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)
Salmon Falls
Harry Nilsson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
To crash upon this floor, and with its pain cause life to start anew
Each second fights its way magically through your entire life
Like a salmon traveling upstream to its final destination
And with his goal in sight, life ends - to start anew
Each man lives far beyond his span
And writhes the life of all mankind
And not until his kind has passed will he...
Each second of your life conclude
And not until it crashes against the Earth
Will a drop of rain have fallen
Not until all men are dead
Will you die
And life will start anew
And you will have traveled a million times your own time
And magically
And magically
Salmon falls
Magically
interpreting Harry Nilsson's "Salmon Falls" reveals a deeply philosophical and introspective song. The lyrics reflect on the cyclical nature of life and death, comparing it to the journey of a salmon swimming upstream towards its final goal, only to end up dead, but with new life beginning again. Nilsson suggests that every drop of rain is like a mini-cycle of life, each one containing within itself the potential to start anew. The song's verses propose that every person is a part of a much larger network of mankind; the life of an individual echoes through history, impacting the lives of others.
The lyrics also suggest that time is not linear, as each second fought its way through life, fighting through obstacles to reach its final destination. This implies that time is not just a linear arrangement of events, but each moment carries within it the potential for infinite possibilities. The last stanza is particularly thought-provoking, declaring that one will have traveled a million times their own time, and magic will happen. It is not clear what this means, but it could be interpreted as an allusion to the idea of reincarnation or the thought that life itself is a magical experience.
Contributed by Sarah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
saintcruzin
With his voice mostly gone at this point this is absolutly brilliant!! WOW what a song and performance!!!!!!
gergsar
this song is a masterpiece
Nicholas Cenci
And don't forget it was written by Klaus Voorman!!
Tobin Karicher
Flawless Masterpiece
Kirby Thedog
I lost my best friend and my Dad this Summer. Life must go on. You must go on.
Robert Malasch
Amazing song and what a godly performance...
Brian E. Reinecke
Thanks!!! Glad to hear more Harry.
saintcruzin
I am starting to appreciate the post "pussy cats" raspy harry! Rather than give up, harry changed his sound to fit his damaged voice...and he still was great...different but amazing. "Will she miss me" is a must have Harry!!!
saintcruzin
@slowed & reverb songs He sure wrote some great songs after...Raspy voice but he made it work...
slowed & reverb songs
I actually like Nilsson's voice after Pussy Cats better than before.