Harry Nilsson (1941-1994)
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Born:
June 15, 1941
Died:
January 15, 1994
American singer, songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson achieved the peak of his commercial success in the late 1960's and early 1970's. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited simply as Nilsson. He is known for the hit singles "Everybody's Talkin'" (1969), "Without You" (1971), and "Coconut" (1972), the first two of which won him Grammy Awards for vocal performance. His songwriting credits during that period included the song “One”, made famous by the rock band Three Dog Night. Hallmarks of Nilsson's music included his genre-bending style (called "salon rock" by some) and his remarkable tenor voice which ranged over three octaves. Nilsson was much admired by The Beatles and formed lasting friendships with them, especially with John Lennon and Ringo Starr. A complicated personality, Nilsson proved to be one of the few major pop-rock recording artists of his era to achieve significant commercial success despite never performing live concerts. He contributed songs to a few films including Robert Altman's "Popeye" (1980) and singing the standard "How About You?" for the soundrack of "The Fisher King" (1994). After a period of declining health, Harry Nilsson died at the age of 52 from heart disease at his home outside Los Angeles.