Everybody's (Still) Talkin' About Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson in 1972
Photo Credit
Michael Putland/Getty Images

"In 1941, a happy father had a son..." That's how one of Harry Nilsson's earliest songs went, but it was more or less the truth. The artist born Jun. 15, 1941 made an incredible name for himself as a dedicated singer-songwriter with a cockeyed vision and a way of eliciting the rawest emotions from the strangest places.

From the beginning, "Nilsson," as he was simply credited on his albums, defied expectations. At a 1968 press conference to announce the Apple Records label, The Beatles' John Lennon was asked his favorite American artist, and bandmate Paul McCartney was asked his favorite group. They both gave the same answer: Nilsson.

Though he passed away in 1994, Nilsson's music has turned up in some unusual places. Here's a few of our favorites, as you may have heard them.

"Everybody's Talkin'"

Nilsson's first big hit was a cover of a tune by Fred Neil that was featured in the opening scene of the groundbreaking drama Midnight Cowboy. His rendition became a Top 10 hit and won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Contemporary Vocal Performance.

In 2014, the song was featured in another New York-centric clip: a commercial for Lipton that featured The Muppets. The image of Kermit sipping a large glass of tea remains a popular Internet meme.

"Without You"

This soaring cover of a Badfinger song gave Nilsson his only No. 1 hit and another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. More than two decades later, it was a Top 10 hit again when Mariah Carey covered it. The original version's gotten around over the years, however. A year after Mariah's version took off, Nilsson's famed take was heard in Martin Scorsese's Casino. It also featured in this cute ad for Heinz ketchup aired in 2016, featuring some real "weiner dogs."

"Coconut"

One of the weirdest Top 10 hits of the '70s - it features no chord changes - earned a life after release after featuring in places like this sketch from The Muppet Show. (Something about The Muppets and Nilsson!)

The song also featured in ads for Coca-Cola's short lived lime-flavored variant.

A side-splitting scene in the acclaimed sitcom The Good Place featured Chidi (William Jackson Harper) putting his own...unique spin on the song during a breakdown.

"Jump Into the Fire"

Nilsson Schmilsson was packed with favorites like "Without You" and "Coconut" and was nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards, but later deep cuts started gaining popularity over time after they were featured in movies and TV. A memorable sequence in another Martin Scorsese film, Goodfellas, featuring some cocaine and helicopters, was perfectly underscored by "Jump Into the Fire."

"Gotta Get Up"

"Gotta Get Up," another cut from Nilsson Schmilsson, became a sensation in 2019 when it was featured prominently in the sci-fi drama Russian Doll. Natasha Lyonne's main character gets caught in a time loop on her birthday that restarts at a party, with this song playing in the background. “There was always a kind of ending that was unpleasant, that was percolating under the surface of his songs, even at their most upbeat and certainly at their darkest," Lyonne explained to The New York Times.

"Spaceman"

As the world continues its love affair with outer space, the melancholic "Spaceman," a Top 20 hit from the album Son of Schmilsson, has been used in shows like Avenue 5 and Space Force.

"He Needs Me"

Nilsson stayed largely out of the public eye after the death of his friend John Lennon. One of his last public projects was writing songs for the 1980 live-action film version of Popeye starring Robin Williams. The soundtrack enjoyed cult status among hardcore fans for decades...at least until 2019, when one of the film's songs, "He Needs Me," had its chorus borrowed for pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen's bouncy "Everything He Needs."

In an interview with i-D, Jepsen shared an amazing story how she got permission from the song's copyright holders at Disney. “I went to Disneyland and I made a fake contract that said, 'He Needs Me,'" she said. "Then I went in line with Mickey Mouse, made the guy sign it and then I sent it to all the Disney publishing people and was like, 'The big boss said it was okay!'” Just another unexpected example of the power of Nilsson - and lawyers with good humor!

 

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