“Put The Lime In The Coconut!”
If you’ve never heard of the song “Coconut”, you are missing out on one of the most unique top ten songs of the pop era…from an album that includes the mega hit “Without You” – AND the rock classic “Jump Into The Fire”…
Behold The Brilliant “Nilsson Schmilsson”!!
Lucky for us, there is now a terrific documentary that tells the story of the album, the song, and the mad musical genius behind it!
Hello Harry!
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?) (2010)
The story of Harry Nilsson has been beautifully told in this 2010 documentary – and it’s a fascinating story of a talented singer-songwriter who was ultimately unable to control his demons…and of course, his partner in crime – John Lennon!
The documentary explores the enigmatic life and music of Harry Nilsson in an attempt to answer the question, “Who is Harry Nilsson?” He burst forth with such classic songs as “One”, “Me and My Arrow” and as the singer on “Everybody’s Talkin’” – from the classic film “Midnight Cowboy”…here is a very young Harry Nilsson performing the song:
The film includes new and archive audio and film including great interviews with Robin Williams, Yoko Ono, Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Ray Cooper, the Smothers Brothers, and Micky Dolenz.
“Who is Harry Nilsson?” uses promotional films, music videos, and home movies; segments from the unreleased documentary made during the recording of his “Nilsson Schmilsson” followup “Son of Schmilsson”; and excerpts from Nilsson’s rare TV appearances.
“A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night”
The documentary also shows Nilsson’s neglected masterpiece “A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night” – a gorgeously produced homage to the classic era of music – including a beautiful version of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”…which was used int he Tom Hanks – Meg Ryan film “You’ve Got Mail…”
Harry Nilsson – Coconut
Perhaps the strangest hit song ever, “Coconut” was the third single from his 1971 album, Nilsson Schmilsson. It reached #8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and it features three distinct characters (the narrator, the sister, and the doctor) all sung in different voices by Nilsson.
And here is a truly bizarre music video from 1971 to support the song:
John Lennon’s Lost Weekend!
Nilsson was a good friend of John Lennon’s – in fact, they drank their way through LA in the mid-70′s during Lennon’s infamous “Lost Weekend” – and Lennon produced Harry’s “Pussycats” album…
There is SO much more to this story – the documentary is a “must see” for music fans…he was a great singer-songwriter who died too soon…
To read ALL about John Lennon’s post Beatles music career, including his work with Nilsson, check out the terrific book about the Beatles solo work that I wrote about HERE:
http://johnrieber.com/2013/03/03/exclusive-the-lost-beatles-album-the-fab-fours-solo-songs-remixed/
