Yacht Punk, Baby

This picture smells like a hit

I sought out some Harry Nilsson a couple of weeks ago after our FLA vacation. We were in a bar owned by a former member of Deep Purple (sounds cooler than it actually is but still, it had its charm). Though it didn't have Ian Gillan's bongos or Ritchie Blackmore's capes on display, it did have a framed copy of Nilsson Schmilsson on the wall. Knowing him only as a sorta weirdo soft rock drinking buddy of Lennon, I hadn't ever sought him out. But staring up at this bleary eyed, bed headed bum in a housecoat I couldn't help but be intrigued. It certainly lent the bar some needed mystique. The cover image is such a fuck you. I mean, can you imagine the fight at the record company? Ballsy. Even in pre-music video, pre-internet 1971 image mattered at least a little. I would stare at album covers for hours, read the liner notes and credits and thank yous and who used what drum sticks, cymbals, amplifiers & guitars. It was powerful imagery & all the visual support you had to accompany this magical sound in your headphones. In 1971, in an era of fantastical album cover art from psych to Warhol to full costume silliness, comes this doughboy staring bakedly off into space. And on an album absurdly titled to make fun of his name & growing myth. It’s a picture you would grab from your friend before they showed anyone. Dean Torrence, one half of Jan & Dean designed it, along with a few other album covers. As I read up on Harry later and listened to his music, it all came into place. This guy was an original who stubbornly went against type, a champion anti-hero to The Beatles who was able to operate under his rules and be just successful enough to get away with it. He was the abandoned son of a circus performer father and he never played a concert. Ever.


The man was a gifted & oddball artist, a talented arranger & masterful melodist, but the differentiator was his unbelievable voice. He had three octave range and layered his recordings with intricate & beautiful harmonies. Like other musical giants - Hendrix, The Byrds - he killed cover songs, owning Badfinger's "Without You" (which became a #1 hit for Harry) and almost besting the best on his cover of Sgt Pepper's "She's Leaving Home".  He also did an album of standards, and an awesome entire album of Randy Newman songs. Not exactly blessed with a commercial sweet tooth.

BFFs & definitely NOT
 Cold Turkeys 

The documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is EverybodyTalkin' About Him?)  is a must see for music fans. It tells the story of a shy dog food poor kid who used his immense musical gift to inspire, confound, even torture really, all of who came to love him. Like so many haunted men, despite his best efforts he turned into his father. Faced with the slow revealing of that harsh truth, he flipped the booze & drugs switch and torpedoed his career, his incredible voice and then ultimately himself. The movie features many of his friends and family's Nilsson reminiscences, including insights from friends Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, one of my favourite rock n roll singers ever, Mickey Dolenz and yes, Harry's wives. Check it out yourself or come over and we will watch it together with a bottle of cognac and an 8-ball.