Harry Nilsson

An enigmatic American singer-songwriter, Harry Nilsson - who tended to use only his surname - built a big following in the 1970s despite his dislike of appearing live and hit the big time when his song Everybody's Talkin' was used as the theme for the hit movie Midnight Cowboy. Descended from a Swedish circus family, he was brought up in Brooklyn, New York and, mostly raised by his single parent mother, had a tough upbringing and left school early. He found an empathy with music, however, first expressing his talent in a close harmony duo with Jerry Smith, learning to play ukulele, guitar and piano. Nilsson got a job singing demos for songwriter Scott Turner in 1960 and teamed up with John Marascalco in his first attempts at songwriting, going on to release his first single Baa Baa Blacksheep under the name Bo Pete and he also recorded under the name Johnny Niles. In 1964 he found a new songwriting partner in Phil Spector and built a strong reputation in the industry with the encouragement of composer/arranger George Tipton, who subsequently worked with him on many recordings. With his songs covered by some of the biggest names of the day, including The Yardbirds, Glen Campbell and Shangri-Las, Nilsson released his first album Spotlight On Nilsson in 1966 and acquired some influential fans, notably The Beatles. Written by Fred Neil, his cover of Everybody's Talkin' was initially included on Nilsson's 1968 album Aerial Ballet and it became a major international hit as a result of Midnight Cowboy. His next album Harry (1969) was a big success and devoting his next release to the songs of Randy Newman, he was instrumental in bringing Newman to worldwide acclaim. His greatest success, however, was the 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson, including the hit Without You, written by Pete Ham of Badfinger. His reluctance to appear live limited his popularity and he was touched by tragedy, too - he owned a flat in London in which two stars died - Mama Cass Elliot and Who drummer Keith Moon. Nilsson reappeared sporadically, occasionally working on movies, and died from a heart attack in 1994.