PaulMcCartneyandJohnLennondescribedhimastheBeatles’“favoritegroup,“hewonGrammyawards,wroteandrecordedhitsongs,andyetnofigureinpopularmusicisasmuchofaparadox,orasunderrated,asHarryNilsson.Inthisfirsteverfull-lengthbiography,AlynShiptontracesNilsson’slifefromhisBrooklynchildhoodtohisLosAngelesadolescenceandhisgradualemergenceasauniquelytalentedsinger-songwriter.Withinterviewsfromfriends,family,andassociates,andmaterialdrawnfromanunfinishedautobiography,ShiptonprobesbeneaththeenigmatodiscovertherealHarryNilsson.Amajorcelebrityatatimewhenhugeconcertsandfestivalswerebecomingthenorm,Nilssonshunnedliveperformance.Hisvenuewasthestudio,hisstagethedubbingbooth,hisgreatesttriumphsmasterfulexamplesofstudiocraft.Hewasagiftedcomposerofsongsforawidevarietyofperformers,includingtheRonettes,theYardbirds,andtheMonkees,yetNilsson’sownbiggesthitswerealmostallwrittenbyothersongwriters.HewontwoGrammyawards,in1969for“Everybody’sTalkin’“(thethemesongforMidnightCowboy),andin1972for“WithoutYou,“hadtwotoptensingles,numerousalbumsuccesses,andwroteanumberofsongs--“Coconut“and“JumpintotheFire,“tonamejusttwo--thatstillsoundremarkablyfreshandoriginaltoday.HewasoncedescribedbyhisproducerRichardPerryas“thefinestwhitemalesingerontheplanet,“butneartheendofhislife,Nilsson’scareerwasmarkedbyvoice-damagingsubstanceabuseandtheinfamousdeathsofbothKeithMoonandMamaCassinhisLondonflat.DrawingonexclusiveaccesstoNilsson’spapers,AlynShipton’sbiographyoffersreadersanintimateportraitofamanwhohasseemedbothfamousandunknowable--untilnow.
