The Harry Nilsson Web Pages


Harry Nilsson News (2023-09-05)

The Dream Weaver Has Died

Gary Wright died at his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California, on September 4, 2023. Although best known for his solo hits "Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive" - and having been born and raised in the US - Wright first caught the attention of music fans as a member of the British band Spooky Tooth in the late 1960s. Wright left the band in early 1970 to begin a career as a solo artist and session musician.

 

In 1971 Harry Nilsson recorded "Without You" which was destined to be his biggest hit. Rick Wakeman played the piano for an early take of the song, Nilsson and his producer, Richard Perry, decided that Wakeman's track was "too busy, too complex."

 

So we replaced Rick Wakeman with Gary Wright and he began, just like you hear on the record, very simple. It was just right![1]

 

 



Harry Nilsson News (2023-09-01)


The Lost Weekend: A Love Story Released on Home Video

A Blu-Ray of The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is being released in mid-October of 2023. It is currently available for pre-order from Amazon.com. The film is also available for purchase online through Amazon Prime.

 

Harry Nilsson News (2023-07-10)


Bob Segarini Has Died

Songwriter and performer, Bob Segarini, died in his sleep on July 10, 2023. He was 77 years of age.

 

Patty Faralla, a press agent for RCA, introduced Segarini to Harry Nilsson in 1965.

 

Harry and Bob wrote a song together. Segarini's group, Family Tree, released their version of "Miss Butter's Lament" on their 1968 album Miss Butters album. Nilsson's recording of the song went unreleased until 1995 when it appeared on the Personal Best - The Harry Nilsson Anthology album.

 

At Patty’s apartment the first time we met, we passed an old acoustic guitar back and forth and played our songs for one another. [...] Harry is dutifully impressed when I play him a tune or two. I hand him the guitar, and he starts singing: “Well in 1941 a happy father had a son.... [...] "Holy crap," I thought, "this guy is amazing."

 

In 1967, Bob introduced Harry to Diane Clatworthy, the secretary of the Family Tree fan club. Diane and Harry married on December 31, 1969, in Las Vegas.

 

Segarini wrote a song, "He Spins Around" about his friend, Harry Nilsson. It was released as the B-side of single in 1968 then on the CD release of the Miss Butters in 2007.

 

Harry and Bob's relationship soured in the mid to late 1970s as Harry's lifestyle became intertwined with the Beatles, drugs, and alcohol.

 

The last time I saw Harry was in line at the Carnegie Deli in New York. He was in front of me in an overcoat and I recognized the back of his head somehow. He was on his way to London to hang out, record, and move into Ringo’s flat for a while. He looked world weary, but still had the old twinkle in his eye. We reminisced while his limo idled out front, caught up, and had a few laughs waiting for our medium old fashioned (pastrami) on a Kaiser with double mustard, pickle on the side. When I asked after Diane, he said that they had gotten divorced, the twinkle in his eyes dimming, with what I could only imagine was caused by leaving his wife and young son behind, of abandoning them, of becoming his father.

 

 

Harry Nilsson News (2023-03-30)


Walk of Fame Star for Bill Bixby Campaign Meets Major Goal

Brandon Cruz's effort to have a star for Bill Bixby added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame has reached a major goal. The Go Fund Me account to raise money for the star has reached its goal and now the process for having the star approved and installed has begun.

 

You can follow the effort at:

 

https://m.facebook.com/100028543013324/

Harry Nilsson News (2023-03-13)

Drummer Jim Gordon Dies

Jim Gordon who contributed to several Harry Nilsson albums as a percussionist has died at the age of 77 on March 13, 2023.

 

More Harry Nilsson News ...


Featured Article of the Day


Martoni's

Martoni's Italian Restaurant at 1523 Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood, California, opened in 1960 and quickly became a favorite of Hollywood's elite, especially musicians.

 

In "When Harry Met E. J." artist / writer / photographer / musician / ..., E. J. Gold, recalls having lunch with Harry Nilsson after Harry's audition for Rick Jarrard at RCA:

After the excitement following the audition had died down - it took a while, believe me, because nobody in the industry had ever heard anyone quite like Harry before - several of us, Harry among them, had lunch at Martoni's, hit it off great, were great friends thereafter, and still are.

 

When recording at nearby RCA Studios, Harry Nilsson would often visit Martoni's:

There was an Italian restaurant, Martoni's, very close to RCA and it would stay open late for us and we'd go and eat there and then they'd drink a couple of bottles of wine, and whatever else they were particularly liking that night. And then they'd go back to the recording session again. Total craziness. Those were pretty amazing nights. Actually Harry got into wine at that time, now I think about it. He used to drink some pretty expensive bottles of wine, some very nice wine!

-- Samantha Juste [1]

 

In his interview for the "One Last Touch of Nilsson" article (and Personal Best liner notes) Nilsson recalled running into Chip Douglas at Martoni's in 1967:

I said, 'Hi, Chip! What are you doing?' 'I'm producing these guys.' I said, 'I'm sorry, who are these guys?' He said, 'These are the Monkees.' I had heard all the publicity about them, but I didn't know what they looked like. I said, 'Oh, fantastic!' They were doing their first or second album. Chip said to the Monkees, "Harry is a fantastic writer. I would like to take him into the studio and let you hear a couple of tunes of his.' I said, 'Sure, I'd love to.' He said, 'Would you come over now?' I said, 'Yeah, I'd love it.' Especially because I'd heard rumors that they were going at four million record sales out of the box.

 

In his unpublished autobiography, Harry Nilsson recalls being picked up at Martoni's for his first meeting with George Harrison:

I was met by a car at Martoni's in Hollywood, transferred, and driven to a point in the Beverly Hills area. There I was transferred to another car, and to Blue Jay Way, where we passed the house, turned around and came back, to see if we were followed. I was ushered into this beautiful house with an open main room and a bar. To the right was a large back area with the pool, statuary and so forth.
Not knowing anyone and feeling very nervous and shaky about meeting a Beatle ... Derek Taylor took me by the hand and introduced me to his wonderful wife Joan, who was pregnant with Dominic at the time ... Derek took my elbow and led me outside. I was looking around wondering, "Where is the man?" Finally I saw him. He was standing at the far end of this long, narrow swimming pool in a white windblown robe with a beard and long hair, looking like Christ with a camcorder. So there he is!
Derek said, "George, I’d like you to meet the man."
He walked me over and said, "George, this is Harry. Harry Nilsson - George Harrison." George says, "Yeah, right, Harry. Can we get you something, a Coke, a coffee, or something?" He was looking me over and I thought, "Wow! He’s offering me something to eat or drink! This is amazing!"

-- Harry Nilsson[2]

 

Radio personality ("professional rock and roll interviewer"), Doug Thompson, recalled moving to Los Angeles, California, in 1970, and visiting Martoni's:

During the many months that I popped in for a quick bite, I saw dozens of celebrities, including the legendary (and now infamous Phil Spector, whose usually haunt was Cantor’s Delicatessen on Fairfax, near Fairfax High where Phil went to school). I used to see Harry Nilsson practically every night, but he mainly frequented a bar on Sunset down the block called The Jolly Roger.[3]

 

In a 1971 column in Cashbox, Ed Kelleher writes about seeing Nilsson, among many other celebrities, while dining at Martoni's:

 

A week before he left for Europe, the Jay Gatsby of rock, Harvey Geller, and I held one of our ritual rendezvous at Martoni's, where we eat salad, watch the front door, and generally do a turn as part of the music industry atmosphere that keeps Mario and Tony in pasta. Harv waved at Herb Eiseman. I waved at Nick Sevano, who was entering with Anne Murray, then we both waved at my cousin Sal, the bartender [...]
[...]
"Remember one thing," Harvey suggested, pausing between garbanzo beans. "It never hurts to put a lot of names in the column." 
"I'll do that, Harv," I assured him, waving at Larry Van Nuys, who was waving at Harry Nilsson, who was waving at Grelun Landon, who was smiling at every-one and passing out 1971 Elvis pocket calendars. Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night and The Grass Roots walked in, taking bar space vacated seconds earlier by Chicago, Poco, Seatrain, Seals & Crofts, Joy of Cooking, Dawn, The Poppy Family, The Partridge Family and James Taylor, who was looking for his brothers and sisters.
"My guest column will be a symphony of proper nouns," I promised. 

-- Ed Kelleher (1971) [4]

 

In 1983, Harry and his friend, Michael Macaluso, ran into Rob Reiner at Martoni's, They turned down Reiner's invitation to be a part of the audience for a concert he was filming for a rock movie.[5]

 

Martoni's closed in 1994, shortly after the Northridge Earthquake (and, coincidently, Harry Nilsson's passing).

 



Welcome to the Harry Nilsson Web Pages

This site is dedicated to the music and memory of Harry Nilsson. From the late 1960s through the early '90s, Nilsson produced music that both challenged norms and celebrated the past - often within the same song.
On first listen, his early Pandemonium Shadow Show is just an appealing collection of bouncy pop songs, a product of the time when it was released. But, on closer listen songs like "1941" and "Without Her" feature poignant and wistful lyrics on top of their upbeat, pop melodies. To the listener in the late 1960s, the melodies and songs, such as “Freckles” sometimes invoked what would have seemed a nostalgic air, but they still sound fresh more than fifty years later.
Nilsson remained unconventional throughout his career. He never toured to support an album and he made few TV appearances. He released an album of songs which were all written by another songwriter. He recorded an album of standards in front of an orchestra. He followed up his best selling album and song with an album featuring a song pretty much guaranteed to surprise, if not offend, his new fans.
Harry ventured into movies and TV, creating a classic animated story (“The Point!”) and writing the music and songs for the once-panned, but now cult favorite, film Popeye starring Robin Williams.
In the last years of his life, after his friend John Lennon was shot and killed, Harry stepped back from music and, ironically perhaps, more into the public eye as the spokesperson for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence advocating for sensible gun laws in America.
A heart attack took Harry’s life in early 1994. Yet, his memory lives on in the hearts and minds of his friends, family, and fans. And his music lives on with Sony releasing a comprehensive collection of his works on CD and his music being featured prominently in TV and movies.