Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes cred… Read Full Bio ↴Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experiments, a return to the Great American Songbook, and fusions of Caribbean sounds. Nilsson was one of the few major pop-rock recording artists to achieve significant commercial success without performing major public concerts or touring regularly.

Born in Brooklyn, Nilsson moved to Los Angeles as a teenager to escape his family's poor financial situation. While working as a computer programmer at a bank, he grew interested in musical composition and close-harmony singing and was successful in having some of his songs recorded by various artists, such as the Monkees. In 1967, he debuted on RCA Victor with the LP Pandemonium Shadow Show, followed by a variety of releases that included a collaboration with Randy Newman (Nilsson Sings Newman, 1970) and the original children's story The Point! (1971).

He created the first remix album, Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, in 1971, and recorded the first mashup song ("You Can't Do That") in 1967. His most commercially successful album, Nilsson Schmilsson (1971), produced the international top 10 singles "Without You" and "Coconut". His other top 10 hit, "Everybody's Talkin'" (1968), was featured prominently in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. A version of Nilsson's "One," released by Three Dog Night in 1969, also reached the U.S. top 10.

During a 1968 press conference, The Beatles were asked what their favorite American group was and answered "Nilsson." Sometimes called "the American Beatle," he soon formed close friendships with John Lennon and Ringo Starr, joining them in the Hollywood Vampires drinking club. He and Lennon produced one collaborative album, Pussy Cats (1974). After 1977, Nilsson left RCA, and his record output diminished. In response to Lennon's 1980 murder, he took a hiatus from the music industry to campaign for gun control. For the rest of his life, he recorded only sporadically. In 1994, Nilsson died of a heart attack while in the midst of recording what became his last album, Losst and Founnd (2019).

The craft of Nilsson's songs and the defiant attitude he projected remain touchstones for later generations of indie rock musicians. Nilsson was voted No. 62 in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time," where he was described as "a pioneer of the Los Angeles studio sound" and "a crucial bridge" between 1960s psychedelia and the 1970s singer-songwriter era. The RIAA certified Nilsson Schmilsson and Son of Schmilsson (1972) as gold records, indicating over 500,000 units sold each. He earned two Grammy Awards (for "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You").

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Nilsson

Discography
Spotlight on Nilsson (1966)
Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967)
Aerial Ballet (1968)
Skidoo (1968) (soundtrack)
Harry (1969)
Nilsson Sings Newman (1970)
The Point! (1970) (studio album and soundtrack)
Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)
Son of Schmilsson (1972)
A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973)
Son of Dracula (1974) (soundtrack)
Pussy Cats (1974)
Duit on Mon Dei (1975)
Sandman (1976)
...That's the Way It Is (1976)
Knnillssonn (1977)
Flash Harry (1980)
Popeye (1980) (soundtrack)
Losst and Founnd (2019)

Campo de Encino
Harry Nilsson Lyrics

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It was take 54,
When she walked through the door
With the red light on it
I knew in a minute
If I wanted to get in it
Then I'd have to get on it--

I sang my balls off for you baby

I worked my fingers to the bone
I closed my eyes to get the high note
but when I woke up I was alone--
Baby, baby come back
I need you to make a good track--
Baby, baby come back
Baby, baby come back

Well I saw her today
Back in studio A
We were just gettin' started--
I sang for a minute,
She couldn't get in it,
I felt broken hearted--

I sang my balls off for you baby
I almost broke the microphone
I even sang the song that you wrote
But when I woke up I was alone--
Oh! Baby, baby, come back--
I need you to make a good track
Baby, baby come back
Baby, baby come back

High note--
But when I woke up I was alone

Baby, baby come back
I need you to make a good track

Baby, baby come back
B-b-b-baby come back

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Harry Nilsson's song "Campo de Encino" tell the story of a musician who is deeply in love with a woman who he often collaborates with in the studio. The song begins with the singer recounting a moment when the woman enters the studio during take 54 of a recording session. He feels an immediate attraction to her and knows that he will have to work hard to win her over. He sings passionately for her, putting everything he has into the performance, but when he finishes the song, she is nowhere to be found. He is left alone in the studio, feeling dejected and abandoned.

The second verse describes a later encounter with the woman, during which he sings for her again. This time, however, she does not seem to be moved by his performance. He sings his heart out, pushing himself to sing higher and higher, but she cannot get into the song. The singer is devastated, feeling like he has failed and expressing his intense desire for the woman to come back to him. The song ends with a repetition of the plea for her to return.

Overall, the lyrics of "Campo de Encino" capture the intense emotions of a musician who is deeply in love with a collaborator, but who feels frustrated and heartbroken when his feelings are not reciprocated.

Campo de EncinoHarry Nilsson Lyrics

Campo de Encino
Harry Nilsson Lyrics