Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson (June 15, 1941 - January 15, 1994) was an American pianist, songwriter and singer, most popular during the 1960s and 70s. During the course of his career, he recorded an eclectic variety of songs that incorporated many different styles, including hard rock ("Jump Into the Fire"), children's music ("Me and My Arrow"), novelty songs ("Coconut"), and soft rock ("I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City").

After years of trying, Nilsson finally managed to release an album, Pandemonium Shadow Show[?] (1967), which was immediately a critical success. The album included a medley of Beatles songs, "You Can't Do That", and that band quickly became enamored of him, leading to rumors that Nilsson would join the band after John Lennon and Paul McCartney called him their favorite American singer. This was followed by Aerial Ballet[?], an eccentric album that included "Everybody's Talking", which became a success after it was used as the theme song for Midnight Cowboy.

Nilsson released several albums in the 1970s, one a cover of Randy Newman songs and the other a soundtrack to The Point[?], an animated children's story, as well as a new hit single, "Without You" from Nilsson Schmilsson[?] (1971), which also included "Coconut" and "Jump Into the Fire".

This was followd by A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night[?] (1973), which was a collection of pre-rock and roll standards and was not very popular among Nilsson fans. Also in the 1970s, Nilsson and John Lennon became good friends, leading to a much publicized incident when they were thrown out of a club is Los Angeles, California, due to excessive drunkenness. Lennon produced Nilsson's next album Pussycats[?]. Nilsson also worked with Ringo Starr on a film, Son of Dracula[?]. Despite some releases over the next decade or so, Nilsson faded out of the music scene and died in 1994 of a massive heart attack. His song "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" was featured on the soundtrack of the movie "You've Got Mail".