This is Part 1 of 2 about singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson and his connection to the Beatles. I'll post a link to the second story when I publish it next week.
1968: The Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor listened to an obscure record by and American artist who went by the single name Nilsson. Although the album had two Beatles cover songs, he especially loved the original tune 1941. Taylor gave copies of the record to Lennon and McCartney.
Harry Nilsson lived in Los Angeles and made a meager living penning compositions for other recording artists. His own albums made very little money, so he continued to work at a bank as a computer operator.
One day, Harry’s phone rang. The caller was John Lennon. He told Nilsson how much he loved his album. They had never met, so Nilsson didn’t believe it was the famous Beatle and hung up.
Days later, Paul McCartney called. He also complimented Nilsson on his music. He’d never met McCartney, either, and assumed it was a prank.
Then Nilsson received an invitation to fly to London and sit in on Beatles’ sessions at Apple Studios.
During a random interview, Lennon was asked to name his favorite American musical artist. He said, “Nilsson.”
For the very next question, McCartney was asked his favorite American band. He said, “Nilsson.”
Overnight, the obscure musician received international attention.
He possessed an incredible vocal range of 3 and a half octaves, which was on display in his hit song Without You.
Nilsson’s song Everybody’s Talkin’ was used for the film Midnight Cowboy.
Three Dog Night had a hit with Nilsson’s song One.
He put out a novelty tune that became a surprise success: Coconut (Put de lime in de coconut/Drink ‘em both up).
Nilsson never performed live in concert, and he never publicly stated why not. In the studio he sang all of the backing vocals himself and had lush orchestrations, so his music wasn’t suited to being played live. Also, people speculated that he suffered stage fright.
Nilsson never looked the part of a musical star. Quite the opposite. He often wore pullover sweaters, corduroy pants, and a scraggly beard. The cover photo on his bestselling album showed him in a cheap bathrobe.
In the mid-70s, Nilsson became drinking pals with John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Keith Moon. They went on a legendary year-long bacchanal in which Nilsson stayed drunk constantly. He and Lennon recorded an album together during that mayhem.
Nilsson owned an apartment in Mayfair, London that he later called cursed. That’s because two of his fellow musicians died there. First, Cass Elliot of the Mamas and the Papas died of a heart attack in her sleep while staying in Nilsson’s flat in 1974. Four years later, Keith Moon, drummer for the Who, died in the same apartment. Harry Nilsson was not there for either tragedy as he lived mostly in Los Angeles, but the deaths shook him so badly that he sold the flat. Pete Townsend bought the place in order to keep it from turning into a morbid tourist attraction.
Nilsson was married three times in the span of 12 years. His longest marriage was to his third wife and widow, Una, with whom he had 6 children.
The shooting death of his friend John Lennon deeply affected him. Nilsson became a staunch advocate for gun control.
In the 1980s, upon learning that he had contracted diabetes, Nilsson stopped drinking alcohol. By then, though, the longtime abuse of drugs and booze had damaged his vocal chords.
1992: Nilsson discovered that his business manager had been stealing from him for years. The manager went to prison. Harry was broke and deeply in debt.
That year, he gave an extremely rare live performance. Ringo Starr had formed an All-Star band to play in Las Vegas. Harry Nilsson took the stage for one tune. He played piano and sang his classic hit Without You.
1994: Harry Nilsson died in his sleep from a heart attack in Los Angeles. He was 52.
Days later came the famous Northridge earthquake. During his memorial service, attendees felt the rippling aftershocks.
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