Let's see, what can I say about Harry Nilsson? He's most underrated singer-songwriter of the post-war era. His knowledge of the form and structure of almost every genre of popular music was encyclopedic.
The range and intensity of his voice when he was at his peak defies belief: forget the snoozy bumble of Bing Crosby and the glitzy hype of Sinatra, Harry's voice was the most distinctive and versatile of his generation. Harry could scat like Cab Calloway, yodel like a Tyrolean, and his whistling put the birds to shame. He could write you a cuddly McCartney melody, a Burt Bacharach / Hal David cheesy-listen, an Irving Berlin string-fest and a punk rocker, before there was even punk.
Harry had a perverse sense of humor that was matched by a truly beautiful three-octave voice, harmonizing with itself over lush string arrangements, rock'n'roll, Country & Western, and anything else that suited his taste in music.
He was such an accomplished songwriter that you could listen to his enchanting melodies over and over before realizing he was singing about washing his schwanzschtücker after visiting a brothel in the song 'Bath', discovering a treasure map hidden in his girlfriend's varicose veins in 'Black Sails', and falling in love with a gorilla in 'It Had To Be You'.
Harry wrote music to fall in love to, get drunk to, make love to, get high to and get divorced to.
Today's freeload is 'Son of Harryties' an 11 CD collection from those fine folks over at "Purple Chick" which is a fan-created not for profit bootleg label. (Some of you may have freeloaded Purple Chick's massive Buddy Holly collection, I posted on the good ol' Isle O'Foam©, a while back.) The CDs are demos, and unreleased recordings. If you're a fan of Harry's these recordings will delight you.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that Harry was a party animal of epic proportions.
So, for the freeload, tell us about people (living or dead), you'd like to party with.
I'll bet Fats Waller was great at a party.
ReplyDeleteCharlie Watts.
ReplyDeleteBat
How 'bout a trifecta of Slim Gaillard, Curly Howard and Keith Moon?
ReplyDeleteI heard a story that Keith Moon & Jerry Lee Lewis were neighbors. Jerry Lee had a party but did not invite Keith. Keith built a ramp in his yard and road a motorcycle over the fence into Jerry's yard. Is it true? I may never know.
DeleteViv Stanshall & Capt. Beefheart
ReplyDeleteI feel I would be the dummy in the group.
DeleteIf you've got Viv Stanshall then you have to have Keith Moon as well. Their stunts together are legendary.
DeleteNever meet your heroes. I met Viv after a gig once in the 90’s to get CD’s signed, I found him to be very negative, but then I expect he just wanted to get rid of the few people still hanging round and get to the pub up the road. Him and Beefheart together, surely that would be too much for anyone.
DeleteDan Akroyd and John Belushi
ReplyDeleteTricky one... Perhaps with Harry himself as he was quite a character!
ReplyDeleteSteve Goodman, John Prine, Carol Channing.
ReplyDeleteHow about Hunter S Thompson, Emmylou Harris, John Bonham, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Jonathan Lethem, Rufus Thomas, Ian Rankin & Ruth Underwood. I'm sure I'd like to have many, many other attend as well, (I just can't remember them all). Thanks Babs
ReplyDeleteAdd James Booker! Thanks Babs
DeletePlease add Angela Davis & Sam Clemons, thanks Babs
DeleteI'm not a festive person, so I don't want to party at all. But as for Harry, I can only agree with your comments, very very underrated. Yesterday I listened to the “Sandman” LP again.
ReplyDelete“Deep down in my soul, I hate rock'n'roll ..................... “ great!
Nina Hagen and Patti Smith.......smoking hash!
ReplyDeleteCarousing with Willie The Shake, Kit Marlowe and their gang of reprobates at The Boar's Head Inn, 1592. [Definitely NOT with Marlowe in Deptford in 1593!!]]
ReplyDeleteInvitation list for an imaginary party:
ReplyDeleteThelonious Monk
Dorothy Parker
Sigmund Freud
John Forbes Nash
Christopher Hitchens
Owsley Stanley
John Lilly
Billie Holiday
Walt Whitman
Jerry Garcia
Friedrich Nietzsche
Jonathan Winters
Janis Joplin
Funny compilation. I wonder if they would get along with each other. And I doubt that Nietzsche was a party guy, although I wouldn't avoid a “nice” conversation with him. 😁
DeleteLinks:
ReplyDeletePart1
https://workupload.com/file/JUL9zrmaf5u
Part2
https://workupload.com/file/T7Cpckf7XSX
Part3
https://workupload.com/file/aPHbBBh6ZMs
It would actually be just to relive a party I once attended. Friend has held a "scorpio" party at his place in NO since pre-Katrina, and has always had some local musicians perform. I always helped with the food (manning the grill for the better part of the day and night). Was always a great time, with plenty of quality cannibas, booze, wine and food. Around 2018, there were rumors that a certain well known female singer, who had lived in NO briefly during the 80s, had returned and was then living around the corner. About 2 hours into the party that year, the grill was close to the entrance to where the party was being held, and while I was busy flipping chicken thighs and andouille links, I heard a feminine voice behind me ask if she could crash it, and she had a case of wine she could have delivered. Said yes even before I turned around given the offer of the wine. She wound up singing with the band for the rest of the night. Second time in my life I got to see Rickie Lee Jones perform.
ReplyDeleteThe likes of Keith Moon and John Belushi are always going to be up there but top of the list for me would be "the fifth Beatle'. No not Pete Best but George Best who was one of the most gifted footballers of all time and one of the most affable celebrity party goers of the swinging sixties and early 1970's. Even 30 years later when he appeared every Saturday as a football pundit he was always great to listen to and his celebrated 'little black book' (which included at least 2 Miss World's) sold for £1,500 a few years back. Oh to have been his 'wing man' back in his glory days (tee hee).
ReplyDeleteThe current Paul McCartney and the original Paul that died. We can work it out.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Jim Morrison's bone's have been moved to the catacombs.
ReplyDeleteBilly Connolly in his banana boots and drinking phase. Rod Stewart and the rest of the Faces for music and frolics. Lauren Bacall for smouldering, Ursula Andress for glamour and Lucille Ball for a good laugh.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, I'd love to have gone to that party.
DeleteSigmund Freud? I raise you one: Arthur Janov!
ReplyDeleteAl Einstein
ReplyDeleteMahatma Gandhi
William Blake & The Eternals
Vladamir Nabokov
Anthony Burgess
Little Richard
Bobby Marchan
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Carl Jung
Alan Watts
The Dalai Lama
Thich Nhat Hanh
Pema Chödrön
The Ikettes and The Raelettes
Paul Bowles
Federico Fellini
Salvador Dali
Phil Spector (he'll need to check his guns at the door)
Boris Karloff
The Three Stooges (with the original Curly)
The Marx Brothers
…and many whipped cream pies.
There's a similar question about "one figure from history or current affairs with whom you'd like to have dinner." My answer to that one, Elizabeth I of England, would be a pretty good answer to this one, too. She certainly was no tea-totaller, and the conversation might be amazing.
ReplyDeleteD in California
I hadn't thought of it along those lines before and I can't believe I didn't think of this person before anyway despite him being one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, one of the great orators of history whose rapid and acerbic wit is as legendary as his carousing. I give you Sir Winston Churchill
DeleteThank You Babs, this Harry Nilsson freeload is magnificent. And your brief biography is wonderful as well. Who needs backup singers? Not Harry.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, mumbles!
DeleteJeez, Iggy in 1973 or '74. I do love me some drugs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, Babs. For some reason or other I didn't have Vol.11
ReplyDelete