Nilsson, Harry (1941–1994)

US singer and songwriter. He is best known for his contributions to the soundtrack of the John Schlesinger film Midnight Cowboy (1969), most notably the hit single ‘Everybody's Talkin'’, which earned him the first of several Grammy awards. His albums include Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) and Son of Schmilsson (1972).

Nilsson, born in New York, sold his first songs to legendary record producer Phil Spector (‘Paradise’ for the Ronettes). Pandemonium Shadow Show (1967) was his breakthrough album. Although he wrote many hits for various performers, including ‘Cuddly Toy’ for the Monkees (1967), ‘One’ for Three Dog Night (1969), and ‘Puppy Song’ for teen idol David Cassidy (1969), his biggest hits (‘Without You’ (1971) and ‘Everybody's Talkin'’) were written by other people, and he covered material ranging from old classics such as ‘As Time Goes By’, through ‘Rock Around the Clock’, to Bob Dylan's ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and an album of songs by the satirist Randy Newman.

Nilsson collaborated with ex-Beatles John Lennon (who produced his album Pussy Cats in 1974) and Ringo Starr (on the film score of Son of Dracula the same year). He also wrote the script and music of a full-length animated TV film, The Point (1971).