Maps of Music

Harry (1969)

Where the lyrics of Harry take you, and where it was really made.

Harry was Harry Nilsson's first album to enter the Billboard 200, but it stayed there only 15 weeks and peaked at number 120.

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Harry is the fourth studio album by Harry Nilsson
Released August 1969 on RCA
Jazz saxophonist Tom Scott, pianist Mike Melvoin, and flutist Jim Horn appear on the album
Session drummer Jim Gordon and Larry Knechtel on bass
David Cohen and Howard Roberts on guitars
All tracks arranged and conducted by George Tipton
Some tracks produced by Rick Jarrard, including "Open Your Window", "Mournin' Glory Story", and "Marchin' Down Broadway"
Thirteen tracks in the standard album listing
Songs include "The Puppy Song", "Mother Nature's Son", "Maybe", "Rainmaker", and "Mr. Bojangles"

The album has no single distinctive style
It ranges over ballads, show tunes, nostalgic Americana, and tin pan alley-like soft shoe numbers
Songs by William E. Martin, "Fairfax Rag" and "City Life", are covered on the album
Martin also collaborated with Nilsson on "Rainmaker"
"Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear" is a cover of a Randy Newman song
Newman's song was popularized by the Alan Price Set
Nilsson later recorded Nilsson Sings Newman, ten Newman covers, with Newman on piano

Harold Edward Nilsson III, born June 15, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York; known as Harry Nilsson.
Moved to Los Angeles as a teenager; worked as a bank computer programmer while pursuing songwriting from 1962.
Debuted on RCA Victor with Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967); collaborated with arranger George Tipton until 1971.

Known for a versatile tenor range, pioneering vocal overdubbing, Great American Songbook explorations, and Caribbean fusion sounds.
Nine singles reached the US or UK top 40 between 1968 and 1974, including top 10 hits "Everybody's Talkin'", "Without You", and "Coconut".
Won two Grammy Awards, for "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Without You".
Nilsson Schmilsson and Son of Schmilsson were certified gold by the RIAA.
Close friendships with John Lennon and Ringo Starr; Lennon produced Pussy Cats.
Largely avoided touring and live concerts, a rarity among major pop-rock artists.
Died of heart failure on January 15, 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, aged 52.
Ranked 62nd in Rolling Stone's 2015 list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Harry was the first album by Nilsson to get onto Billboard Magazine's Billboard 200 chart
The album stayed on the chart for 15 weeks
Its peak position on the Billboard 200 was number 120
Released in August 1969 on RCA, as Nilsson's fourth studio album

Billboard 200: peak number 120
Billboard 200: 15 weeks on the chart
First Nilsson album to chart on the Billboard 200
Overall, the album does not have a distinctive style but ranges over ballads, show tunes, nostalgic Americana, and tin pan alley-like soft shoe numbers
The album's track list includes covers of songs by Bill Martin and Randy Newman, and a Lennon–McCartney composition, "Mother Nature's Son"
Session musicians on the album include Tom Scott, Mike Melvoin, Jim Horn, Jim Gordon, Larry Knechtel, David Cohen, and Howard Roberts

Nilsson wrote "The Puppy Song" at Paul McCartney's request for Mary Hopkin
Nora Ephron used Harry's own version of "The Puppy Song" for the opening credits of her 1998 film You've Got Mail
The Beatles once called "Mother Nature's Son" their favorite Beatles cover song
Nilsson wrote "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" for the film Midnight Cowboy
Sinéad O'Connor recorded a cover of "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" for You've Got Mail, but Nora Ephron chose Nilsson's original