Jumpin' into the Fire

Why is it that self expression and artistic creation almost always go hand in hand with self destructive behavior? One would think that as someone who is known for producing work for the public to view, that individual would ultimately be closer to an ego maniac rather than a self medicating tabloid headline. However, when looking at our history it seems to be the trend for the most influential artists, musicians, painters and actors alike to fall under the spell of fast living. Why is it that as humans we crave all that is unhealthy? Do we need drugs in order to spur creativity? Is the human brain that gated that we need to pump as many reality bending chemicals through it in order to make it through every twenty four hour period? There is no real answer but the fact of the matter is that drugs exist and the lure of the party is ever present. If you have had the privilege of finding yourself in the spotlight of stardom, then although publicly scorned by our nations puritanical innocence, you are in fact subconsciously encouraged to party till you drop so the rest of us can live vicariously through you. Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Jackson Pollock, Jimi Hendrix, Sid Vicious. Don't all these names start to produce the same sense of self destruction? Harry Nilsson, without a doubt falls smack dab in the middle of all the rest of his rebel rousing artistic peers. However, Harry was a special case. Nilsson was never known for sever depression, self mutilation or anything close to suicide, but the man did enjoy his intoxicants and would rather live at five hundred MPH than any other speed.

You've Gotta' Have Soul to Wash Your Sins Away

Above all Harry just wanted to enjoy every minute of life no matter what the cost. The sad reality is that probably as much as or maybe ever more so than his music he is know for being the fast living, liquor drinking, chain smoking friend to many varied celebrities. He is responsible for John Lennon famously getting throw out of a bar with a Kotex tampon taped to his head and also played a great role in Lennon's Lost Weekend. The two were the definition of inseparable some might even say a match made in hellish revelry. Much like sparks and TNT. It was said that if you went out with Harry on a thursday night, you would probably wake up monday morning in a strange part of town barely clothed and feeling as if your head had been placed directly underneath the Hindenburg blimp just as it first exploded into the ground.

Can't Live if Living is Without You

All Harry really wanted was to have a good time. Growing up in a tiny apartment in brooklyn with his mother and many other varied members of his extended family, luxury was not exactly how one would describe Nilsson's childhood. Between working odd jobs and occasionally robbing a liquor store at gun point just to pay for rent, Nilsson didn't really have the time to enjoy life. His mother always dreamed of stardom but the absence of a husband and her alcoholism never left much room for the pursuit of fame. When you are a single mother living with much of your relatives in an apartment built for one, its probably pretty hard to find time to chase dreams. Eventually, with his mother in his heart and his own dreams of success, Harry began to worm his way into the music world. Between some amateur vocal lessons from his uncle and his naturally angelic voice, Nilsson eventually landed some record deals and released a few singles under different names such as Bo Pete and Johnny Niles.

The Ever So Sweet Sting of Success.

The year is 1971. Harry Nilsson has already somewhat made a name for himself. With the help of The Monkees and Three Dog Night it seemed that his work was more successful through other artists covers rather than his own productions. The world was familiar with his work but not exactly the man himself. That all changed when he met Richard Perry. Richard was a prominent recording artist at the time and saw something special in the angelic sounding booze hound. The two put their heads together and produced probably one of the greatest male solo albums to come out of this era. Nilsson Schmilsson soared straight to the top of the charts. Beyond the amount of public success that he had achieved previously with his other RCA recorded albums, Nilsson Schmilsson caught the eye of fans and critics alike. The album earned its self multiple grammy nominations for record of the year (Without You), album of the year, best engineered non-classical album of the year. Harry's most notable achievement however was the win he received as the best male pop vocal performance for his cover of Badfinger's song "Without You".

The Album did wonders for his level of fame but Harry quickly realized that the fame he had once dreamed about was not at all what came to pass. After the release of his album everyone wanted to hear Harry sing his sweet songs on a stage but to the worlds dismay he never once went on a live tour or even gave many live performances on his own. He would gladly be photographed drunk as a skunk arm in arm with any number of other celebrities but when it came to giving the people what the really wanted he came up short. His second wife Diane Clatworthy claimed that Harry, although as sweet and personable as Chris Cringle, was one of the most insecure men she had ever met. Popularity seemed to be eating away at Harry like a cancer. Stories go that he started showing up to recording sessions already half through a bottle of Cognac and would finish it before the day was out. The studios soon became equip with full bars and it was hard to tell when real work was being done and when the party was starting. Richard perry talks about Harry inviting friends to recording sessions like Ringo Star and spending more time smoking and drinking then laying anything down at all. Harry just kept on speeding by though. Nothing was slowing him down and even less was going to get in the way of his good times.

Life really started to become difficult for Harry when big boy problems such as marital stress and being a father began to weigh on his conscious. Harry was no Steven Tyler who allowed his daughter to go until the age of thirteen before realizing who her daddy really was, he truly wanted to be a father and loved his son like the day is long. For a short blissful stint  he played the role of daddy of the year. Harry and Diane were a beautiful couple with and even more stunning baby Zach. However

A Happy Father Had a Son

they both quickly realized that Harry wasn't ready to leave behind the days of hazy smoke filled boozy binges. Slowly his autobiographical song 1941 started to resemble his own parenting style. Harry had fallen right into the same place his father had and grew distant from the perfect little family Diane and himself had made. In interviews Diane never had a bad word to say about Harry only that he was a troubled man and that he simply wasn't ready to be a father yet.



Even before the end of his second marriage, signs of Harry's death wish started to become all the more present. The year following the release of Nilsson Schmilsson he release a subsequent album "Son of Schmilsson" which was nothing more than a painfully sad attempt at the same greatness Schmilsson senior had attained. Although Harry had to have known that the first album was such a power house because of the artistic collaboration of himself and Richard Perry, for Son of Schilmsson, Harry told Richard it had to be done exactly the way he said and there was absolutely no room for editing on Richards part. The album had its moments but also contained some absurd tracks like "You're Breaking My Heart" which was blatantly directed at his first wife Sandra McTaggart. Harry's music had gone from elegantly describing God in the form of a Good Old Desk to screaming "You're breakin' my heart you're tearing it apart so fuck you". Between the liver shriveling booze intake, sickly executed hate ballads and a ridiculously absurd Rock Horror Extravaganza featuring Ringo star, it seemed as if the archangel of wonderful pop music simply didn't give a shit what the world though of him anymore. Harry Nilsson was doing what he wanted when he wanted and was loving every second of it.

Come on Baby Let me Thrill Your Soul, and Let the Good Times Roll

You're Breakin' My Heart So Fuck You

Shortly following another poorly timed but adamantly demanded release of a classics cover album (A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night) Harry gave us his most glaringly obvious production of self destruction to date. The album "Pussy Cats" released in 1974 was nothing but an intoxicated vocal pissing contest between John Lennon and Harry Nilsson. 

I'm So Tired of Going Nowhere and Seeing My Prayers
Gone Unanswered

The production of the album itself was inspired by the bad publicity the two had recently received because of the previously mentioned intoxicated bar extraction and tampon hats. Nothing about this album was meant to be taken seriously. I mean the cover itself has a subtle joke involving two toy blocks with the Letters "D" and "S" outlining a rug. (D rug S....) Nilsson and Lennon were genuinely out to prove that they had nothing to prove. Most of the tracks are extremely ruff and sound more like lost recordings of Tom Waits and a blender full of screws than the usual pure tenor voices and soft lyrics the two perviously produced. With names surrounding the album such as Keith Moon, Ringo Star, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney there is no question the the recording of this album was much more a party than it was a creation of genuine musical fusion. Rumors say that some sessions became so outrageous that there was blood left on the microphones and smashed liquor bottles in the recording booths. Harry did in fact rupture a vocal chord during the production of the album, but he was so hell bent on self destruction and afraid of John cutting production, he kept it a secret and only worsened the problem by screeching through the last few tracks.

Remember, Life is Never How it Seems...

Harry finished up his life happily married to Una O'Keeffe and the proud father of six more children Olivia, Ben, Oscar, Annie, Beau, and Kief Nilsson. He had finally found the woman he wanted and the family he dreamed of. He slowed down with his drinking and smoking and completely dedicated himself to the love of his family. Tragically however it was too late, and the rest of his body's intentions didn't coincide with his new found love for home life. Harry Nilsson died of heart failure on January 15, 1994 at the age of fifty two. A year before he had suffered and survived a heart attack and then subsequently pushed his old record company RCA to release a box set of his work and went into the studio to attempt to wrap up the vocal tracks for a final album. 

Ill Never Leave You Alone, Ill Never Leave Just A Memory
I Need You by My Side

If We can learn one thing from Harry Nilsson its that you really only get one shot at this life and you better damn well make the most of it while you can. This is a man who was born with one of the most beautiful voices ever to grace the musical community. He could have had the world on a string, but instead choose to do what made him the happiest in the short time he was here. Harry didn't need to go on sell out tours or do massive album singings in order to gain appreciation. He spent his time on this earth doing exactly what all of us want, but don't have to balls to do, just have a good time. His music will live on forever for the simple fact that it was never over played but everyone knew it was pure genius. For generations to come celebrities will look at Harry Nilsson's life and work and wish that they could attain one scrap of the honesty and purity that he gushed forth with in every action preformed and word uttered. He's taught me that its ok to Jump Into the Fire and just Let the Good Times Roll because if not then what the hell else is this all for anyway?