Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson, a Brooklyn kid born in 1941 who worked as a bank computer programmer while writing songs on the side, turned into one of the oddest and most gifted voices of his time: a supple tenor, stacked in overdub after overdub until it sounded like a choir of one. He did it without ever touring, which almost nobody pulled off.

He landed on RCA Victor with Pandemonium Shadow Show in 1967 and spent the next few years with arranger George Tipton making baroque, witty records, including a whole album of Randy Newman songs and the children's tale The Point! "Everybody's Talkin'" brought him the first of 2 Grammys. "Without You" brought the second. Then came Nilsson Schmilsson in 1971, produced by Richard Perry and certified gold, and suddenly he could do anything: the jaunty morning-after shuffle of "Gotta Get Up" sits on the same record as "Jump Into the Fire", a snarling, fuzz-drenched rock-and-roll rampage from a man known for sweet harmonies.

The later years were rougher. Substance abuse wore down that voice, even as he made pals of John Lennon, who produced his Pussy Cats, and Ringo Starr. After Lennon's murder he threw himself into gun-control activism, and he died of heart failure in 1994 with one last album unfinished.

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