Dedicated To The Life & Work Of Harry Nilsson!






"Harry" By Eric Idle & Charlie Dore from Nilsson's Flash Harry (1980)


FOR THE LOVE OF HARRY NILSSON
Thanks to all who have participated.

56 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thought Id lost you for a while there over the weekend but here you are back and as brilliant as ever!!! Thanks for a magnificent blog dedicated to a true musical and much missed genius.

Fuzzy Crew said...

Very nice theme layout, well done.

Cheers

=M=

Gary said...

Very nice! The site is beautiful and who knew you had so many resources available.

jb

Richard said...

You've made a lovely job of the new layout...

Timmy said...

Love the new look. It's the Look Of Love... For Harry!

Anonymous said...

Hi Willard,

You'd probably be interested in adding the song "Nilsson" by Little Sue from her album Crow somewhere here... it's downloadable from iTunes if you want to find it. She's a country-rock singer-songwriter from Portland, OR.

Also, any chance of getting an MP3 of Paul Williams' tune "Nilsson Sings Newman"? Can't find it anywhere online, read the lyrics, curious to hear it (though I don't have high hopes given the artist).

Willard said...

How weird. I just grabbed both of those a couple of days ago. The "Nilsson Sings Newman" song I have is by Drew Smith. Also grabbed Jimmy Webb's live track, "Harry Nilsson." I'll be getting them up in the next few weeks. Thanks.

paul_h said...

Glad somebody (Cindy) steered me this way. Harry has brought me a lot of smiles. In these depressing days, that's gold.

Long Live Harry

Filou said...

Maybe I am the only fan in France (not enough at least) but I do everything I can to put Harry in the light.
And your blog is just incredible and surely the "missing link" to bring back all Harry's good stuffs I never thought I could find. I follow it from the begining and it keep on surprising me everyday. Thank you for all that.
Hope I can help you in any kind.

Derek said...

INCREDIBLE site. Definitely the most underrated rock legend ever, but I've never seen a fan site as wonderful as this.
I've been a fan since my college years in early 90s (though I was a huge fan of Popeye's songs long before that). While all of my classmates were mourning Kurt Cobain, I was mourning Nilsson.
Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

Willard - Damn fine job!! Thanks for all the great stuff. Harry is smiling down on you... Goose

Capt. Willard said...

Many thanks for all the comments.

Anonymous said...

I just recently discovered Harry Nilsson after watching the documentary a few weeks ago. I can't get enough and have been digging and searching for more information. I'm THRILLED to have found this website and get a little more glimpse into this brilliant mind. Thank you for a wonderful website and the postings of conversations....

Alan said...

Awesome... thanks... the new wormhole site looks GREAT!

Hey, you are probably well aware of this, but just in case... have you heard of - and have you in fact heard - LCD Soundsystem's final show from April 2011? Their next to last song was a completely nuts take on "Jump Into The Fire." It's easy to find a download of the show online so please check it out if you haven't already, you will love it...

Thanks Willard!

Willard said...

Thanks. Yeah, did see that. I should probably pop it in the Nilsson Related YouTube post. Cheers.

Anonymous said...

Hi, just acquired the Spanish lp of Son of Schmilsson, "Hijo de Schmilsson". Very cool. Graphics written in Spanish. You're Breaking My Heart was omitted from the album, side one ending with The Most Beautiful World...instead. Side two ending with I'd Rather be Dead. Any desire to post any of these graphics?

Willard said...

We typically put cover variations at the bottom of posts. We'd want to get a look first, but you can email scans to our Contact link on the right. Higher quality - to blow up larger - the better. Many thanks.

Anonymous said...

At the Miss Hooters swim suit contest the other night, a portion of the girl we're introduced with the background music being a remix of the backing track to Jump into the Fire, or so it sounded to me.

tim abdellah said...

Hi Willard - OK, finally jumping on the Harry wagon. Have been a casual appreciator over the years, but saw the biopic a couple weeks ago and got the urge to hear more. What a fantastic resource you've got here! Looking forward to exploring it. Mind blowing moment for me - hearing the opening to "Good Old Desk" and realizing that Roy Wood had cribbed it for the middle 8 of The Move's "Blackberry Way". Many thanks!

Willard said...

Cool. Have fun.

PapaJohn said...

Thanks for a great site. What a wonderful resource for Nilsson fans.

bhrbhr said...

I made a bunch of harry nilsson covers too! please check them out at

www.brendanrivers.wordpress.com

i know you all would enjoy it!
(i tried to find an email of an admin to email this to... couldn't find it!)

Boswell said...

Willard
Great to have the site firing on all cylinders again. Most of us will have a lot of this "new" stuff but its wonderful to be reminded of how Harry was so unique.I really appreciate all the hard work that goes into "For The Love Of Harry" Long may you reign!!

Willard said...

Thanks. Actually, we've got some stuff that hasn't seen the light of day yet... besides the old new stuff. We just need to clean house.

Sandman76 said...

Commenting on 'Nilsson Box Set', the 2007 Japanese double box set included 15 albums, so, maybe a 17cd set could include SOD and Flash Harry. Thanks for your efforts!

Willard said...

Yeah... they didn't include Popeye, did they? You might be right.

Sandman76 said...

Hi, Been sitting on a 2 reel to reel radio program (not literally) called Ninety Minutes with Nilsson, week of October 17, 1976, hosted by Dave Price. Great songs and interviews. Oddley? no post Schmilsson era songs are featured. Maybe I'll burn it and send it your way if you think there's enough interest. I appreciate your work in passing on the shared interest in Nilsson.

Warren Bowman said...

Thanks for doing all that you have done to honor Harry's music, and keep the memory of him alive. I truly believe that over time he will be remembered as one of the song writing greats, of the same caliber as Hoagy Carmichael.

As for the files, I have a lot of them, but I had not had time to pull down any since December 31st. If you choose to re-post them, I will get them while I can.

Thanks again.

Willard said...

Most have already been reposted. We still have a bunch of things to fix and clean up. If something is still down, or we missed something, just leave a comment - on the post - and we'll get it up again ASAP. Many thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for keeping Harry alive and forging on.

Rich said...

Willard,
Imagine my crushing disappointment when I went to visit one of my favorite blogs and got a message that it was now private and required an invitation...which I didn't have. So happy to see it was just a temporary shutdown and that you're back! Yours is one of the finest blogs online, and I'm SO glad you're still going and growing. Viva Harry, and Viva "For the Love of Harry Nilsson"! Thanks for all you do!

Willard said...

Many thanks Rich.

Jamie Arnett said...

Love this site! I check it everyday. Anyways not sure if you heard about this news or not? http://www.americansongwriter.com/2013/02/everybodys-talkin-about-harry-nilsson/ Over on Facebook Zak Nilsson said to expect this new Harry tribute album very soon! He and his sister even do a track off of it! Anyways, thanks for having such a cool Harry site to visit.

Willard said...

Many thanks. According to the article, the release is supposed to be a two-parter, with the first installment arriving in the Spring. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hey Willard!

The new site looks beautiful. I saw the note on Wormholes and changed my bookmark right away. Thanks!

I've also got a question that I have been meaning to ask. Years ago when I was a bargain bin haunting kid (maybe 40 years ago or so) I picked up an album that was a Nilsson House Production. It was some spoken word or comedyish thing that I could not make heads or tails of at the time. I of course was 13 or 14 years old at the time and was not the target audience. Anyway I dumped it back when I was still young and dumb. Now that I am middle aged and dumb, it would be interesting to hear it again. But I have no idea of the artist, title or pretty much anything else about it. Any clues? I seem to recall it had the word Headphones in the title but not much else.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Dave G

dgofstein@yahoo.com

Rufus said...

Hi Willard, I am glad to see that you are back online. I love the new look and feel of the blog. Great job.

Although I was bummed by the news that the box set had been canceled, I can't say that I am surprised.

I was wondering if a complete take of Harry's demo recording (Aerial Ballet-era) of Procol Harum's "She Wandered Through The Garden Fence" has surfaced and can be shared. I enjoy listening to Andrew Sandoval Come To The Sunshine Harry Birthday podcast but that was originally aired in 2007.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Willard ICorp said...

Many thanks. I was just putting some elements of that album together for a future post (still missing some files, though). It's an LP by Bill Martin called Buffoon In Asia Minor: Concerto for Head Phones and Contra. It was, indeed, produced by Nilsson (along with Hank Cicalo) and went over plenty of heads in 1970, so you're not alone. Martin is best know in HarryWorld for his compositions on Harry, and you can also find a demo around here where he's playing acoustic guitar behind Harry singing The Beatles' "Blackbird." Thanks for commenting.

Rufus said...

Willard, thanks for writing back. For The Love Of Harry is one of my favorite daily reads/listens.
Now if I could only get someone to show the same love to Gene Clark and Badfinger, I would be in heaven (but never get anything done)! Anyways, I had posted a tweet on Andrew's page back in October asking about the possibility of convincing someone to release Harry's demo of "She Wandered Through The Garden Fence". At the time he responded "Pretty close on this" I went back today and checked and someone else had asked him for an update as well, so I did the same. He wrote back "I think we may be in for a year of surprises, Nilsson-wise"
I hope he is right!

Willard ICorp said...

Yes... there are some rumblings that the box set isn't dead (or that the person who said it was, Curtis Armstrong, didn't get the memo). We'll wait until we get some official word from somebody actually working on it before throwing something up in Newss - since the last time we mentioned it, we had everybody waiting and wondering for a year. We've got some calls in and we'll report it when we find something concrete. Thanks.

Willard ICorp said...

PS: Why not start that Badfinger or Gene Clark blog yourself. That's what we did here, with only a few dozen rarities. Then folks started pitching it. Nothing to it (ahem).

Patrick said...

Hi Willard,
I was listening to Andrew Sandoval's recent appearance on "The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling" and Andrew mentioned (at 50:07 in case want to hear it on the iTunes podcast) that in addition to the "Playlist" compilation, that there will be an "Essential Harry Nilsson" compilation later this year with some unissued tracks on it, in case you weren't aware.

Willard ICorp said...

Was not aware. Thanks for the heads up.

Willard ICorp said...

Hi Rufus,

Thanks for the kind words. As for the Procol cover, Sandoval is the man to ask about it. So far, it's only surfaced via his show (posted here... somewhere). I wouldn't be surprised if it's not part of the upcoming box set. But... that's just rank speculation.

Jamie Arnett said...

What happened to all the content? Nothing serious I Hope.

Willard ICorp said...

It's all still here. What browser are you using?

http://fortheloveofharrynilsson.blogspot.com

Jamie Arnett said...

Possible box set, Flash Harry, a new tribute to Harry cd, and a book. 2013 is shaping up to be the year of Harry! Can't Wait! Oh, also I started using Firefox and now everything shows up just fine!

Willard ICorp said...

Cool. Thanks for the update.

Jamie Arnett said...

Here is the tracklist for the Essential Nilsson cd:
Disc: 1
1. 1941
2. Cuddly Toy
3. You Can't Do That
4. Without Her
5. Daddy's Song
6. Good Old Desk
7. Mr. Richland's Favorite Song
8. Together
9. Everybody's Talkin' (From "Midnight Cowboy")
10. One
11. Girlfriend (Remix)
12. I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City
13. Rainmaker
14. I Will Take You There
15. The Puppy Song
16. Vine Street
17. Living Without You
18. Life Line (Alternate Piano Take 13)
19. Me And My Arrow
20. Think About Your Troubles
Disc: 2
1. Gotta Get Up (Remastered 2004)
2. Without You (Remastered 2004)
3. Jump Into The Fire (Single Version)
4. Coconut (Remastered 2004)
5. I'll Never Leave You (Remastered 2004)
6. Old Forgotten Soldier (Previously unreleased version)
7. Remember (Christmas)
8. You're Breakin' My Heart
9. Spaceman
10. Daybreak (Single Version)
11. As Time Goes By
12. Many Rivers To Cross
13. Don't Forget Me
14. Black Sails
15. Kojak Columbo
16. Easier For Me (1994 Remastered)
17. (Thursday) Here's Why I Did Not Go To Work Today
18. Sail Away
19. All I Think About Is You
20. Perfect Day (1994 Remastered)
Some interesting choices on here

Willard ICorp said...

Many thanks, Jamie.

J Roger Gardy said...

Great Site

Maddie said...

Hi, Nice post thanks for sharing. Would you please consider adding a link to my website on your page. Please email me back.

Thanks!

Madison

Willard ICorp said...

Sorry, we only cater to Nilsson fans here.

Tweedster said...

I love this site and the celebration of Harry. I know his music basically from the time I was in utero. Thank you for bringing all this music together.

I was about negative twelve when The Point was released, and by the time I came around to filtering it through my brain I immediately fell in love with music in general. I think. I mean I really don't remember music without Harry Nilsson involved. I credit my parents.

I humbly present a song that samples Nilsson's "Without Her" in a song about...love.

https://soundcloud.com/lightpockets/04-beautiful-things

Thanks again for this awesome collection of all things Nilsson!

- iain

Ayrton Mugnaini Jr. said...

Well, i'd be very hard-pressed to find a music blog as good as this (a better one? ha!). Just one tiny detail I haven't noticed, though.

In the Tributes section, I couldn't find an amusing (to me, at least) satire by English comedy team Spitting Image, on their album called 439 Golden Greats - Never Mind The Originals Here's The HeeBeeGeeBees (HeeBeeGeeBees Records, catalogue number TWITS101, 1981).

It's "Oh Me" by "Larry Pilsson" (obviously a pun on the Pilsen beer). It can be heard here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpgtYR63hfc

Cheerio,

Ayrton

Jamie Arnett said...

Hi, Willard here's the link for the boxset!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Albums-Collection-Harry-Nilsson/dp/B00CJCHJ8S?&linkCode=wey&tag=fothloofha-20

Jamie Arnett said...

Not sure if that link worked but it is listed on Amazon now. It has everything you described!