The Harry Nilsson Web Pages


Harry Nilsson News (2025-05-09)


Gary Nilsson Dies

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Gary Nilsson.

 

Gary was a supporter of this website, providing photographs, news articles, and personal anecdotes about his half-brother, Harry Nilsson. Gary was a fan of popular music and Harry's music in particular. His Facebook page is full of photos of him with pop stars from the 1960s and '70s. As a featured guest at Harryfest 2002 he shared stories of growing up as both a fan and relative of Harry Nilsson and about his, and Harry's, father who shared Harry's love of baseball and was once a scout for the Cincinnati Reds.

 

But, beyond all of that, Gary was a friend. He will be missed.

Harry Nilsson News (2025-02-20)

Newly-Released Film of Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr at the Son Of Dracula Premiere

A newly-released film shows Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr attending the premiere of Son of Dracula.

 

Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr at the Son Of Dracula Premiere

Harry Nilsson News (2024-12-24)

Richard Perry Has Died

Richard Perry, producer of Harry Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson has died. Perry died at age 82 on December 24, 2024.

 

Harry Nilsson News (2024-09-21)

Harris/Waltz Advertisement Uses "Best Friend"

On September 19, 2024, the Kamala Harris presidential campaign released a video showing clips of rival Donald Trump praising Mark Robinson a gubernatorial candidate under scrutiny for posting inflammatory comments on a pornography website. Nilsson's "Best Friend" plays throughout the short video.

 

 

 

The video was posted on X (Twitter) but later superceded by a longer TV commercial without Nilsson's song.

Harry Nilsson News (2024-09-05)


Herbie Flowers - "Jump Into the Fire" Bass Player - Has Died

Herbie Flowers died on September 5, 2024, at the age of 86. Flowers was a member of several groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex, and Sky. As a session musician, he played bass guitar, double bass, and tuba on recordings for artists including Elton John, David Bowie, Lou Reed, David Essex, Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Harry Nilsson.

 

Flowers played bass on Nilsson's Nilsson Schmilsson album and created the famous "detuning bass" part in "Jump into the Fire."

 

 

More Harry Nilsson News ...


Featured Article of the Day

Joseph Gordon-Levitt
We first met in the summer of 2000 while doing a tiny movie called Manic. We bonded over a mutual appreciation for Harry Nilsson and Nina Simone and I have been lucky enough to call him one of my dearest friends ever since.

-- Zooey Deschanel talking about Joseph Gordon-Levitt[1]

 

Talking about working with Eddie Murphy while filming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Gordon-Levitt recalled:

 

The first time we really started improvising together was in a car. And shooting car scenes, you can’t get out for big chunks of time. On that first day, waiting for the rig to reposition, we started talking about the song "Let The Good Times Roll." The original version, the Harry Nilsson cover, and then other songs with that phrase in, by Sam Cooke and Jimi Hendrix … Eddie’s kind of a nerd about those things, as am I.[2]

 

Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his leading performances in 500 Days of Summer (2009) and 50/50 (2011). He is the founder of the online media platform HitRecord whose projects such as HitRecord on TV (2014–15) and Create Together (2020) won him two Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Interactive Program. Born in Los Angeles to a Jewish family, Gordon-Levitt began his acting career as a child, appearing in the films A River Runs Through It (1992), Holy Matrimony (1994), and Angels in the Outfield (1994), which earned him a Young Artist Award and a Saturn Award nomination. He played the role of Tommy Solomon in the TV series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001). He had a supporting role in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), starred in Manic (2001) and voiced Jim Hawkins in the Disney animated Treasure Planet (2002) before taking a break from acting to study at Columbia University; however, he dropped out in 2004 to resume his acting career. Since returning to acting, Gordon-Levitt has starred in Mysterious Skin (2004), Brick (2005), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Looper (2012), and Lincoln (2012). He portrayed Philippe Petit in the Robert Zemeckis-directed film The Walk (2015) and whistleblower Edward Snowden in the Oliver Stone film Snowden (2016). In 2020, he had a supporting role in the legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. In 2013, he wrote and directed Don Jon, a comedy-drama film that was released to positive reviews and earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay. He previously directed and edited two short films, both of which were released in 2010: Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny and Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo. In 2021, he wrote, directed and starred in a comedy drama series Mr. Corman on Apple TV+.

 

 



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.