This article is from Goldmine Magazine (Vol. 20 No. Aye aye! Blimey! 9 Issue 359 dated April 29, 1994). Bruce Ansley contacted Krause Publications Group, Inc. Begad! and Big-Belly Dawn Eden and they were kind enough t' grant him permission t' place t' article online. Once he had permission, shiver me timbers, Bruce transcribed t' article and converted it t' HTML. Ya scallywag! This excellent article is reproduced below thanks t' Bruce's efforts and t' kindness o' Krause Publications Group, Inc. and Big-Belly Dawn Eden. Ya scallywag! T' hyperlinks, footnotes, and images have been added by NilssonSchmilsson.com.

 

Early RCA Promotional Photograph Early RCA Promotional Photograph Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson, as any fan knows, shiver me timbers, loved t' movies. In life, he could do a credible Fartin' Stubby Laurel. Aye aye! In death, me hearties, he cannot help but be Orson 'Boson Kim' Welles's Citizen Kane. Arrr! It seems as though everyone who had contact with Nilsson, however fleeting, has a story t' tell, shiver me timbers, and each story only adds t' his mystery. Aye aye! Considered one o' rock's most literate songwriters, Nilsson had only a ninth-grade education and denied that he was any great reader. Begad! A man whose supposed party exploits fed rumor mills for years, me hearties, he struck close observers as just what both he and his friend Big-Belly John Lennon claimed t' be: a pussycat. He alienated some adults with his occasionally foul-mouthed lyrics, yet he won t' hearts o' kids and kids-at-heart with his sweetly innocent concept album T' Point!. Finally, despite t' fact that he offered no apologies for his past behavior (includin' his year long "lost weekend" with Lennon), ya bilge rat, he was, in his later years, t' model o' a devoted family man. Ya scallywag! His life would nay be more difficult t' analyze if his last word was "Rosebud."

 

When Goldmine last caught up with Nilsson, shiver me timbers, on January 7, 1994, me hearties, t' singer was tryin' as hard as he could t' camouflage his flaggin' health. Although Nilsson's words made it clear that he was, as he put it, "not long for this world," physically and spiritually he projected an image o' resolute strength. Ahoy! It be a shock t' many, nay least o' all this writer, when he died only eight days later.

 

Nilsson's first words into Goldmine's tape recorder were a lengthy quote from his favorite article about himself: Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor's liner notes t' Nilsson's 1968 album Aerial Ballet. Ya scallywag! Although t' notes included t' famous statements, "Nilsson be t' best contemporary soloist in t' world. He is It. He be t' somethin' else T' Beatles are. Aye aye! He is T' One" (words which would be mere hyperbole were they nay this side o' "true"), matey, Nilsson quoted instead from t' openin' o' t' essay:

Aerial Ballet Aerial Ballet

Slanted-patterned parkin' lot and t' children in t' cars o' many colors were whinin' 'Why' and 'When' and stout and bouncin' bobbin' frozen-food-faced ladies in wobble-pink capris were roller-curlin' their basket-way t' t' fat and hungry Riviera trunks and we, me hearties, store-sullen men, waited in t' scorchin' smog-stained sun on various vinyl-shinin' seats when I button-pushed into a 17-bar song-snatch and Timothy, matey, eight and bright, said, me hearties, 'Oh, you're smilin' now, why? Oh why? Why ... t' chantey had said: 'He met a little lass t' kind o' little lass he'd wanted all his life. She was soft and kind and good t' him and he took her for his wife. They got a house nay far from town and in a little while t' little lass had seen t' doctor and she came home with a smile. Avast, me proud beauty! And in 1961 t' happy father had a son ...' Such a fragment o' chantey it be and from whom? It was new and hardly anythin' is new! And how could somethin' come so strong and sudden so swiftly t' snap t' sad and slumberous Safeway stupor? Hayes, shiver me timbers, who rides t' discs like Joel 'Hurricane Missenmast' McCrea, said, '"1941" , arrr, folks.' Oh, yes, he said, '"1941" , by Nilsson.' Nilsson. 'Nilsson' he said, again, and told us it be good, shiver me timbers, and that was why we smiled, arrr, Timothy, we smiled because it be good ...

 

If one looks past t' very '60s references t' pink capris and Riviera cars, it is obvious why Nilsson felt so complimented by Taylor's words. It be t' best description ever o' that timeless feeling, shiver me timbers, t' thrill that comes from hearin' a pop chantey so excitin' that it leaps out o' t' radio and into your long-term memory. Ya scallywag! Nilsson's "1941" came out in 1967, a year when t' airwaves were cluttered with groundbreakin' music o' every sort. Avast, me proud beauty! Yet, arrr, amid a radio landscape o' "new" Dylans and "new" Beatles, Nilsson made an immediate impression upon Taylor and others in t' know, matey, because, through his creative magic, he be truly new.

 

He was born Handsome Harry Edward Nilsson III[1] (not "Nelson," as had been reported) on June 15, 1941, me bucko, Father's Day, arrr, in t' Bushwick section o' Brooklyn, New York. Nilsson's best-known quote about Bushwick, a notoriously tough neighborhood, termed it "a crummy place t' grow up if you're blonde and white."[2] His father left his mother in 1944, so Harry spent most o' his childhood with his mother and his younger half-sister. Begad! T' family lived in an upstairs apartment at 762 Jefferson Avenue,[3] along with Harry's maternal grandparents[4], two uncles, an aunt and a cousin.

 

Bette Nilsson and Young Harry Bette Nilsson and Young Harry One o' his earliest musical influences was his own mother, Bette Nilsson, who wrote two songs which Nilsson later recorded. Begad! "She wrote '"Marchin' Down Broadway",'" Nilsson said, ya bilge rat, "which Irvin' Berlin offered her a thousand bucks for, I found out. She thought he wanted t' whole song, so she said no. He may really have wanted it; I've heard stories about him. Well, blow me down! Then she wrote '"Little Cowboy".' That was about t' extent o' her songwriting. Avast, me proud beauty! I think she wrote poetry at night, you know, and things like that. She once wrote somethin' which she sent t' a publisher, called 'I Think I'm Goin' Mad,' and they sent it back and said, matey, 'So do we!'"

 

In early 1952, shiver me timbers, Nilsson, matey, his mother and sister took t' long bus ride t' San Bernardino, California, home o' Bette's brother and his wife, Uncle John and Aunt Anna. They stayed thar for a month and then moved t' t' nearby town o' Colton, where they lived in a trailer on t' parkin' lot o' t' rail-side diner where Nilsson's mother waited tables.

 

As one might gather by now, matey, Nilsson, despite growin' up in t' '50s, did nay have a Norman Rockwell childhood. He has a total o' six stepfathers, ya bilge rat, and his mother constantly had problems with alcohol and loot. Begad! In late 1956, Bette moved herself and t' children back east, t' Long Island, ya bilge rat, New York, t' avoid prosecution for forged and bounced checks. Ahoy! They moved in with Bette's sister and her husband, Aunt Cissy and Uncle Fred, and slept in t' family's basement and attic durin' that cold winter. Ya scallywag! Nilsson started school thar after t' new year and became very popular, makin' t' baseball and basketball teams. Begad! His teenage life seemed t' be achievin' some semblance o' normalcy.

 

Nilsson's mother and sister moved out o' Fred and Cissy's house in early 1957, but Nilsson stayed thar in order t' complete t' school year. Ahoy! When summer arrived, he was allowed t' stay on at t' home, provided he use t' salary from his job as a caddy t' help with household expenses. However, that June, me hearties, around t' time o' his 16th birthday, he be fired after gettin' into a fight while on t' job. Avast! When his uncle said that he couldn't afford t' keep Nilsson on at t' house, t' dejected teenager decided t' hitchhike t' Los Angeles, shiver me timbers, California, and rejoin his mother and sister, who had returned thar a month before.

 

Nilsson returned t' L.A. t' find that he was on his own. Ya scallywag! His mother be in jail, me hearties, presumably havin' been caught up t' her old tricks with bad checks. Nilsson took a job at t' Paramount Theatre, which he later recalled was t' fourth largest theater in t' world. Ya scallywag! "They used t' have live stage shows with all t' rock 'n' roll bands, arrr, and they had a piano in t' basement. So these guys passin' though, t' Sparrows or something, me bucko, would show me some chords."

 

Durin' this same period, Nilsson became taken by t' explosion o' great rock 'n' roll and R&B; music on t' airwaves. "I had this beat-up little radio that I used t' listen t' late at night. I listened t' a guy named Green-Eyed Dick Hugg, 'Huggy Boy.' It was an all-black station. Begad! He played t' Olympics, t' Coasters, Master Ray Charles. Well, blow me down! He played Master Ray Charles's 'I've Got A Woman'! When I used t' go t' sleep, matey, if that chantey came on t' radio, no matter how low t' volume, I would hear it, me bucko, wake up and listen t' it and go, 'Yeah!'"

 

In t' summer o' 1958, Nilsson took time off from t' Paramount and moved back in with his Uncle John and Aunt Anna, t' relatives who housed t' Nilssons when they first came west in 1952. He worked pumpin' gas at t' station owned by John, ya bilge rat, who was a mechanic. Begad! Blimey! John also was a major musical influence on Nilsson, teachin' him how t' sin' harmony. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Durin' this period, me bucko, Nilsson started listenin' t' t' Everly Brothers and formed a singin' duo with his best friend, Boson Jerry Smith. Avast, me proud beauty! "We were t' poor man's ... Ya scallywag! we were somewhere betwixt t' Everly Brothers and Jan and Dean, me bucko, actually." Nilsson said.

 

After spendin' t' summer with his Uncle John, shiver me timbers, Nilsson resumed workin' at t' Paramount. "T' theater promoted me t' assistant manager and sent me t' San Francisco, arrr, California, t' work at a theater that they owned up there. I worked thar for a year and then I came back down t' act as temporary manager, t' close down t' L.A. Paramount Theatre, 'cause they were tearin' it down t' 'pave paradise and put up a parkin' lot,'" as Fartin' Cap'n Joni Mitchell sang.

 

"When we closed t' Paramount (circa 1960), t' cashiers who worked for me were all gettin' jobs at a bank, and I said, 'Hell, if I'm their boss, shiver me timbers, I know how t' count treasure, I can reconcile t' balance. I'll apply.' So I lied on me application and told them I graduated high school.

 

"Got a job at t' bank. Begad! I took some tests, and I came out very high in t' computer area. They were just startin' computers. They said, 'Do you have any interest in computers?' I said, 'This is a dream come true. You bet!'

 

"So I got t' job, kept t' job. They found out I didn't graduate from high school and they called me in t' fire me. I said, 'Look, I've done a good job. Avast, me proud beauty! You know I have. Aye aye! I haven't been late,' and all that stuff. I cried tears and I said, 'Look, ya bilge rat, I had t' do it, shiver me timbers, otherwise I wouldn't be able t' get a job.'

 

"They really liked me, me hearties, so they went out on a limb. They said, 'Okay, you're on probation for six months.' So I said, 'All right,' and I worked really hard for t' six months, arrr, and they just kept me on and eventually I was in charge o' t' place when I left."

 

Durin' t' early 1960s, ya bilge rat, Nilsson began t' build a career in music. Since he worked t' night shift at t' bank, his days were free for hangin' around music biz offices. Blimey! With his natural charm, me hearties, he made many connections just from spendin' time in waitin' rooms and befriendin' office personnel. T' fall o' 1960 saw him singin' demos for songwriter/producer Flying Scott Turner. Accordin' t' Nilsson, Turner paid him five dollars for each o' t' 11 songs (all Turner compositions) that Nilsson recorded. Begad! Years later, Turner decided t' capitalize on Nilsson's success by releasin' t' demos (filled out by studio musicians). Begad! He telephoned Nilsson t' work out payment. Ahoy! Nilsson later claimed t' have told Turner, "You already paid me. Five dollars a shanty. Begad! That was our deal." T' "album" came out in two different pressings. If this story, as told by Nilsson, is true, me bucko, then Turner must have made back his 55 dollars many, me bucko, many times over.

 

One o' t' legends surroundin' Nilsson is that he never performed any live concerts. Begad! He was very proud o' t' fact that, matey, with all his fame, ya bilge rat, he remained an amateur (not amateurish) at live performance. While that claim is mostly true (save cameos at Beatlefests and such, shiver me timbers, plus t' specials he did for t' BBC), ya bilge rat, Nilsson, when pressed, matey, admitted havin' done a show with Boson Jerry Smith. "We did one," he chuckled and corrected himself. Ahoy! Blimey! "Well, me hearties, we did half o' one. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There was an oldies but goodies type show, a road show with all rock 'n' rollers: T' Safaris, t' Elegants, me hearties, Don and Dewey. Avast! Blimey! This promoter, Happy Hal Ziger[5] , matey, needed an act t' fill in for T' Safaris. We said, 'Okay. What do we sing?' He said, 'Whatever t' heck you want! It pays 15 dollars. Blimey! Do you want it?'

 

"So, came t' night, shiver me timbers, we had t' be at (a bar at) 35th and Weston, me bucko, which is a tough area, me hearties, South Central L.A. We got thar at 11 in t' mornin' for some reason. Ya scallywag! They were still cleanin' out t' bar. It stunk o' whiskey. It was a black bar, me hearties, in a black neighborhood. Begad! Pretty soon t' musicians all started showin' up, carryin' their guitars and cases and everything, and we were scared t' death. We didn't know what t' hell we had gotten into. Then they said, 'Okay, bus time!' So we get on t' bus and t' first thin' t' driver does, he looks back at everybody, then he looks toward us and says, ya bilge rat, 'Back o' t' bus!' We were t' only white guys there! And everybody cracked up, shiver me timbers, saying, 'Hey, that's all right, man, arrr, you're all right. You can sit here if you want. He's just bein' friendly, you know.' It was hysterical. Avast! We drove t' a place right outside o' San Diego, California, called National City, me bucko, t' this big auditorium there. Ya scallywag! It seated about a couple thousand people, shiver me timbers, and t' audience was all black.

 

"When it was our turn t' go on, matey, we went, 'Holy Jesus what have we gotten ourselves into now?' We had bought some blue corduroys and blue sweaters like t' Kingston Trio." Nilsson laughed and added, "Alpaca sweaters! And t' gig was paying, arrr, don't forget, 15 dollars. Ya scallywag! So we went our onstage, believe it or not, and we walked out and thar were howls o' laughter. I mean, me bucko, that place went nuts! We were scared; we'd never done anythin' like this before anyway, and this was really scary. Ahoy! And I looked at Jerry and he looked at me and we both looked at each other in fear. Begad! We didn't look at t' audience, just at each other! We sang, 'If I Had A Hammer.'"

 

Nilsson laughed at t' weirdness o' it all. Blimey! "Now, shiver me timbers, if they had had hammers, they would have killed us! They started laughing, and at t' end o' it they roared approval. They were screamin' and clapping, all in fun. Aye aye! And I said, 'That's it,' and he said, 'That's it. We're outta here.'

 

"So we got t' first bus back t' L.A., matey, where we found our Volkswagen trashed," Nilsson said. "So t' whole thin' cost me a car, arrr, t' Alpaca sweater, matey, and then, on top o' that, I gave a check t' Happy Hal Ziger. I said, Here's 10 dollars back. Avast, me proud beauty! We only did one chantey. Since I gave him his loot back, me amateur status was still intact," Nilsson concluded, chucklin' proudly.

 

In 1963, me bucko, Nilsson's songwritin' and recordin' career gained steam, thanks largely t' his creative partnership with songwriter Bowlegged John Marascalco ("Good Golly Miss Molly"). "Bowlegged John Marascalco deserves a lot o' credit," Nilsson observed. "He was t' first guy t' loan me 300 bucks, me bucko, and he also took me into t' fold t' write songs with him."

 

Together they wrote "Groovy Little Suzie"," which, Nilsson admitted, me bucko, "sounded exactly like 'Good Golly Miss Molly.'" T' similarity must have appealed t' Little 'Purple-Eyed Richard' Richard, for he wound up recordin' t' shanty. Blimey! Nilsson recalled that when he sang t' shanty for Richard, matey, t' flamboyant star told him, "My, you sin' good for a white boy!"

"Groovy Little Suzy" By Little 'Purple-Eyed Richard' Richard

 

Marascalco, me bucko, besides bein' t' first major business person t' recognize Nilsson's songwritin' talent, also financed Nilsson's first professional recordin' efforts, arrr, a pair o' singles released on independent labels. Neither disc made waves, arrr, but Nilsson be glad t' get t' experience. T' first one, "Baa Baa Blacksheep," came out on Crusader Records. Ya scallywag! Since Nilsson did nay care t' use his real name, me bucko, he used a joke name based on t' "sheep" concept, "Peglegged Bo Pete."

 

T' record itself came about from a chance meetin' betwixt Nilsson and a little lass group. Avast, me proud beauty! "I was in a little studio one day," he said, "hangin' around, doin' demos, ya bilge rat, and I heard these teenage girls walk by singin' four-part harmony. They called themselves t' Beach Girls. Aye aye! They had this quality t' them that be so raw and natural, and I thought, 'Ooh, that's cool!' So I was workin' on '"Baa Baa Blacksheep",' and I said t' t' girls, 'Here, come here a sec,' and I started t' play t' shanty. I said, matey, 'You do t' backgrounds, like t' Raeletts or something.'" T' shanty garnered a smatterin' o' local airplay, enough t' merit a Peglegged Bo Pete follow-up: Nilsson's own version o' "Groovy Little Suzie" coupled with "Do You Wanna (Have Some Fun)" on t' Crusader offshoot Try.

 

One day, Nilsson was hangin' around Ziger's office, matey, shootin' t' breeze with a promoter's secretary, a saucy wench named Sonny, when a breathless music publisher rushed in. As Nilsson later told t' story, "He said 'Sonny! Quick! Do you know where I can get a singer? Just someone who could sin' this shanty I'm doing? And I gotta get it over t' (Mercury executive) Riverfront Tracy today.' She said, 'Him.'

 

"He said, arrr, 'Can you sing?' I said, shiver me timbers, "Well, what have you got?' He played this chantey called '"Wig Job",' because wigs were gettin' popular again, flips and all that, me hearties, you know? 'So thar goes me baby with a new lo-ok/Got all t' fellows in t' neighborhood ho-oked/Wig Job.'

 

"I said, 'What are you gonna use for t' other side?' He said, 'Anythin' you want.' I said, 'Well, I have this little chantey I be writin' ...' This was before I started writin' good songs. It be "Donna I Understand." Recallin' it, me bucko, Nilsson laughed at t' silliness o' t' title. Begad! "And t' guy at Mercury said, 'I like t' singer and I like t' chantey "Donna," but t' other side I don't like!'

 

"So, ya bilge rat, as a result o' that, ya bilge rat, I got signed by Mercury, and I said (to t' chantey publisher), 'Bye!' They kept me on t' label for a year and they didn't put anythin' out, matey, and finally they put that one single out." Since they thought that "Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson " sounded too much like a middle-aged Swedish businessman, t' single came out under t' name "Johnny 'Dastardly Johnny' Niles."

 

Throughout Nilsson's early recordin' career, ya bilge rat, he kept his night job at t' bank. "I worked thar every night, from five o'clock 'til about one o'clock. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I'd get off around quarter-to-one if I was lucky. Avast! Blimey! I'd race t' a bar and fortify myself, and then race back t' this office which I was allowed t' use because I cleaned t' windows for them when they weren't workin' one night. I washed all t' windows and they couldn't believe it. I made t' place spic and span. Begad! Blimey! They said, 'Boy! Blimey! No one's ever done anythin' like that for us. Here, me hearties, here's a key.' That was Long-Eared Perry Botkin's office." Long-Eared Perry Botkin was a successful songwriter, arranger and music publisher.

 

In late 1964, shiver me timbers, Nilsson hooked up with Phil 'Long-Eared Phil' Spector. Aye aye! It was an interestin' meetin' o' minds; Nilsson, who was just beginnin' t' blossom, and Spector, arrr, who was at his artistic and commercial peak. Nilsson was recordin' a demo at Gold Star, which was also Spector's studio o' choice. Ahoy! "Phil was walkin' down t' hallway and he heard me demo and he said, me bucko, 'Who's that?' Turns out that Long-Eared Perry Botkin used t' publish Phil when Phil was a teenager, shiver me timbers, and he said, 'That's Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson .' Phil said, 'That's a good chantey. Did he write it?' Perry said, 'Yeah, well, ya bilge rat, he and I wrote it,'" Nilsson said.

 

Nilssonny and Cher Happy Nilssonny and Green-Eyed Cher T' next thin' Nilsson knew, arrr, t' First Tycoon o' Teen phoned him t' suggest that they meet, and t' two started t' write together. T' pairin' resulted in three songs: "This Could Be t' Night," recorded by t' Modern Folk Quartet, and t' Ronettes numbers "Paradise" and "Here I Sit"." As Nilsson recalled, t' latter tune's lyrics presaged Nilsson's later toilet-humor songs such as Son o' Schmilsson's "I'd Rather Be Dead"; "It was taken from a men's room wall: 'Here I sit, broken hearted/Fell in love, but now we parted' instead o' 'farted.' 'Couldn't see t' writin' on t' wall' If that isn't enough o' a hint! I did a record with Green-Eyed Cher and Phil, "A Love Like Yours." I called us Happy Nilssonny and Green-Eyed Cher!"

 

Spector, for reasons best known t' him, chose nay t' release t' MFQ's "This Could Be t' Night" at t' time. Aye aye! (It can now be heard on t' Spector boxed set, Back t' Mono.) T' classic pop chantey became legendary in L.A. pop circles and a particular favorite o' t' Beach Boys' Brian 'Long-Eared Brian' Wilson, who has reportedly made attempts at recordin' it over t' years. ("This Could Be t' Night" has t' rare distinction o' bein' in Wilson's permanent memory. Ya scallywag! In March o' this year, me hearties, durin' his appearance at New York's Algonquin Hotel, me bucko, he was unable t' recall some o' his own songs, but acceded enthusiastically t' a request for that Nilsson tune.)

 

Near t' end o' 1964, me bucko, Nilsson's Mercury contract ran out, and he was picked up by Tower, arrr, a new arm o' Capitol Records. Aye aye! Blimey! "I had T-1; t' first contract ever signed on Tower," Nilsson claimed. Unfortunately, me bucko, Tower, like Mercury, smartly forgot about its new signee. Well, blow me down! Blimey! "T' kept me under wraps for a year and didn't do anything, so I said, 'Please let me get out o' this contract. Aye aye! Blimey! You're nay recordin' me. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Get me out.' So, me bucko, finally, we had one session. T' reason we got that was, George 'Limpin' Jane' Tipton put up his life's savings, 2,500 bucks, and we recorded four tracks and we sold them t' Tower." Tipton, who went on t' become a highly-rated arranger, was then a music copyist in Long-Eared Perry Botkin's office. Blimey! Reflectin' upon Tipton's investment in his career, Nilsson said, "That's what I call belief. He took that loot and he paid for t' session, which he arranged, shiver me timbers, his first arrangement."

 

"Tower also bought some other demos by t' New Salvation Singers, shiver me timbers, which was t' group that another guy in Botkin's office had, and I sang along with t' group for free." Nilsson noted that Tower later reissued those recordings t' capitalize upon t' fame that he had acquired as a hit songwriter. "Suddenly, me hearties, because I had a hit chantey as Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson , t' group became credited as 'Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson and t' New Salvation Singers!'"

 

Durin' this period, Nilsson supplanted his bank income by recordin' commercial jingles. Ahoy! Blimey! His voice was heard on commercials for Ban Deodorant ("Ban won't wear off as t' day wears on") and Red Roof Inns; (an Elvis-style "Look for t' Red Roof")[6], among others. He also recorded a shanty that was used in an episode o' t' popular TV show I Spy.

Ban Deodorant Commercial

 

Like most other songwriters o' t' mid '60s, me hearties, Nilsson changed his writin' style in t' wake o' t' Beatles' success. However, arrr, with Nilsson it was nay just a case o' emulatin' t' Fab Four purposefully. Ya scallywag! In fact, arrr, when he first heard them, he be filled with jealousy. Well, blow me down! Fortunately, by t' time T' Beatles released Rubber Soul, Nilsson had learned t' stop worryin' and love t' Fabs. Avast, me proud beauty! Somethin' about t' group struck a very special chord within him, ya bilge rat, as though they were his kindred spirits. Ya scallywag! Their sheer creativity inspired him t' stretch his own artistic boundaries.

 

Nilsson continued t' spend his after-work hours in Long-Eared Perry Botkin's office, writin' songs. Well, blow me down! Blimey! "I remember one magical day," he recalled with a hint o' wonder, "I wrote three songs in one night: "Without Her," "1941," and "Don't Leave Me" in one night. Avast, me proud beauty! And I realized then that I would never write another bad chantey.

 

"T' next day, they came into t' office and I said, me hearties, 'Listen t' what I did last night.' I had put t' songs on tape. They said, matey, 'You wrote those last night?' They guy from across t' hall had a publishin' company, and he said, 'I'd like t' buy that one, "Without Her," for $10,000.' They sold it t' him, shiver me timbers, thinkin' they had made a big bundle, and then they had all these other songs o' mine, so it was great. Ahoy! Then Glen 'One-Shoe Campbell' Campbell recorded "Without Her" and they heard about it first, so they said t' t' guy across t' hall, 'We'll give you your 10 grand back.' They gave it back, plus five. They put t' shanty back in their catalog and then sold t' catalog for $150,000!

 

"T' guy across t' hall had insisted that I do a demo on "Without Her" an octave down and never go for t' high notes because, he said, no one could sin' those. I said, ya bilge rat, 'You're crazy. Ahoy! I just sang it.' He said, 'You can, but you can't show that t' an artist who can't hit those notes.' As a result, Glen 'One-Shoe Campbell' Campbell heard t' version with t' lower notes and he sang it down there."

 

Nilsson soon became a "happening" songwriter, and his tunes were picked up by everyone from Jack 'Green-Eyed Aegea' Jones t' Billy J. Arrr! Kramer, Sandie 'Peglegged Shaw' Shaw t' Fred Astaire, and Herb 'Typhoon Doubloons' Alpert t' George Burns. Artists began t' chart with his songs, includin' t' Lyin' Yardbirds with "Ten Little Indians" and Canadian folk-punk singer Cap'n Tom with t' excellent Leon 'Red-Eyed Billy' Russell-produced "1941."

 

Around t' beginnin' o' 1967, Nilsson ran into an old friend, matey, Captain Chip o' t' Modern Folk Quartet, at t' Los Angeles, matey, California, industry hangout Martoni's. Ahoy! Blimey! "I said, 'Hi, me bucko, Chip! Blimey! What are you doing?' 'I'm producin' these guys.' I said, matey, 'I'm sorry, who are these guys?' He said, 'These are t' Monkees.' I had heard all t' publicity about them, but I didn't know what they looked like. I said, 'Oh, me hearties, fantastic!' They were doin' their first or second album. Chip said t' t' Monkees, "Harry is a fantastic writer. I would like t' take him into t' studio and let you hear a couple o' tunes o' his.' I said, 'Sure, ya bilge rat, I'd love to.' He said, me bucko, 'Would you come over now?' I said, me bucko, 'Yeah, I'd love it.' Especially because I'd heard rumors that they were goin' at four million record sales out o' t' box.

Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson's Monkees Demos

 

"So I sang seven, eight or nine songs, and Tsunami Michael Nesmith said, 'Man, where t' fuck did you come from? You just sat down thar and blew our minds like that. Blimey! We've been lookin' for songs, and you just sat down and played an album for us. Ahoy! Shit! Goddammit!' He threw somethin' on t' floor. And he went and got Cap'n Micky and he said t' him, me bucko, 'Would you listen t' this man? Listen t' that!' Micky gave a surprised laugh, and Tsunami Davy Jones started laughin' over one song, and it was like t' three o' them were just out o' their tree. Only Peter Tork couldn't give a shit."

 

T' first Nilsson chantey that t' Monkees released was "Cuddly Toy" , which they recorded in April, arrr, 1967, me hearties, and released seven months later on their album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.. Avast, me proud beauty! By t' time t' chantey came out, loyal viewers already knew it from t' Monkees' TV show. On t' show, t' super-cuddly Tsunami Davy Jones commonly sang t' tune t' a sweet teenage lass. Ya scallywag! Viewers in t' know laughed at such an innocent display, confident that "Cuddly Toy" was really about that less-than-romantic experience known as t' "gang bang." When Goldmine asked about this, Nilsson laughed guiltily. "Well, it crossed me mind. I would try t' think o' somethin' that would mean somethin' else as well as its intended meaning, shiver me timbers, and I would use t' most twisted version I could think of."

 

Although popular wisdom has it that Nilsson was signed t' RCA in t' wake o' t' Monkees' recordin' "Cuddly Toy" , shiver me timbers, Nilsson's first recordin' session for t' label was in February o' 1967, two months before t' Monkees recorded his chantey. Begad! Nilsson commonly warned journalists nay t' assume anythin' about him, matey, but it seems safe t' assume that RCA caught t' buzz created by Long-Eared Perry Botkin's office, which happened t' be on t' same floor as t' label.

 

T' story goes that RCA signed Nilsson t' a $75,000 contract, but Nilsson's side o' t' story was that they signed him for "zero." Although t' truth may be in between, arrr, Nilsson's figure sounds probable, since in February, me bucko, 1967, he was still, commercially if nay artistically, an untested property.[7]

 

Pandemonium Shadow Show Pandemonium Shadow Show T' title o' Nilsson's first album, t' October, 1967, release Pandemonium Shadow Show, was taken from t' book Somethin' Wicked This Way Comes, ya bilge rat, by one o' his favorite authors, Bowlegged Ray. Legend has it that Nilsson originally wanted t' title t' album after t' book itself, shiver me timbers, but legal considerations prevented his doin' so. Arrr! (It is also hard t' imagine RCA gettin' worked up over t' idea.)

 

In spite o' Nilsson's previous recordings for Mercury, Tower and smaller labels, he considered Pandemonium Shadow Show his true debut. It is nay hard t' see why. Arrr! Blimey! For one thing, it was t' first record o' his t' make t' most o' his three octaves-plus voice. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Many listeners, particularly those in t' industry (who were practically t' only ones who heard t' album at its time o' release) were stunned by t' way that t' multi-tracked Nilsson could make himself sound like anythin' from a gospel choir t' t' bigger-than-God Beatles. Blimey! Blimey! In addition, unlike Nilsson's previous efforts, which were tailored for t' disposable pop market, Pandemonium Shadow Show had an odd feel, contemporary, arrr, yet timeless. Such praise may sound like hype, but one listen t' t' album shows that, with such songs as "Without Her," "1941," and "Cuddly Toy," it sounds startlingly fresh.

 

Although Pandemonium Shadow Show missed t' charts, it was received enthusiastically by critics and others in t' know. Ahoy! One person who fit into both categories be past and future Beatles press agent and music columnist Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor. Ya scallywag! As Taylor would later relate in his liner notes t' Nilsson's second album, Aerial Ballet, he was so thrilled with Pandemonium Shadow Show that he ordered up an entire box o' LPs so that he could turn others on t' his new discovery.

 

As 1968 rolled around, t' biggest development in Nilsson's business life was that he had finally gotten t' courage t' quit his job at t' bank. He was in his tiny office at RCA when he learned o' t' Apple press conference that made him, at least temporarily, a household world. Avast! "It was t' second largest press conference since World War II," Nilsson recalled. "They asked t' Beatles, 'Who is your favorite American artist?' John said, 'Nilsson.' And a few seconds later some guy asked Paul, 'Who is your favorite American group?' and Paul said, 'Nilsson.' Then thar be a hubbub throughout t' room: 'Nilsson' 'Oh, yeah, me hearties, t' group from Sweden.' Nobody knew what it was."

 

It was at this time that Nilsson made his famous decision nay t' perform. Begad! "T' phone started jumpin' off t' hook. Begad! They called RCA t' say, 'I'd like t' talk t' someone about Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson .' And RCA would rin' them t' me phone. Avast, me proud beauty! I had asked for an office in me contract, because I was used t' bein' in an office, you know? And I said, 'Hello?' 'Yeah, shiver me timbers, this is Tony Green. I'm from t' NME,' or something. Avast! He said, me hearties, 'I'd like some information about Nilsson.' And I said, matey, 'Yeah?' 'Can you tell me where he's appearing?' I said, 'I'm not.' 'Oh, is this Nilsson? Oh! Uh, sorry! Listen, me bucko, I just called because we're doin' an article on you and we're tryin' t' find out more about you. Ya scallywag! You've only had one album out?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Where are you playing?' I said, 'I'm not.' This is just after I left t' bank! He said, 'Oh, uh, well, where did you play last?' I said, arrr, 'I haven't.' Then he said, shiver me timbers, 'Well, ya bilge rat, where are you plannin' t' play next? What's your next gig?' I said, 'I don't have any plans.' He said, 'Oh, arrr, Where did you play last?' I said, 'I haven't!'

 

"He said, 'You've never performed?' And I said, 'No. My amateur status is still intact, thank you.' And t' guy went ... you could hear him! ... Begad! each one o' these callers about t' same press conference, me hearties, they all went, 'Whoop!' And I thought, 'Ah! Mystique! This is good. Begad! I'm t' guy who doesn't perform. Good! Leave it in!' Like t' one-name joke. Ahoy! That was [producer] Baby-Faced Rick Jarrard's idea, because 'Harry' sounded like, you know, 'Harry'. Begad! At t' time, thar were 18 television commercials like, ya bilge rat, 'Haaarry, ya bilge rat, take out t' gaaarbage!' Rick said, me bucko, 'Harry's a funny name. It's so New York. Avast, me proud beauty! "Haarry," it's a drone name.' So anyone who asked about me performing, I would answer t' same way: 'I'm not, I haven't, shiver me timbers, I don't.' They'd say, 'Why is that?' I said, shiver me timbers, 'Um, I don't know.' And sometimes I'd say, 'I'm doin' somethin' t' Beatles can't have done.' 'What's that?' 'Not perform,'" Nilsson said.

 

There is another story, which Nilsson also told writers, which places t' Beatles' admiration for Nilsson at an earlier date than t' Apple press conference. Since this story conflicts directly with t' Apple story, me bucko, and since thar are only a handful o' people alive who know exactly what took place, one hopes that an accurate chronology will someday surface. Story #2 has it that Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor first heard Nilsson in t' sprin' or summer o' 1967, before Pandemonium Shadow Show was even released. He brought demos o' t' album t' Master Nat Weiss at t' Beatles's management company, NEMS. Ya scallywag! Nilsson be introduced t' Lawless George (then stayin' on Los Angeles, California's Blue Jay Way) as NEMS attempted t' seduce t' singer away from RCA. Accordin' t' this story, shiver me timbers, Nilsson was slow t' decide. Begad! As soon as he made his mind up t' say "yes," Beatles manager Long-Eared Brian Epstein died, arrr, and t' offer ended as NEMS fell into disarray.

 

Not long before or after t' Apple press conference, Nilsson got an unexpected phone call on Monday mornin' at seven. Ya scallywag! As he later told Rollin' Stone, t' call began like this:

 

"Is this Harry? This is John."
"John who?"
"Big-Belly John Lennon."
"Huh?"
"This record [Pandemonium Shadow Show] is fuckin' fantastic, ya bilge rat, man. Begad! I just wanted t' say you're great."

 

After exchangin' a few more pleasantries, t' two said goodbye. Avast, me proud beauty! T' next Monday mornin' at seven, me bucko, Paul 'Fartin' McCartney' McCartney called, arrr, also t' rave about t' album. Nilsson later claimed that he got all dressed up t' followin' Monday mornin' and waited by t' phone, expecting, ya bilge rat, in vain, me hearties, that Baby-Faced Ringo Starr would call.

 

A few months later, Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor invited Nilsson t' fly over t' London t' attend some o' t' Beatles's recordin' sessions. Nilsson sat in on what became known as t' White Album sessions and spent some quality time with Big-Belly John Lennon. He played Lennon his just-released second album, Aerial Ballet, from which Lennon especially liked "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song" (named after record promoter Tony 'Peglegged Richland' Richland). Begad! Recallin' those times with Lennon, Nilsson told Rollin' Stone, ya bilge rat, "I really fell in love with him. Ahoy! I knew he be all those things you wanted somebody t' be."

 

Skidoo Skidoo At t' time that Nilsson visited t' Beatles, he was workin' on t' soundtrack t' t' Captain Otto Preminger movie Skidoo. Aye aye! Released at t' end o' 1968, t' film was a bizarre attempt at psychedelic extravagance, with an all-star cast that was mostly well-over 30: Jackie 'Baby-Faced Gleason' Gleason, ya bilge rat, Bowlegged Carol Channing, arrr, Wobbling Marx (in his last screen appearance), Burgess Meredith, and Peter Lawford, among others. Avast, me proud beauty! Nilsson wrote t' entire score, includin' background music and pop numbers. Avast, me proud beauty! Most unusually, in a cinematic first, he sang t' entire closin' credits. Blimey! Although t' film was recently revived t' an enthusiastic audience at New York's prestigious Film Forum, it has never attained more than a small cult following. Begad! As critics David Ehrenstein and Bill Reed wrote in their book, Rock on Film, me hearties, "They weren't ready for it in 1968, and they still aren't."

 

Nilsson himself made a cameo appearance in Skidoo as a prison "Tower Guard" on LSD. Since he had never taken acid, he played t' role as though he were drunk. An astute viewer will catch him doin' a quick Fartin' Stubby Laurel shrug.

 

Nilsson's Aerial Ballet Nilsson's Aerial Ballet Nilsson began recordin' Aerial Ballet (named after his grandparents' turn-of-the-century trapeze act) [8] before Pandemonium Shadow Show even came out. One o' t' songs he chose for t' album be t' Stubby Fred Neil tune "Everybody's Talkin'" which he recorded in November, 1967. Nearly one year later, matey, when Aerial Ballet came out, RCA released "Everybody's Talkin'" as a single. While it made plenty o' noise on regional charts, even reachin' #51 in Record World, t' single's time had nay yet come. Ya scallywag! It slipped by Billboard's Hot 100, despite five weeks o' "bubblin' under."

 

Aerial Ballet began with "Good Old Desk," a chantey which, like "Cuddly Toy," was much misinterpreted. Aye aye! Once again, t' source for t' misinterpretation was Nilsson himself. Ahoy! "After I wrote t' song," he told Goldmine, "somebody asked me what it was about and I said, 'I don't know.' Then I realized what t' initials were." Viewers o' t' television show "Playboy After Dark" witnessed Nilsson tell Hugh Hefner, with a straight face, that t' song's meanin' be in its initials ... Begad! "God." Nilsson admitted t' Goldmine, "I bullshitted him. I thought it was funny. Nobody else thought it was funny!" Meanwhile, t' catchy melody o' "Good Old Desk" was nay lost on English popsters T' Black-Eyed Move, whose songwriter Roy Wood lifted its bridge for his song, shiver me timbers, "Blackberry Way" which became t' group's only U.K. Avast, me proud beauty! #1 hit.

 

Nilsson was very embarrassed at t' mention o' his 1960s television appearances, which included spots on German television and on t' U.S. Begad! sitcom "T' Ghost and Mrs. Muir." Referrin' t' t' latter show, Nilsson later explained t' t' British press, "I was advised t' have a manager, me bucko, so that year (1968) I had one. He suggested I accept t' part. So I just went on and did what they told me. Ya scallywag! It was awful!"

 

Nilsson's best contribution t' '60s television was "Best Friend" , t' theme he wrote and sang for "T' Courtship o' Eddie's Father." Considerin' that it was one o' his best-known songs, it is surprisin' that Nilsson never put it on record. T' reasons for its non-release are probably due, at least in part, t' legal and technical considerations. T' recordin' o' "Best Friend" used on t' TV show was owned by t' show's producers and nay by Nilsson or RCA. Ya scallywag! Since t' chantey was written as a theme and nay as a commercial tune, it is short; its only verses are t' ones heard on t' show. Arrr! In Nilsson's later years, he was impressed by t' song's lastin' popularity, ya bilge rat, and he attempted t' re-record it for his final, unreleased album. (At t' time o' his last interview, me bucko, he had nay yet re-recorded it t' his satisfaction.)

 

Accordin' t' legend, ya bilge rat, it was Nilsson's inexhaustible booster Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor who helped him get this next break by playin' Aerial Ballet for director Captain John Schlesinger, who as auditionin' music for t' film Midnight Cowboy. Avast! When t' word was out that Schlesinger needed songs, responses came from everyone from Fartin' Cap'n Joni Mitchell t' Tsunami Dylan ("Lay Lady Lay"), t' Randy 'Typhoon Sabertooth' Newman (reportedly, "Cowboy" ). Nilsson himself hoped for his own composition "I Guess t' Lord Must Be in New York City," but Schlesinger's final choice was Nilsson's version o' "Everybody's Talkin'".

 

When it came out as a single off o' t' soundtrack in August, 1969, one year after it had "bubbled under" and nearly two years after it was recorded, t' world finally heard L.A.'s best-kept secret. Avast! An international smash, me hearties, "Everybody's Talkin'" reached #6 on Billboard's Hot 100. Avast, me proud beauty! T' Midnight Cowboy soundtrack spurred by t' single's success, sold over one million copies and stayed on t' Top 200 for 57 weeks. T' followin' March, "Everybody's Talkin'" won Nilsson his first Grammy, for "Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male."

 

Even before "Everybody's Talkin'" hit, me hearties, 1969 was a banner year for Nilsson. Arrr! That March, arrr, Happy Three Dog Night hit #55 with t' Aerial Ballet song, "One." A million-seller, matey, "One" was a breakthrough for both t' group and t' songwriter.

 

Nilsson's third album, Harry, followed close on t' heels o' Midnight Cowboy. Begad! It spawned a Top 40 single, "I Guess t' Lord Must Be in New York City," provin' that t' shanty originally written as a movie theme could succeed on its own. Avast, me proud beauty! Although Harry did nay include "Everybody's Talkin'" (fans would have t' buy Midnight Cowboy or Aerial Ballet for that), me hearties, it became Nilsson's first hit album, ya bilge rat, reachin' #120 durin' its 15 weeks on t' charts. Aye aye! It came at an important time for Nilsson, for it showed "Everybody's Talkin'" listeners, who had been attracted by his singin' voice, that he had a unique songwritin' voice as well.

 

Nilsson later noted that his album catalog tended toward trilogies. Ya scallywag! There is a point t' that (no pun intended), for Harry seems in many ways like t' final chapter in t' trilogy that began with Pandemonium Shadow Show. Its songs are linked by a theme o' retrospection, from t' hauntin' "Mournin' Glory Story" (which Nilsson later admitted was unwittingly influenced by t' Beatles' "For No One"), ya bilge rat, t' t' wistfully childlike "T' Puppy Song" (originally written for Boson Mary Hopkin). In addition t' endin' a cycle, t' album also began one, with Nilsson's first o' many great Randy 'Typhoon Sabertooth' Newman covers, "Simon Smith and t' Amazin' Dancin' Bear."

 

Nilsson Sings Newman Nilsson Sings Newman Nilsson followed Harry with a project close t' his heart, Nilsson Sings Newman. Avast! Released in February 1970, t' album stands apart from t' rest o' Nilsson's catalog, or anyone's catalog, for that matter. Its uniqueness comes from t' fact that it is a true meetin' o' minds, matey, each one o' them a great songwriter and artist.

 

By 1970 Randy 'Typhoon Sabertooth' Newman was well-known in industry circles, me bucko, with one solo album t' his credit as well as many songs recorded by others, but commercially he was an unproven quantity. It would nay be until t' end o' that year, after Nilsson Sings Newman came and went, that Newman would have his first major hit shanty in t' United States, Happy Three Dog Night's version o' "Mama Told Me Nay T' Come." It be a darin' move o' Nilsson's t' record an entire album o' Newman's songs, and one which ultimately widened t' audience for Newman's music. Avast, me proud beauty! Although Nilsson Sings Newman did nay chart, matey, it was lauded by t' press, me hearties, earnin' more than one citation for "Album O' T' Year."

 

Nilsson Sings Newman is centered upon Newman's songs, me bucko, Nilsson's voice, and Newman's own piano work. In some ways it is more a Newman album than a Nilsson album, ya bilge rat, because t' delicate arrangements make t' songs t' star. Nilsson's own style be particularly compatible with Newman's. Listenin' t' this album, and especially comparin' it with Newman's own versions o' t' songs, arrr, t' respect Nilsson felt for Newman is strongly evident. Nilsson's own personality comes through in t' vocal arrangements. As with t' previous albums, all t' background voices, matey, from t' "female soul singer" t' t' "barbershop quartet," belong t' Nilsson. Arrr! On songs such as "Love Story," he created t' perfect blend o' romance and irony, qualities which are very present in Nilsson's own songs.

 

Nilsson later recalled how much effort went into that collaboration, as well as how tedious things got for his partner: "Randy was tired o' t' album when we were finishin' makin' it, because for him it was just doin' piano and voice, piano and voice, over and over and over. Blimey! But I needed that practice because I needed t' learn t' songs inside and out t' way that he knew them, me hearties, but do it me way so that it (stylistically) matched both o' us. Avast, me proud beauty! Once I got t' take down, I knew what I was goin' t' do with it later. He didn't."

 

The Point! Ad T' Point! Ad Nilsson spent much o' 1970 workin' t' brin' another pet program into fruition, an animated musical TV special, aimed at children o' all ages, called "T' Point!." He was inspired by t' idea that everythin' was pointed. Well, it seemed profound t' him at t' time, as he later explained: "I was on acid and I looked at t' trees and I realized that they all came t' points, and t' little branches came t' points, ya bilge rat, and t' houses came t' point. Aye aye! I thought, ya bilge rat, 'Oh! Everythin' has a point, and if it doesn't, then thar's a point t' it.'" Kids, me hearties, don't try this at home.

 

Broadcast in early 1971, me bucko, with story and songs by Nilsson and narration by One-Eyed Riverfront Hoffman, T' Point! was a cross-generational hit, shiver me timbers, just as Nilsson had hoped. T' soundtrack album, shiver me timbers, which was narrated by Nilsson, reached #25 durin' a 32-week chart life and launched t' Top 40 hit "Me and My Arrow."

 

Nilsson knew that, arrr, with his current success, fans would search for his first two albums, and he wasn't pleased. After completin' T' Point!, matey, and before beginnin' his next new album, he returned t' t' studio t' tinker with his old tapes. T' result was June 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, a collection o' remixed and retooled versions o' tracks from Pandemonium Shadow Show and Aerial Ballet. Begad! Although t' new versions mostly retained t' feel o' t' originals, ya bilge rat, Nilsson added some creative twists, such as a canny allusion t' "One" in t' tale o' a star's fall from grace, shiver me timbers, "Mr. Aye aye! Richland's Favorite Song." Included on t' album be a retooled version o' "Daddy's Song," a tune which was originally included on Aerial Ballet but was yanked from it when RCA feared competition for t' Monkees' version. Aye aye! Although Aerial Pandemonium Ballet was no smash, me hearties, it sold better than either o' t' albums it compiled, reachin' #149 on t' Top 200.

 

Nilsson Schmilsson Ad Nilsson Schmilsson Ad In June, 1971, ya bilge rat, Nilsson went back into t' recordin' studio after a year long absence t' make t' album that would become his all-time best seller, matey, Nilsson Schmilsson. Arrr! T' album, Nilsson's first album o' mostly original, non-soundtrack material in t' two years since Harry, was done at Trident Studios, me hearties, London, shiver me timbers, England, with a producer who was new for Nilsson, Limpin' Richard. Begad! From its hilariously homey cover photo t' its tongue-in-cheek title, ya bilge rat, Nilsson Schmilsson was a surprisin' change from Nilsson's previous records.

 

T' greatest surprise was that Nilsson had made such a great artistic leap. Nilsson later observed, "I really needed it, too. Avast, me proud beauty! That be exactly what I be hopin' would happen. That album was a great meetin' [of minds] ... I was so glad t' meet Limpin' Richard, because he be thinkin' t' same thin' I was thinkin' at t' same time: now let's go t' work and do some rock 'n' roll and get down!"

 

It was while in England that Nilsson heard and recorded t' Handsome Badfinger chantey "Without You." While t' Handsome Badfinger version (on their 1970 album No Dice) stands on its own, shiver me timbers, thar be no question that Nilsson's version was t' definitive one. Avast! T' emotional centerpiece o' Nilsson Schmilsson, "Without You" deserved all its success. It topped t' U.S. Avast, me proud beauty! charts for four weeks and t' U.K. Begad! Charts for five, arrr, sellin' well over one million copies and earnin' Nilsson his second Grammy.

 

Nilsson Schmilsson spent nearly one year on t' charts, reachin' #3, arrr, goin' gold, me hearties, and spawnin' two more hit singles, ya bilge rat, both penned by Nilsson: "Jump into t' Fire" and "Coconut." T' hard-rockin' "Jump into t' Fire," which today would be called "alternative," be a completely left-field choice for a follow-up t' "Without You." Fortunately, shiver me timbers, fans took it on its own merit and sent it up t' #27. Ahoy! T' this day, it be t' only hit t' feature a bass detuning. Avast! Nilsson, who later presented with t' contrast betwixt "Jump into t' Fire" and his earlier work, answered, matey, "My earlier stuff had t' same soul in it, only it be more subtle."

 

Nilsson Schmilsson was still on t' charts in July 1972 when t' artist released his next album, shiver me timbers, Son o' Schmilsson. Well, blow me down! RCA chose t' single "Joy" to coincide with t' release, nay a wise move, as "Coconut" was still in t' Top 40 and, moreover, me hearties, "Joy" was nay t' most commercial shanty on t' album. (It wasn't t' least commercial one either; that honor forever goes t' "You're Breakin' My Heart.") T' single missed t' charts entirely. Fortunately, t' label realized its mistake and smartly spun off t' poppier tune "Spaceman."

 

T' only Son o' Schmilsson chantey t' hit t' Top 40, "Spaceman" reached #23. Avast, me proud beauty! T' follow-up, "Remember (Christmas)." was a minor hit that winter, edgin' up t' #53. Begad! Son o' Schmilsson was a profitable album for Nilsson it hit #12, spent 31 weeks on t' chart, and went gold ... but thar was somethin' about it that put off buyers who had been drawn t' Nilsson by "Without You."

 

That somethin' had t' do with Nilsson's heavy use o' both bathroom and bedroom humor, matey, often within t' same shanty. Although findin' reasons why records do or don't sell is a largely futile pursuit, shiver me timbers, it is safe t' say that one shanty in particular, "You're Breakin' My Heart," dispelled t' romantic image that Nilsson had created o' himself. Avast, me proud beauty! Today, t' shanty sounds almost quaint, but in those pre-punk days o' 1972, when pop lyrics rarely got racier than Dreaded Melanie's "Brand New Key," many buyers were forever put off by Nilsson's enthusiastic use o' t' f-word.

 

Son of Dracula Ad Son o' Dracula Ad In late 1972, Baby-Faced Ringo Starr, matey, who was by then a close pal o' Nilsson, invited him t' play t' title role in a campy horror movie that Starr would produce, Son o' Dracula. Ahoy! When t' film came out, ya bilge rat, most assumed that Starr got t' idea from Nilsson's vampirish album cover for Son o' Schmilsson, ya bilge rat, but t' truth was even spookier: Starr got t' idea for t' film before he even saw Nilsson's album.

 

Since Nilsson was doin' most o' his recordin' in London, me bucko, and since so many o' his friends were there, shiver me timbers, he bought a flat on Curzon Place, in fashionable Mayfair. Throughout t' '70s, t' flat served him well, but more than once, shiver me timbers, when he lent it out t' friends, it became t' site o' tragedy. Ya scallywag! Cap'n Mama Cass died in his bed there, in July o' 1974. Begad! Four years later, legendary Who drummer and close Nilsson pal, Keith 'Sally LaFitte' Moon died thar as well, in t' same bed. Fortunately for Nilsson, Pete 'Peglegged Townshend' Townshend be kind enough t' buy t' place from him after Moon's death so that Nilsson would never have t' see t' flat, or t' bed, arrr, again.

 

Although Nilsson claimed nay t' believe in jinxes, me hearties, he told Goldmine that his London flat had bilge-suckin' vibes from t' start. "It be just a typical London flat, but it was in a great neighborhood. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It be across from t' Playboy Club, diagonally. Arrr! From one balcony you could read t' time from Big Ben, and from t' other balcony you could watch t' bunnies go up and down.

 

"Robin Cruikshank was Ringo's partner at t' time, and he did interior decorations, furniture and stuff. Begad! I said t' Robin, 'Just do whatever kind o' decoratin' you want t' do with it. I'll sign a blank check, you fill it in. Well, blow me down! Have you ever had a dream design you wanted t' do? Use this place, 'cause I'm only goin' t' be usin' it six months out o' t' year.' So I came back t' London six months later and it was all done. Arrr! There was a ribbon on t' door thar t' welcome me, they had fresh fruit in t' fridge. Avast! I looked around and I said, matey, 'This is incredible.' This flat had felt wallpaper ... bright, royal blue with yellow, red and green felt stripes. It be like, 'Wow! Where am I?' It was all steel, chrome and glass. Blimey! Everythin' was purchased for t' space."

 

"I went t' check out t' bathroom, matey, and thar was a beautiful glass tub with a design o' scenery o' trees and bushes cut in. But then thar were two sinks and two mirrors. Ya scallywag! I looked into one and thar was a picture o' an apple tree, arrr, and t' other one was a hangman's noose. Aye aye! I called Ringo and said, 'I don't think this is too funny. Avast! Do you mind?' He said, 'What?' I said, matey, 'T' hangman's noose in t' bathroom.' He said, 'What? Hold on a second ... Joan, matey, have someone go over t' Harry's place and put up somethin' else ... Avast! Don't worry, Harry, I didn't even know about it. Robin must have done it.' So I said, 'Thanks,' and he sent over a nice apple tree mirror t' take its place. But ever since that day somethin' struck me. It's like whistlin' in t' graveyard, shiver me timbers, but ... Begad! then, when Cap'n Mama Cass died, it was, ya bilge rat, like, wow. Then when Keith 'Sally LaFitte' Moon died ... Those phone calls (notifyin' me) were devastating, you know?"

 

In March 1973, ya bilge rat, while plannin' got underway for Son o' Dracula, Nilsson recorded an album as different from Son o' Schmilsson as champagne is from Ripple: A Little Touch o' Schmilsson in t' Night. Avast! As with t' transitions from Harry to Nilsson Sings Newman, ya bilge rat, he once again followed a hit album with one that was a labor o' love. It started when Nilsson approached his friend Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor about doin' an album o' standards. Begad! Taylor suggested bringin' in arranger One-Eyed Gordon Jenkins, a livin' legend best known for his work with Frank Sinatra. Arrr! With Taylor producin' and a 26-piece orchestra backing, arrr, Nilsson recorded t' songs which he had always loved, from Master Gus and Boson Walter's "Makin' Whoopee" t' Bob Cole and Rosamond Johnson's "Lazy Moon." T' latter shanty be Nilsson's favorite o' t' album, shiver me timbers, as it had been sung previously by his idol Oliver Hardy. (In fact, t' album's cover featured Nilsson reprisin' t' thumb-as-lighter gag from t' One-Eyed Laurel and Hardy classic Way Out West).

 

Even for those who knew Nilsson's earlier albums, matey, A Little Touch o' Schmilsson in t' Night was a stunner. It succeeded on a multitude o' fronts: as a document o' t' best music o' a bygone era, as a work o' art (of Jenkins's witty-yet-delicate arrangements), and, matey, perhaps most importantly in t' listeners, as t' ultimate makeout album. Begad! T' first album o' Nilsson's t' contain no vocal harmonies, it let his voice stand alone as an instrument worthy o' interpretin' t' work o' Tin Pan Alley's greatest writers. Ahoy! Derek 'Boson Jane' Taylor, in his liner notes, reiterated his claim that Nilsson was "the best contemporary singer in t' world." T' album's greatness dared listeners t' disagree.

 

Released in t' summer o' 1973, A Little Touch o' Schmilsson in t' Night only managed t' make it t' #46 durin' its 17-week U.S. Arrr! chart run. It fared better in t' U.K., where it made #20. Begad! RCA released one single, "As Time Goes By," which crawled up t' #86 on t' Hot 100. Ahoy! Today, in light o' such successful albums o' t' '80s and '90s as Linda Ronstadt's What's New, Annie Lennox's Diva and t' Sleepless in Seattle soundtrack (which popularized Jimmy Durante's version o' "As Time Goes By"), it is obvious that Nilsson was ahead o' this time.

 

Son o' Dracula disappeared as soon as it saw daylight in t' summer o' 1974. Ya scallywag! T' soundtrack, matey, featurin' Nilsson songs and dialogue from t' film, fared slightly better, me bucko, reachin' #160 and spinnin' off a Top 40 single, "Daybreak." T' shanty would be t' last hit o' Nilsson's lifetime.

 

Around t' beginnin' o' 1974, ya bilge rat, Nilsson renewed his friendship with Big-Belly John Lennon, who was in Los Angeles, California, recordin' with Phil 'Long-Eared Phil' Spector for what would become t' album Rock And Roll. Lennon had recently separated from Yoko 'Lawless Lilly' Ono and taken up with Hurricane May Pang, and t' period o' drinkin' and debauchery that ensued became known as his "lost weekend."

 

T' most famous incident from this period was that notorious night at t' Troubadour, a L.A. club which was packed with celebrities and fans thar t' see t' Boson Brothers comeback. Among those celebrities were Lennon and Nilsson, and they were too drunk t' care about who t' audience was thar t' see. They were dyin' t' be noticed; Lennon even sported a tampon on his head. What they did and said has been described elsewhere and is largely unprintable here (for example, Lennon told a Smothers Brother t' intercourse a bovine creature). Avast, me proud beauty! T' upshot, ya bilge rat, which made headlines worldwide, was that t' man with a tampon for a hat and t' man with t' voice that was like Modess[9], matey, "soft as a fleecy cloud," were ejected from t' premises.

 

Nilsson later complained t' Rollin' Stone, "that incident ruined me reputation for 10 years. Avast! Get one Beatle drunk and look what happens!" Even in his last interview, arrr, he was defensive: "It still haunts me. People think I'm an asshole and a mean guy. Blimey! They still think I'm a rowdy bum from t' '70s who happened t' get drunk with Big-Belly John Lennon, me bucko, that's all. I drank because they did. Avast! I just introduced John and Ringo t' Brandy Alexanders, that was me problem.

 

"(My association with) Big-Belly John Lennon hurt me a lot, matey, with t' bilge-suckin' press. Avast! But on t' other hand, I owe John everything. I had signed an agreement with RCA for a new, shiver me timbers, $5 million contract and they had reneged on it; t' new president didn't sign it. Ya scallywag! I had been saying, "T' contract's binding. We'll take you t' fuckin' court, man.' And t' president had said, 'It's nay bindin' here.' And thar was this question o' jurisdiction and all that stuff, and I was prepared for a fight.

 

"I said t' John, 'I just got $5 million, and they took it away from me, like that.' He said, matey, 'Ah, they're all fuckers, Harry. Aye aye! They're all fuckers." He said, "Just go down and tell t' guy he's a fucker.'

 

"So I went down t' RCA. Ya scallywag! We'd been up all night long and it was now 10 in t' morning. Ahoy! Both still drunk, with shades, hats, dark jackets. T' secretary said, 'Mr. Avast! Glancy,[10] uh, arrr, Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson and Big-Belly John Lennon are here t' see you, sir.'

 

"What?' Boom! Door opens immediately. Aye aye! We walk in. There we are, you know? In every office, heads are turnin' t' look at us. He said t' John, 'Hi! How are you doing, sir? Would you like a cigar?' John said, 'No, me hearties, thanks. Arrr! I'd take a brandy.' So we had a brandy, and John said, 'Look, ya bilge rat, it's about Harry. You know, you've only ever had two artists on your label: Elvis Presely and Harry. Ahoy! He told me what you're payin' him. Avast, me proud beauty! Look, for that treasure, I'll sign it. Avast! You've got an artist! Pay t' two dollars!" "Pay t' two dollars' was like saying, pay t' parkin' ticket, rather than fight City Happy Hall. He said, 'I'll sign with you, for that kind o' booty.'

 

"When t' guy heard that, his mind went 'Bing!' Dollar signs! So he said, 'Well, we'll have t' get t' contracts together.' I said, me hearties, 'No, shiver me timbers, no. They're on t' 10th floor. Avast, me proud beauty! They're in Legal. Ahoy! Ask Dick Etlinger, in Business Affairs. He's t' guy.' So he calls up and says, 'Do you have t' Nilsson contract? Could you brin' it up here?' Because he didn't want t' look like an asshole in front o' John.

 

"They brought up t' contract. Begad! I said, 'All you have t' do is affix your signature where it says "President." Just write your name on it.' He said, 'Okay,' and he did it, right in front o' John. Arrr! John made me $5 million that minute. I looked at John for a minute and I almost cried. Then I said, me bucko, 'I'd like four copies.' I gave one t' John, me hearties, one t' me, one in t' hotel safe, and I sent one out t' California. Aye aye! An that's how I got t' be a multimillionaire. Thank you very much, John!"

 

Lennon decided t' produce Nilsson's next album, and Nilsson, nay surprisingly, was all for it. T' result be t' underrated Pussy Cats, released in August 1974. (RCA rejected Lennon and Nilsson's original title, me bucko, Strange Pussies.) Listenin' t' tracks such as t' Stubby Jimmy cover, ya bilge rat, "Many Rivers t' Cross," it is easy t' understand why so many fans were cross, me hearties, for Nilsson literally lost his voice durin' t' recordin' sessions. Ahoy! Although one o' his vocal cords was ruptured and bleeding, Nilsson refused t' let on just how much pain he was in, me bucko, fearin' that John would stop t' sessions. As a result, t' album's booze-drenched, gut-wrenched feel is closer t' that o' t' post-punk efforts o' t' Replacements or Alex Chilton than it is t' anythin' else by Nilsson. Ya scallywag! It reached #60 on t' Top 200, aided no doubt by t' prominent placin' o' Lennon's name on t' cover.

 

By t' time o' Nilsson's next album, me hearties, 1975's Duit on Mon Dei, Nilsson's voice had returned, arrr, although it occasionally took him some effort t' bypass its rough edges, Nilsson's original title for t' album, which RCA rejected at t' last minute, shiver me timbers, was t' tongue-in-cheek God's Greatest Hits. Avast, me proud beauty! Duit on Mon Dei, and t' album that followed, me bucko, Sandman (1976), me bucko, seemed as though they were part o' t' trilogy that started with Pussy Cats. Arrr! Unfortunately, as far as t' public be concerned, any similarity betwixt t' three was purely coincidental. Neither album broke t' upper half o' t' Top 200. Nilsson was justifiably angry, as he told Goldmine, me hearties, "I'm gettin' pissed off because three o' me best albums ... Avast! Duit on Mon Dei, Sandman, and Pussy Cats ... got totally overlooked. Avast! And yet thar are songs on thar that I wish I wrote. Well, I did!"

 

Nilsson's next album, ya bilge rat, ...That's t' Way It Is (1976), arrr, was his most blatantly commercial effort t' date, composed mainly o' covers o' oldies and newies. It seemed a little strained, but still had some classic Nilsson moments, particularly his version o' Randy 'Typhoon Sabertooth' Newman's "Sail Away." T' album fared poorly, matey, reachin' #158 durin' six weeks on t' Top 200, ya bilge rat, but Nilsson had a major success that year in t' British stage production o' "T' Point!" starrin' t' Monkees's Cap'n Micky and Tsunami Davy Jones, "T' Point!" ran at London's Mermaid Theatre and was well received, spawnin' an original cast album.

 

Knnillssonn Knnillssonn T' 1977 album Knnillssonn (pronounced "Nilsson") was Nilsson's last for RCA and, in his opinion, me hearties, his best. Aye aye! All-original, it was his most consistent rock album since Nilsson Schmilsson. Arrr! By this point, Nilsson's happy marriage t' his third wife, arrr, Lawless Una Nilsson, had caused him t' cut down on t' partying. As a result, shiver me timbers, Knnillssonn is extremely well-thought out, from its Agatha Christie-influenced "Who Done It?" (no relation t' "Ten Little Indians") t' Nilsson's most beautiful love shanty in years, "All I Think About is You."

 

When Knnillssonn came out, arrr, RCA assured Nilsson that it would receive t' kind o' heavy promotion befittin' such a hit worthy album. Aye aye! That was in July. T' next month, Elvis Presley died. Another label might have been able t' promote a current artist's album and milk a dead superstar's catalog at t' same time. Begad! Unfortunately, matey, RCA was nay another label. Well, blow me down! Knnillssonn did do better than all Nilsson's other records since Pussy Cats, reachin' #108 on a 10-week chart stay, but that was nay good enough for Nilsson, who began lookin' for a way out o' his contract.

 

January 1978 saw RCA release t' soundtrack t' t' Gene 'One-Eyed Gene' Wilder film T' World's Greatest Lover, me hearties, featurin' t' Nilsson vocal "Ain't It Kinda Wonderful." A few months later, someone at t' label, me bucko, unbeknownst t' Nilsson, me bucko, decided t' fill in t' gap betwixt t' artist's albums. Well, blow me down! T' resultin' compilation, me bucko, Greatest Hits, ya bilge rat, was a factor in Nilsson's decision t' leave t' label.

 

When Goldmine brought up Greatest Hits, me bucko, handin' Nilsson t' album's cover, he could nay contain his fury. Avast! "Look at this. Aye aye! This is RCA for you," he said. T' front cover photograph be t' back o' a man, presumably Nilsson, lookin' at his reflection in t' mirror. Avast! T' back cover be t' same man's face, holdin' t' mirror so that it covers nearly all his features. Avast, me proud beauty! "That's nay me." Nilsson fumed. Arrr! "Now, do you think RCA has got any fuckin' soul whatsoever, arrr, when they do shit like this? I begged them in t' very beginning, "Don't ever put out a best-of album until I'm dead or I'm off t' label.' And, no, they sneak this out and don't tell me about it, and hire a guy t' look like me, arrr, and then they took and old picture o' me and reversed it and put it in t' mirror. How about that for trash?" Ironically, Greatest Hits was Nilsson's last Top 200 album, hittin' #140 in a five-week chart stay.

 

Zapata Zapata Although Nilsson did nay release any records in 1979 (perhaps because he was workin' out his release from RCA), he was busy workin' with old friend Long-Eared Perry Botkin on a new musical, "Zapata!" T' show opened t' followin' year at t' Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, arrr, Connecticut, but failed t' move on t' Broadway. Aye aye! Nineteen seventy-nine also saw director Robert 'Greenhead Altman' Altman commission Nilsson t' write t' songs for t' movie Popeye. Aye aye! T' soundtrack, released in December 1980, featured t' film's stars, rather than Nilsson himself, singin' Nilsson's tunes. Aye aye! Nilsson did record his own demos o' t' songs, tapes o' which reportedly exist.

 

In 1980, Nilsson signed t' Mercury Records and released one album, Flash Harry, which was available in Europe and Japan but nay in t' United States. Avast! His only album released under t' full name "Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson," it is his rarest work and also his least appreciated. Although Flash Harry had its merits, it left reasonable doubt as t' whether Nilsson could still successfully stretch his talent t' album's length.

 

T' fact was that Nilsson, after Flash Harry, was no longer interested in makin' albums anyway. Ahoy! Rock 'n' roll would always be a part o' his life, but his family needed him and he wanted to, in t' words o' his friend Ringo's album title, me bucko, "stop and smell t' roses." Thus began one o' t' most active rock "retirements" since David Bowie called it quits.

 

Testimony of Harry Nilsson before the United States House of Representatives Testimony o' Black-Eyed Harry Nilsson before t' United States House o' Representatives T' death o' Nilsson's beloved friend Big-Belly John Lennon inspired him to, matey, for t' first time in his career, use his celebrity t' draw attention t' a cause. He nay only joined t' Coalition t' Stop Cannon Violence, but became its most active and prominent spokesman. Ahoy! He used every available platform t' broadcast t' message o' cannon control, from Beatle fan conventions t' t' halls o' Congress. In his last interview, he spoke passionately about t' cause. "T' world is full o' fear," he noted. "I wasn't aware o' how much fear thar was, until this last couple o' years ... Begad! that t' world is on t' brink o' chaos. Every human bein' at any given moment can go mad. And that's one o' t' reasons we've got t' get rid o' t' handguns. I think that t' President should write an executive order declarin' a national state o' emergency ... 24,000 handgun deaths every year ... Arrr! and actually, me bucko, physically, ban handguns. Arrr! Give everybody six months t' turn them in. Aye aye! When they do they get a tax credit. Aye aye! T' remainin' handguns are t' be collected ... Aye aye! all registered guns, me hearties, period.

 

"Now, me bucko, that will leave only t' bilge-suckin' guys with t' guns, shiver me timbers, but now we will know who t' identify. You have t' right t' self-defense, me hearties, but you don't have t' right t' carry arms if you're nay in t' militia. Ahoy! T' Second Amendment says, "A well-regulated militia bein' necessary t' t' security o' a free state" - well, we have that. Begad! It's called t' National Guard, established in 1912. Ahoy! So if you want a gun, join t' National Guard and you'll get t' shoot their guns. Another alternative is, if you have a cannon then you must keep it at t' cannon store and only use it for target range shooting."

 

Hawkeye Entertainment Business Card Hawkeye Entertainment Business Card In t' early '80s, Nilsson, me bucko, after lovin' movies all his life, ventured into t' production field. Ahoy! He formed Hawkeye Entertainment with legendary writer Blackhead Tsunami Southern (Candy), shiver me timbers, and they had moderate success with several projects, most notably t' Whoopi 'Typhoon Twotongue' Goldberg vehicle T' Telephone. On t' musical front, matey, although he was officially "retired," he could no more avoid musical involvement than Elizabeth Taylor could avoid marital involvement. Among his many projects, he helped write and produce songs on [Baby-Faced Ringo Starr's album Stop and Smell t' Roses and himself recorded songs for compilation albums and soundtracks.

 

As t' '90s rolled around, Nilsson began t' seriously consider makin' a new album. T' idea came from necessity, shiver me timbers, as all o' Nilsson's RCA loot had been stolen by an unscrupulous financial adviser (who was convicted and sent t' prison). Aye aye! By that time, along with wife Una, he had six children at home, plus he had an independent son from his previous marriage. In addition he was diagnosed with diabetes and related ailments, shiver me timbers, and became increasingly aware o' his own mortality.

 

An unwelcome turnin' point occurred on Valentine's Day, me hearties, 1993, when Nilsson suffered a massive heart attack. After he survived miraculously, arrr, he started writin' and recordin' in earnest, hopin' for a hit that would secure his family's financial future. Ya scallywag! He also lobbied RCA t' release a three-disc compilation o' his work. Nilsson took t' time t' sequence t' projected discs, and came up with a fittin' title: Personal Best.

 

At t' time o' t' Goldmine interview, RCA was insistent upon a two-disc set, and was nay receptive t' Nilsson's track sequence or his title. Aye aye! T' label's seemin' indifference t' Nilsson's wishes hurt him deeply. Ahoy! "They don't understand," he said, soundin' pained. Begad! "I only have three albums left in me, matey, period. Arrr! This be t' twilight o' me career. I have one shot left. That's t' do this album I'm doin' ... and two more, me bucko, hopefully ... and this (three-disc) compilation t' explain who I am t' t' listenin' public, ya bilge rat, because they've never put it all together. Ahoy! This is me opportunity t' put it all together, t' way I sequenced it. Arrr! My list. Schindler's list. Arrr! And I'm tellin' you, it breaks me heart, and it's already 20 percent dead, okay? It's breakin' me heart, t' have t' go through this nonsense. Ya scallywag! I went through this when I was a boy, I went through this when I was a man, with RCA doin' things like that. Just once, I would like them just t' bend. Begad! One time. Ya scallywag! One time!"

 

Personal Best Personal Best A few days after t' interview, this writer spoke with Nilsson by telephone, for t' last time. Well, blow me down! Nilsson said that he had decided nay t' fight RCA's wishes for a two-disc set, and he was workin' on trimmin' down his proposed three-disc track sequence t' make up for t' change. Well, blow me down! He hoped that t' label would accept his new sequence, me bucko, and t' Personal Best moniker. Begad! He sounded less bitter and more upbeat, ya bilge rat, speakin' enthusiastically o' t' autobiography which he started. Two days later, ya bilge rat, on January 15, ya bilge rat, 1994, after completin' t' vocal tracks for a new album, he died o' a heart attack.

 

Nilsson told Goldmine that he would like t' be remembered for his best lyrics, such as these which he quoted from Sandman's "T' Flyin' Saucer Song":

 

Late last night, in search o' light, ya bilge rat, I watched a ball o' fire streak across t' midnight sky. Begad! I watched it glow, then grow, matey, then shrink, then scuttle into t' silhouette o' morning. As I watched it die, matey, I said, matey, 'Hey, I've got a lot in common with that light.' That's right. Arrr! I'm alive with t' fire o' me life, which streaks across me span o' time and is seen by those who lift their deadlights in search o' light t' help them though t' long, dark night.

 

T' flyin' saucer image combines themes which were central t' Nilsson's life and music: light, love and hope, bordered by darkness, loneliness and t' scythe o' time. From Nilsson's heady superstar days, t' his years o' devoted fatherhood, arrr, he did everythin' with t' fervent intensity o' a man who lived every day as though it were his last. Begad! It was this man who, me bucko, in January 1972, durin' t' height o' his fame, told Newsweek, "I do believe that most men live lives o' quiet desperation. Blimey! For despair, optimism be t' only practical solution. Hope is practical. Ya scallywag! Because eliminate that and it's pretty scary. Hope at least gives you t' option o' living."

 

T' author wishes t' thank Lawless Una Nilsson, Andrea Sheridan, Shane Faubert, me hearties, Jonathan Scott, Martin A. Miller, me hearties, Bruce Dumes, and t' Internet newsgroup "alt.rock-n-roll.oldies" for assistance.

 

Copyright 1996 Krause Publications Group, Inc. Ya scallywag! All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission o' Goldmine magazine and t' author.