I'm a fan of Harry Nilsson, the sweet, whimsical, stunningly talented singer-songwriter with perhaps the most soothing voice I've ever heard, but I didn't know much about his life. This documentary, (made by John Scheinfeld, the filmmaker who made "The U.S. vs. John Lennon"), did a spectacular job in covering Nilsson's life from birth to death, opening with the moving, impromptu announcement of his death by Dustin Hoffman on TV, (Nilsson died of a heart attack at fifty-two).
Included in the film is the story of his funeral service, which was rocked by earthquake aftershocks as friends and family lovingly sang Harry's irreverent hit, "You're Breakin' My Heart," which opens with, "You're breakin' my heart / You're tearin' it apart
Nilsson had a hardscramble childhood: his father abandoned his family when he was four, and Harry was raised by an alchoholic mother in a neighborhod of Brooklyn so poor and dirty there were signs in the alleys that said, "Starve a rat, cover your garbage." When he was a teenager he held up a liquor store for seventeen dollars and change to pay the rent.
He moved to L.A. and worked at The Paramount Theatre and then he managed 132 people on the swing shift at a bank. When his song "Cuddly Toy" was chosen to be recorded by The Monkees, he was told, "You can quit your job at the bank."
The film utilized professional and personal film archieves and dozens of people were interviewed about Harry: producers, friends, colleagues, attorneys, a cousin, his children, wife Una, and ex-wife Diane, with whom he had Zackary Nine Nilsson. Musician friends Ry Cooder, Mickey Dolenz, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Yoko Ono, Al Cooper, Mark Hudson, Paul Williams, and others share memories of a plucky Harry. There are striking interviews with Richard Perry, Perry Botkin, Jr., Bruce Grakal, Eric Idle, May Pang, Robin Williams, The Smothers Brothers, and more. I read that good friend Ringo Starr was not among those interviewed because he has a hard time talking about Harry.
Ry Cooder said that Harry's voice was so beautiful that he almost couldn't play when he heard it. "His voice would heal you; you felt an overwhelming warmth from that voice." Randy Newman said that Harry had a gift for rare melodies and that as a writer, he had an open mind, was enthusiastic about what he liked and was generous with praise. Perry Botkin, Jr. and his partner recognized Harry's prodigious musical gift the moment they heard him sing and quickly signed him with their publishing company.
Nilsson followed his creative instincts instead of locking himself into a path guided by careerism. In 1970, when producers and fans were waiting for more of Harry's original work, he recorded an album of Randy Newman covers. In 1971 he made an album accompanied by an animated film called, "The Point!," a philosophical fable inspired while he was on acid and realized that "everything had a point or there was no point to it." In 1973, at a time he felt his voice was ripe for it, Harry recorded an album of classic 20th-century standards, "A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night." In 1974, he made a bizarre British musical, "Son of Dracula," with pal, Ringo Starr.
In between these various and sundry passion projects, Harry turned out some of his own iconic music with masterpieces like the 1971 album, "Nilsson Schmilsson."
One thing though: Harry didn't do audiences. He didn't like to give concerts; friends said he was terrified of it, had a bad experience performing live early on, and he didn't feel like having to be on at a certain time in an expected way. He agreed to do a BBC special because he was given creative control. As part of that special, three Harrys sang together - harmonizing beautifully with himself - on, "Come On Baby Let The Good Times Roll."
Nilsson also recorded songs for films including Midnight Cowboy, Popeye, and The Fisher King. He brought his eldest son Zak with him to the set of The Fisher King, which gave father and son a chance to spend extended time together for what would turn out to be the first and the last time.
After Derek Taylor, press officer to The Beatles gave the group some of Harry's albums, they became devoted fans of his. Harry developed a close relationship with them, especially John and Ringo. The Beatles said that Nilsson was their favorite American artist and their favorite American group because Harry overdubbed his own music, and was essentially his own backup group. He ruptured a vocal chord - which ruined his voice - during a recording session with John Lennon for the album Pussy Cats. When RCA gave Harry three million to retire, John helped Harry renegociate with RCA.
After John was killed by a crazed man who shot him outside of his home in New York, Harry was devastated -- he took up an anti-handgun campaign with fervor. Someone said that Harry should have been focusing on his music and creative passions, but after the murder of his great friend, he was overcome by this cause; sadly, this same issue still plagues us in America today, decades later.
Harry was a music maverick that did what he wanted to do until his accountant embezzled his money from him and left him in dire need of money to support his beloved wife, Una, and his six children, whom he adored. His life was adventurous, he lived on the edge with excesses of drugs and alcohol, yet everybody who's talking about Harry Nilsson has praise for his musical genius and a twinkle in their eye as they tell a spirited story about him.
This film is a well deserved tribute to Nilsson. His words about his life are included in this documentary; his integrity, humor, and unique, shining music are the stars, I smiled, smiled , laughed and cried my way twice it through ...so far.
Included in the film is the story of his funeral service, which was rocked by earthquake aftershocks as friends and family lovingly sang Harry's irreverent hit, "You're Breakin' My Heart," which opens with, "You're breakin' my heart / You're tearin' it apart
Nilsson had a hardscramble childhood: his father abandoned his family when he was four, and Harry was raised by an alchoholic mother in a neighborhod of Brooklyn so poor and dirty there were signs in the alleys that said, "Starve a rat, cover your garbage." When he was a teenager he held up a liquor store for seventeen dollars and change to pay the rent.
He moved to L.A. and worked at The Paramount Theatre and then he managed 132 people on the swing shift at a bank. When his song "Cuddly Toy" was chosen to be recorded by The Monkees, he was told, "You can quit your job at the bank."
The film utilized professional and personal film archieves and dozens of people were interviewed about Harry: producers, friends, colleagues, attorneys, a cousin, his children, wife Una, and ex-wife Diane, with whom he had Zackary Nine Nilsson. Musician friends Ry Cooder, Mickey Dolenz, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Yoko Ono, Al Cooper, Mark Hudson, Paul Williams, and others share memories of a plucky Harry. There are striking interviews with Richard Perry, Perry Botkin, Jr., Bruce Grakal, Eric Idle, May Pang, Robin Williams, The Smothers Brothers, and more. I read that good friend Ringo Starr was not among those interviewed because he has a hard time talking about Harry.
Ry Cooder said that Harry's voice was so beautiful that he almost couldn't play when he heard it. "His voice would heal you; you felt an overwhelming warmth from that voice." Randy Newman said that Harry had a gift for rare melodies and that as a writer, he had an open mind, was enthusiastic about what he liked and was generous with praise. Perry Botkin, Jr. and his partner recognized Harry's prodigious musical gift the moment they heard him sing and quickly signed him with their publishing company.
Nilsson followed his creative instincts instead of locking himself into a path guided by careerism. In 1970, when producers and fans were waiting for more of Harry's original work, he recorded an album of Randy Newman covers. In 1971 he made an album accompanied by an animated film called, "The Point!," a philosophical fable inspired while he was on acid and realized that "everything had a point or there was no point to it." In 1973, at a time he felt his voice was ripe for it, Harry recorded an album of classic 20th-century standards, "A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night." In 1974, he made a bizarre British musical, "Son of Dracula," with pal, Ringo Starr.
In between these various and sundry passion projects, Harry turned out some of his own iconic music with masterpieces like the 1971 album, "Nilsson Schmilsson."
One thing though: Harry didn't do audiences. He didn't like to give concerts; friends said he was terrified of it, had a bad experience performing live early on, and he didn't feel like having to be on at a certain time in an expected way. He agreed to do a BBC special because he was given creative control. As part of that special, three Harrys sang together - harmonizing beautifully with himself - on, "Come On Baby Let The Good Times Roll."
Nilsson also recorded songs for films including Midnight Cowboy, Popeye, and The Fisher King. He brought his eldest son Zak with him to the set of The Fisher King, which gave father and son a chance to spend extended time together for what would turn out to be the first and the last time.
After Derek Taylor, press officer to The Beatles gave the group some of Harry's albums, they became devoted fans of his. Harry developed a close relationship with them, especially John and Ringo. The Beatles said that Nilsson was their favorite American artist and their favorite American group because Harry overdubbed his own music, and was essentially his own backup group. He ruptured a vocal chord - which ruined his voice - during a recording session with John Lennon for the album Pussy Cats. When RCA gave Harry three million to retire, John helped Harry renegociate with RCA.
After John was killed by a crazed man who shot him outside of his home in New York, Harry was devastated -- he took up an anti-handgun campaign with fervor. Someone said that Harry should have been focusing on his music and creative passions, but after the murder of his great friend, he was overcome by this cause; sadly, this same issue still plagues us in America today, decades later.
Harry was a music maverick that did what he wanted to do until his accountant embezzled his money from him and left him in dire need of money to support his beloved wife, Una, and his six children, whom he adored. His life was adventurous, he lived on the edge with excesses of drugs and alcohol, yet everybody who's talking about Harry Nilsson has praise for his musical genius and a twinkle in their eye as they tell a spirited story about him.
This film is a well deserved tribute to Nilsson. His words about his life are included in this documentary; his integrity, humor, and unique, shining music are the stars, I smiled, smiled , laughed and cried my way twice it through ...so far.