Harry Nilsson's recollections of the Beach Boys in Washington, 1984

[rn57]

Well, this summer Oxford University Press, officially founded in 1586 (though the university started getting in the printing business about 1480, three decades after Gutenberg's Bible), will lend its venerable name to the first-ever biography of high-school dropout Harry Nilsson.  Score another one for Harry. In the case of most of his superstar pals, the first books about them were paperbacks, often issued by long-defunct imprints. But he gets the hardcover treatment right out of the gate, and with quite the outfit. Title is Nilsson: The Life Of A Singer-Songwriter.

The book's author, Alyn Shipton, has posted an excerpt at the leading Nilsson site,

http://fortheloveofharrynilsson.blogspot.com/2013/05/nilsson-life-of-singer-songwriter-by.html

and it concerns no less a subject than how Harry came to be seen behind the guys at the DC Mall in 1984, wearing a black leather outfit in 100 degree Fahrenheit weather - as shown in the An American Band film.  Most of the excerpt is in Nilsson's own words - I guess from one of those occasions when a fan had a tape recorder at the ready. 

The story has a few of the customary Nilsson stretchers - he says the Mall show was attended by over a million people and was "the biggest concert in history." Simon & Garfunkel in Central Park a few years before, at half a million, was a bigger show, but then again Harry wasn't at that gig, so in his mind it may have been of somewhat lesser significance.

Jimmy Buffett figures in the story too, in a pretty amusing fashion.

The biography sounds like a pretty promising one from this excerpt, but what I'd really be interested to see is how Alyn Shipton deals with the really complex subjects in the Nilsson sage - like what exactly went down to split up him and George Tipton, how he got roped into Skidoo and wound up doing the Playboy After Dark show with Otto Preminger dressed like Dr. Evil, etc.

[Shady]

Harry wasn't a Beach Boys fan I gather.

[EgoHanger1966]

Harry wasn't a Beach Boys fan I gather.

If you listen to his music, there's no way that this statement could be true.
Especially "The Point" era...

[Ian]

There's nothing in the excerpt that suggests he didn't like them-just didn't want to be onstage-he never did concerts!!! I think he gave it up really, really early-he was an unusual guy

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

Harry wasn't a Beach Boys fan I gather.

Why do you assume that?

[rn57]

Harry wasn't a Beach Boys fan I gather.

If you listen to his music, there's no way that this statement could be true.
Especially "The Point" era...

Nilsson, as several of his interviews attest, dug the BBs as much as anybody, but since Ringo was his very close friend and frequent collaborator, he probably went to the gig mainly to see him. (And also, in those days, it was not all that common to see Ringo onstage.)  And he probably skipped the chance to go to Florida with the guys because
 a) that show was on the evening of that very same day (as I was reminded by checking AGD's gigography);
 b) it was an outdoor show in Miami Beach;
 c) if DC was just over 100 F that afternoon, Miami was probably around 85 degrees that night and Harry had probably sweated enough for one day.  To offset the loss of body fluid, he probably would have had to toss back booze by the pitcherful and challenge his overworked liver even more than usual.

But when it comes to not liking somebody's music, I noticed that before going to DC Harry and his writer pal arrived at Jimmy Buffett's gig, too late for the show, but apparently in time for the afterparty.  Now, I have my issues with much of what Buffett has recorded, but he is quite a nice guy - years and years ago, he would sometimes go hunting or fishing with my brother-in-law in Tennessee, and in those days he would send over some complimentary tickets to my sister's family when performing in Music City.  

And if a man is going to go to a guy's gig and help himself to all that Jose Cuervo, taquitos and blow or whatever Jimmy had sitting on the table after a gig back then, he should at least show up in time for some of the music.  Simple good manners. But alas, I have the feeling Harry's Yankee blood got the better of him this time and the fact the show was in Boston probably didn't help.

[Smilin Ed H]

I'm surprised Harry could recollect much at all...

[Mooger Fooger]

Harry can be seen here behind and to the left of Carl sitting on the scaffolding:

[Andrew G. Doe]

Alyn Shipton ?  I went to school with an Alyn Shipton... couldn't be. Could it ?

Edit: well f*** me with a pineapple and call me Danno, it IS the same Alyn Shipton !

[guitarfool2002]

This part raised an eyebrow:

I open the door and there were all the Boys, Beach. And they were singing a song, and, they’re all trying to tell Ringo how to play the drums at this one special part. He saw me walk in with a look of relief and disbelief that there I was and there he was. So he stopped everything, we embraced and he explained who I was to everyone.

Were the members of the Beach Boys that socially unconnected to brother Brian's social activities in the 1970's to not have known who Harry Nilsson was? Remember the thread about the Brian-Van Dyke-Harry photo from last week: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15687.0.html

I've wondered quite a bit about the 99% or so of these guys' private lives which were not captured on audio or film/video, and how especially in the 70's you find Dennis and continue to find evidence of Brian traveling in the LA-based social rock and party circles, where guys like Harry and Ringo were ubiquitous, then you read something like this where Harry has to be introduced to the Beach Boys backstage.

Is it Harry exaggerating, or were the Beach Boys really unaware of who Harry was despite various band members and associates being seen with him in the 70's?

[Mooger Fooger]

I think it would be a case of the BBs needing to be reminded that "Hey this is Harry!" because at this point in his life, Nilsson had done _alot_ of damage to his person via all the partying/boozing etc. The fact that he worked extensively with Van Dyke Parks on the Popeye soundtrack and Flash Harry in 1980 makes it difficult for me to believe the BBs didn't know who he was. Also, Brian talks about him on the documentary "Who is Harry Nilsson and Why is Everbody Talking About Him".

[guitarfool2002]

I think it would be a case of the BBs needing to be reminded that "Hey this is Harry!" because at this point in his life, Nilsson had done _alot_ of damage to his person via all the partying/boozing etc. The fact that he worked extensively with Van Dyke Parks on the Popeye soundtrack and Flash Harry in 1980 makes it difficult for me to believe the BBs didn't know who he was. Also, Brian talks about him on the documentary "Who is Harry Nilsson and Why is Everbody Talking About Him".

Beyond working together Van Dyke was a close personal friend of Harry, there's that photo of Van Dyke as one of the few guests at Harry's wedding for one.

I guess I'm getting at the point that these social circles around various LA musicians were much closer than I think a lot of the "history of rock" kind of accounts would suggest, so the need for Ringo to in any way explain who Harry was to the Beach Boys seems a bit of stretch.

Also...consider that fans watching a less-than-stellar quality video clip managed to spot Harry at that concert, how would at least one Beach Boy not have known him standing in the same room? 

[Carls Beard]

Alyn Shipton ?  I went to school with an Alyn Shipton... couldn't be. Could it ?

Edit: well f*** me with a pineapple and call me Danno, it IS the same Alyn Shipton !

That's amazing Andrew! As a member of the Harry Nilsson group page on Facebook, we're all very excited for Shipton's book to come out.