The song that killed Harry Nilsson
When he was young, Harry Nilsson moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to escape his family’s poor financial situation. He started working as a computer programmer at a bank and, after a while, became interested in musical composition. Soon after, he began labouring away on a number of songs and ended up making a name for himself, eventually collaborating with artists like The Monkees and Randy Newman.
Nilsson didn’t perform live much and instead leaned much further into the production side of music. As such, he is one of the very few major pop-rock artists who achieved significant success without doing many live gigs. Subsequently, his passion lay in the music he recorded, which meant he was not afraid to voice his opinion about songs and took his time perfecting whatever he was working on.
With that in mind, it’s sad that one of the songs that contributed massively to his success – and subsequent death – was one that he didn’t care much for whilst it was being recorded. “I had to force him to take a shot with the rhythm section,” recalls producer Richard Perry, “Even while we were doing it, he’d be saying to the musicians, ‘This song’s awful’.”
The track ‘Without You’ has a sad backstory, as the song about a life without love was responsible for claiming the lives of the people who worked on it. Initially, it was written by Peter Ham and Tom Evans and released by Badfinger. Both writers had half-written songs that they brought together to create ‘Without You’. It didn’t do very well at first, as it was only ever released on the Badfinger album No Dice, so wasn’t instantly picked up by fans.
Nilsson enjoyed writing his own music, but ironically, two of his biggest hits, ‘Without You’ and ‘Everybody’s Talkin’ were covers. He first heard the former at a Laurel Canyon party in ’71, where he initially thought it was a Beatles song. Nilsson ended up recording a cover of the song but wasn’t happy when the producer, Richard Perry, suggested it should be a big ballad.
The song became incredibly popular and made a lot of money, but none found its way to the people who deserved it. The two songwriters met tragic ends, as Badfinger’s label, Apple Records, collapsed in ’73, so neither of them received the royalties they were owed. Despondent over his career and marriage difficulties, Peter Ham hanged himself in 1975. Tom Evans also hanged himself in 1983 from a willow tree following bitter arguments about royalties.
Nilsson handled success poorly. Alcoholism was common in his family, and despite leaving Brooklyn, those problems stayed close by. The fortune he had from ‘Without You’ triggered him to drink, leading him straight into a downward spiral that he was never able to pull himself from. As a result of his drinking, he died of heart failure in 1994 at 52.
The song ‘Without You’ is sad, but the story surrounding it is much sadder, as everybody involved in making it the hit that it was became a victim of its success. Nilsson is still remembered today as an excellent songwriter and performer, and his ability to have a successful career despite hardly touring is a testament to his talent.
