Opening act Ron Sexsmith dedicated his debut album to the late Harry Nilsson, which is not a bit surprising. Like Nilsson (especially in his early work), Sexsmith projects the endearing sweetness of an artist willing to open his heart for all to examine.[1]

 

Ron Sexsmith performed "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" on NPR's "Anthem" radio show on February 14, 1998.

 

A few months before [Harry Nilsson] died, I was in LA, meeting potential producers for what was to be my debut album. During such a meeting with T-Bone Burnett, we got on the subject of Nilsson. He could hear in my music that I was a fan.
He told me that Harry was working on a record and that he would call him on my behalf and try to arrange a meeting that very weekend! Well, later on that night, T-Bone called my hotel room to say that Harry was unable to get together but would love to hook up next time I was in town....
As my luck or fate would have it, there wouldn't be a next time. After Nilsson died I truly felt the world to be a slightly sadder place. His death almost seemed to go unnoticed....
The voice that always found a way to cheer me up was gone.

-- Ron Sexsmith[2]

 

Ronald Eldon Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards. He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has since recorded seventeen albums. He was the subject of a 2010 documentary called Love Shines.

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