- Nilsson Schmilsson · 1971
- Nilsson Schmilsson · 1971
- Aerial Ballet (Mono Version) · 1968
- Aerial Ballet · 1968
- Nilsson Schmilsson · 1971
- Nilsson Schmilsson · 1971
- Son Of Schmilsson · 1967
- Harry · 1969
- The Point! · 1970
- Nilsson Schmilsson · 1971
- Forrest Gump (The Soundtrack) · 1968
- Son Of Schmilsson · 1972
- Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (1971 Mixes) · 1971
Essential Albums
- Nilsson Schmilsson was not only Harry Nilsson’s commercial breakthrough, it was the artist’s moment of emancipation. For years, Nilsson had labored at mannered, orchestrated pop music that was extraordinary but often seemed to stifle its author’s sense of mischief. Here for the first time Nilsson threw all caution to the wind and let loose his desires. Producer Richard Perry kept the sessions on track, and the performances are strengthened by a top-notch studio band, the core of which was cribbed from Nilsson’s pal John Lennon. “Down” and “Let the Good Times Roll” are reminiscent of the careening, echoing style Lennon used on Imagine and Plastic Ono Band, but the personality of this music is 100% Nilsson. A musical chameleon, Nilsson takes on cruising folk-rock (“Driving Along”), electrified proto-punk (“Jump Into the Fire”) and at least one Vegas-worthy display of torch-song melodrama (“Without You”). In a wonderful twist of fortune, the album’s wild innovations paid off with commercial acceptance, and amazingly, “Coconut,” the album’s most bizarre track, became the best-loved hit of Nilsson’s career.
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- There are startling singers and eccentric geniuses—and then there's Nilsson.
- The constantly curious singer/songwriter stretches out.
- A whimsical, wild and devastating treasure trove of pop music.
- His breezy vibe and lilting melodies inform outside-the-box pop.
Compilations
About Harry Nilsson
Rakish baroque-pop iconoclast Harry Nilsson was an accomplished songwriter, interpreter of song, and prodigious vocal talent whose influence and reputation have grown greatly with time. He was born in Brooklyn in 1941—a year that became the title of an autobiographical song on 1967’s Pandemonium Shadow Show, his first proper studio LP. Coming after he’d gained attention as a singer-songwriter-for-hire in Los Angeles, the album was quickly followed by the ornate, Beatles-esque Aerial Ballet (1968), featuring the enduring “One.” Nilsson adopted a more rock-oriented sound with 1971’s Nilsson Schmilsson, with detours into children’s music (1970’s The Point), novelty songs, calypso, and standards (1973’s A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night). He notoriously blew out his voice while recording the 1974 whiskey-soaked John Lennon collaborative album Pussy Cats, and he never recovered his range. Nonetheless, he produced classic material up through the early ’80s—see the soundtrack for Robert Altman’s Popeye—and performed and recorded sporadically until his passing in 1994.
- FROM
- Brooklyn, NY, United States
- BORN
- June 15, 1941
- GENRE
- Pop