Nilsson Schmilsson by Harry Nilsson

Nilsson Schmilsson, Harry Nilsson's seventh album, hit the racks on RCA on November 11, 1971, and it's the record where the studio wizard finally sold like a star. It was cut in London with Richard Perry producing, the first of 2 albums they made there together, and it's all over the map in the best way.

The centerpiece is "Without You", a Badfinger song by Pete Ham and Tom Evans that Nilsson turns into a towering, full-throated heartbreak ballad; it went to number 1 and won him the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. His own "Coconut" is a goofy, loping hoot, and "Jump into the Fire" is a nasty, grinding rocker that shows he could snarl as well as croon. It was his most successful album, went gold, and earned an Album of the Year nomination at the 1973 Grammys.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.