''Nilsson Schmilsson'' is the seventh studio album by American singer

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

, released by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

in November 1971. It was Nilsson's most commercially successful work, producing three of his best-known songs. Among these was the number 1 hit " Without You", written by

Pete Ham Peter William Ham (27 April 1947 – 24 April 1975) was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for the 1970s rock band Badfinger, whose hit songs include " No Matter What", " Day After Day" and " ...

and Tom Evans of the group

Badfinger Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are rec ...

. The album was the first of two Nilsson albums recorded in London and produced by

Richard Perry Richard Van Perry (born June 18, 1942) is an American record producer. He began as a performer in his adolescence while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and early 1970 ...

. "

Jump into the Fire "Jump into the Fire" is a song by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson from his 1971 album ''Nilsson Schmilsson''. It was also issued as the album's second single, after " Without You", and peaked at number 27 on America's ''Billboard'' Hot ...

" and " Coconut", both written by Nilsson, also became hits. The album performed well at the

1973 Grammy Awards The 15th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 3, 1973, at the Tennessee Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee. The event was the first Grammy ceremony not to be held in either New York City or Los Angeles (the 64th Grammys, staged in Las Vegas in 2 ...

, earning a nomination for Album of the Year, while "Without You" won the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. In 2006, ''Nilsson Schmilsson'' was ranked number 84 on

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

's "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s". The album was ranked #281 in the 2020 revision of ''Rolling Stone'''s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Track listing

Personnel

According to the 1971 LP credits: *

– vocals; piano on 1, 5, 8, 10; Mellotron on 2, 4; organ on 3; harmonica on 8; electric piano on 9 * Jim Gordon – drums on 1, 2, 5, 7, 9; percussion on 7, 9 *

Klaus Voormann Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer. Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including " You're So ...

– bass on 1, 5, 6, 8; rhythm guitar on 2, 9; acoustic guitar on 4 *

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

– guitar on 1, 5, 8, 9 *

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (born 19 May 1938) is an English musician specialising in electric bass, double bass and tuba. He is noted as a member of Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky. Flowers has contributed to recordings by Elton John (''Tumblewe ...

– bass on 2, 4, 7, 9 * John Uribe – acoustic guitar on 2, 4, 6; lead guitar on 2, 9 Additional personnel * Henry Krein – accordion on 1 *

– percussion on 1, Mellotron on 2 * Jim Price – trumpet on 1, 5;

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

on 1, 5; horn arrangements on 1, 5 *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– drums on 5, 6, 8 *

Roger Coulam Roger Keith Coulam, (born 21 August 1940, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, died October 2005), was a British keyboard session musician, who formed Blue Mink in the autumn of 1969, with Madeline Bell (vocalist), Roger Cook (vocalist), Alan Parker ( ...

– organ on 5 *

Bobby Keys Robert Henry Keys (December 18, 1943 – December 2, 2014) was an American saxophonist who performed with other musicians as a member of several horn sections of the 1970s. He appears on albums by the Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harry Ni ...

– saxophone on 5 *

Gary Wright Gary Malcolm Wright (born April 26, 1943) is an American musician and composer best known for his 1976 hit songs "Dream Weaver" and " Love Is Alive", and for his role in helping establish the synthesizer as a leading instrument in rock and pop ...

– piano on 6, organ on 8 * Paul Buckmaster – string and horn arrangements on 6 * Roger Pope – drums on 7 *

Caleb Quaye Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with ...

– guitar on 7 * Ian Duck – acoustic guitar on 7 * Jim Webb – piano on 9 *

George Tipton George Aliceson Tipton (January 23, 1932 – February 12, 2016) was an American composer, musical arranger, and conductor, who is well known for his work in television and for his collaborations with singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. Among Tip ...

– string and horn arrangements on 10 Technical *Robin Geoffrey Cable - engineer (Trident Studios) *Richie Schmitt – engineer (RCA Studios) *Phil Brown - additional engineer (Island Studios) *Acy Lehman – graphics * Dean Torrence – photography

Charts

Certifications

Awards

, - , style="text-align:center;" rowspan="4",

, " Without You" , ,

Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

, , - , " Without You" , , Grammy Award for Record of the Year , , - , "Nilsson Schmilsson" , , Grammy Award for Album of the Year , , - , "Nilsson Schmilsson" , ,

Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical The Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes: * In 1959, the award was known as Best Engineered Record – Non-Classical * In 1960, it was awarded as Best Engineeri ...

References

External links

''Nilsson Schmilsson'' at The Harry Nilsson Web Pages"Nilsoon Schmilsson Review on "Cool Album of the Day"
{{Authority control Harry Nilsson albums 1971 albums Albums arranged by Paul Buckmaster Albums arranged by George Tipton Albums produced by Richard Perry Albums recorded at Trident Studios RCA Victor albums Albums with cover art by Dean Torrence