim Morrison).
...it was actually a tune by Martin Mull.
I apologize for my tasteless and self-indulgent appreciation for the absurd.
8^)
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