Maps of Music

Pussy Cats (1974)

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

The cover hides a joke: two children's letter blocks beside a rug under a table spell out 'drugs under the table'.

Key places

The planned base in Los Angeles (1974)

Recording site Burbank Studios — The team decided to record the album at Burbank Studios in Los Angeles, the planned base for the oldies cover project. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Later sessions in New York (1974)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Recording, mixing and overdubs that followed were done at Record Plant East in New York. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Pussy Cats: tenth album by American singer Harry Nilsson
• Released by RCA Records in 1974; US on 19 August, UK on 30 August
• Produced by John Lennon during his "Lost Weekend" period
• Ten original tracks: half covers, the rest written by Nilsson
• Closing track "Rock Around the Clock" has Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Jim Keltner on drums

Background

• Title came from the bad press Nilsson and Lennon received for being drunk and rowdy in Los Angeles
• Strange Pussies, the intended title, was rejected by RCA and changed to Pussy Cats
• Lennon had been separated from Yoko Ono for about eighteen months during this period
• Nilsson had been a member of the Hollywood Vampires drinking club since 1973
• Lennon was drinking nightly around this time and made trouble at a Hollywood nightclub
• Lennon then agreed to make an oldies cover album with Nilsson

Recording

• Sessions began in Los Angeles; Lennon finished producing in New York, where he could better control the sessions
• Nilsson ruptured one of his vocal cords during the sessions but kept it from Lennon
• Some say he never fully recovered from the strain
• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder dropped into the studio after the first night, 28 March
• Bootleg recordings from that session were later released as A Toot and a Snore in '74

Cover

• Art direction credited to Acy R. Lehman
• Dollhouse set with a sign bearing the album title and both singers' names
• Stuffed cat heads of Lennon and Nilsson, one doing the other's hair
• Letter blocks D and S beside a rug under a table form the rebus 'drugs under the table'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• 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.

Career

• 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.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reception described as generally positive
• Nilsson's later RCA releases charted far lower than this album

Reappraisal

• The Walkmen released a track-by-track cover of the album in October 2006
• Several covers of Don't Forget Me exist, including versions by Marshall Crenshaw, Neil Diamond and Neko Case

Records

• US Billboard album chart: entered on 7 September 1974 at number 158
• Peaked at number 60 on 2 November 1974, its highest position
• Lennon's later album Walls and Bridges reached number 4 on the same chart
• The album did not chart in the UK
• A quadrophonic mix was released on LP and eight-track in the US only

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder came to the studio unannounced after the first night of recording
• Lennon and McCartney recorded together on this album, the only known such instance since the Beatles split
• Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Jim Keltner played drums together on the closing track, each on a different kit
• Nilsson had been a member of the Hollywood Vampires drinking club, which included Ringo Starr and Keith Moon
• Lennon was annoyed that the Massed Albert Choir was credited as the Masked Albert Choir

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ja.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org

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