Harry Nilsson

Deserving musician and winsger and song writer

Argument for induction: Harry Nilsson's wildman myth often precedes him, and his notorious boozy escapades (with and without pal John Lennon) sometimes obscure his work. But what makes the late singer/songwriter so revered is how he successfully straddled pop's conventions and its wilder side. His renditions of others' work (e.g., Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'"; his take on Badfinger's "Without You"), and his delightfully oddball originals ("Coconut") as well as his own straight-ahead songwriting genius ("One," made famous by Three Dog Night) hold fast in pop-rock lore.

Harry was King

crazy good

uneven career but the god stuff far outweighs the not so great.

I'm just wild about Harry. Everybody's Talking.

He was the most idiosyncratic songwriter of the decade in a decade stuffed to bursting with them.

Gained enormous attention when the Beatles befriended and championed him back in the late 60's when he had a string of big hits in a more adult contemporary style. That questionable connection to what the Hall voters perceive as rock might be his biggest drawback. However he was also a writer of note (penning the massive Three Dog Night hit "One" as well as his own records), and his name recognition continues to give hope to his potential candidacy.

very irratic career and personality but his best momenst are classic.

Think he sang the song ONE one time

Brilliant singer songwritter. Flamed out

He wasn't particularly rock and roll. Unless there is a 'Raconteur' category, his main contribution was a handful of strong, sweet voiced ballads and a few novelty numbers. Today he's remembered as much for being the bartender during John Lennon's 5 year long lost weekend in New York and L.A. during the mid 70s. After a string of hits and decent album sales, Nilsson's lifestyle overtook his work ethic and he was a famous Me-Decade cocaine burnout. The mystique of his lost genius reads like a later-day version of the Brian Wilson story without quite the musical legacy.

Everybody's Talkin bout Harry

long ago, far away

Remember (Christmas)

Everybody's Talking bout Harry

Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 — January 15, 1994) was an American songwriter, singer, pianist, and guitarist who achieved the height of his fame during the 1960s and 1970s. For most of his recordings, he did not use his first name, and was credited only as Nilsson. Despite some significant critical and commercial successes, including two Grammy Awards and two Top 10 singles, Nilsson's tendency to make broad stylistic jumps from one record to the next – coupled with his generally iconoclastic decision-making – kept him from fully capitalizing on his career. Among Nilsson's best-known recordings are "Without You", "Jump into the Fire", "Everybody's Talkin'" (theme from the movie Midnight Cowboy & composed by Fred Neil) and "Coconut".

Singles As Bo Pete: 1964: Baa Baa Blacksheep 1964: Do You Wanna (Have Some Fun) As Johnny Niles: 1964: Donna I Understand As Nilsson: 1964: Sixteen Tons (Tower 103) 1965: You Can't Take Your Love Away From Me (Tower 136) 1965: The Path That Leads To Trouble (Tower 165) 1966: She's Yours (Tower 244) 1967: Without Her 1967: You Can't Do That (US #122, Canada #10) 1967: River Deep - Mountain High (Canadian release only) 1967: Good Old Desk (European release only) 1968: One 1968: Everybody's Talkin' (initial release -- US #113, Canada #35) 1969: I Will Take You There 1969: Everybody's Talkin' (re-release -- US #6, US A/C #2, Canada #1, Canada A/C #1, UK #23) 1969: Good Times 1969: Maybe 1969: I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City (US #34, US A/C #7, Canada #25, Canada A/C #3) 1970: Waiting (US A/C #40, Canada A/C #31) 1970: Caroline 1970: Down To The Valley (Canada #80) 1971: Me And My Arrow (US #34, US A/C #3, Canada #23, Canada A/C #17) 1971: Without You (US ... Read more

you're breaking my heart

Can't Live if living is without the HoF

should already be on the short list. classic

His quality as a singer, his wonderful voice, his special sense of humour, an unique composer...all this and a lot more makes say:that nice fellow man was a real GENIOUS!!

no fn way

No question about it!

Fantastic.

Harry Nilsson deserves the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for many reasons: His voice is one of the greatest of all time--3 1/2 octave range that could do ANY style, His writing, covered by damn near everyone, his vocal style, which turned mediocre songs by others into international hits (Everybody's Talkin, Without You), the varied styles he mastered (From novelty--Coconut, to hard rock--Jump into the Fire, to sunshine pop--Me and My Arrow--to progressive--Spaceman, to blues--Early in the Morning, to country--Joy, to standards--Remember--Harry did EVERTHING well. Not to mention he was extremely clever and funny. Don't you think the Beatles could recognize a talent on par with themselves? They LOVED Harry, and when I turn people onto him they are AMAZED. Not to mention his brilliant Nilsson Sings Newman which helped launch Randy's career, The Point, which was a critically acclaimed feature length cartoon, and of cours The Theme to The Courtship of Eddie's Father, one of the best-loved... Read more

Totally overlooked and underappreciated. I love the Midnight Cowboy song, Everybody's Talkin.

Of course! Harry Nilsson was a genius... One of the best, ever...

but if i had it my way he'd be there