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RCA Records (originally The Victor Talking Machine Company, then RCA Victor) is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America (later renamed RCA Corporation), which was the parent corporation from 1929^[1] to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.^[2]

RCA's Canadian unit (formerly Berliner Gramophone Canada) is Sony's oldest label in Canada, as it was only one of two Canadian record companies (Compo Company, now Universal Music Canada, is the other) to survive the Great Depression.

The RCA family of labels[link]

RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. RCA Records is the Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop, R&B and Country music label. RCA Victor is the label for blues music, world music, jazz, musicals and other musical genres which do not fit the pop music mold. RCA Red Seal (formerly known as RCA Victor Red Seal) is the renowned classical music label with a reissue sub-label called RCA Gold Seal.

Defunct labels include budget labels RCA Camden, RCA Victrola, RCA International, and RCA Italiana.

Besides manufacturing records for themselves, RCA Victor also operated RCA Custom which was the leading record manufacturer for the independent labels. RCA operated three strategically located record manufacturing plants in the U.S. and advertised overnight delivery to record distributors.^[3] RCA Custom also pressed record compilations for The Reader's Digest Association.

Currently, Legacy Recordings, Sony Music's catalog division, reissues classic albums for RCA.

History[link]

In 1929, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) purchased the Victor Talking Machine Company, then the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs (including the famous "Victrola") and phonograph records (in British English, "gramophone records"). The company then became RCA-Victor. With Victor, RCA acquired New World rights to the famous Nipper trademark. While in Shanghai China, RCA-Victor was the main competitor with Baak Doi.^[4]

In 1931, RCA Victor's British affiliate the Gramophone Company merged with the Columbia Graphophone Company to form EMI. This gave RCA head David Sarnoff a seat on the EMI board. Also in late 1931, RCA Victor developed and released the first 33⅓-rpm records to the public (known as "Program Transcriptions"). These had the standard groove size identical to the contemporary 78-rpm records, rather than the "microgroove" used in post-World War II 33⅓ "Long Play" records. The format was a commercial failure at the height of the Great Depression, partially because the records and playback equipment were expensive. The system was withdrawn from the market after about a year. (This was not the first attempt at a commercial long play record format, as Edison Records had marketed a microgroove vertically recorded disc with 20 minutes playing time per side the previous decade; the Edison long playing records were also a commercial failure.)

During the early part of the depression, RCA made a number of attempts to produce a successful cheap label to compete with the 'Dime Store Labels' (Perfect, Oriole, Banner, Melotone, etc.). In 1932, Bluebird Records was created as a sub-label of RCA Victor. It was originally an 8" record with a dark blue label, alongside an 8" Electradisk label (sold at Woolworth's). Neither were a success. In 1933, RCA reintroduced Bluebird and Electradisk as a standard 10" label (Bluebird's label was redesigned as it became known as the 'buff' label). Another cheap label, Sunrise, was produced (although nobody seems to know for whom it was produced, as Sunrise records are exceptionally rare). The same musical couplings were issued on all three labels, and Bluebird survived long after Electradisk and Sunrise were discontinued. RCA also produced records for Montgomery Ward during the 1930s.

RCA sold its interest in EMI in 1935, but EMI continued to distribute RCA recordings on the HMV label. RCA also manufactured and distributed HMV classical recordings on the HMV label in North America.^[5]

World War II era[link]

During World War II, ties between RCA and its Japanese affiliate JVC were severed. The Japanese record company is today called Victor Entertainment and is still a JVC subsidiary.

From 1942 to 1944, RCA Victor was seriously impacted by the American Federation of Musicians recording ban. Virtually all union musicians could not make recordings during that period. One of the few exceptions was the eventual release of recorded performances by the NBC Symphony Orchestra with Arturo Toscanini. However, RCA lost the Philadelphia Orchestra during this period; when Columbia Records settled quickly with the union, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphians signed a new contract with Columbia and began making recordings in 1944.

In 1949, RCA-Victor developed and released the first 45 rpm record to the public, answering CBS/Columbia's 33⅓ rpm "LP". The 45-rpm record became the standard for pop singles with running times similar to 10-inch 78-rpm discs (less than four minutes per side).

RCA also introduced record players to exclusively play the 45 rpm format in a heavy promotion, as well as issuing issuing most of the 45's in colored vinyl (as opposed to the standard black vinyl for records) specific to the music genre: classical music was issued on red vinyl, country music on green vinyl, children's music on yellow vinyl, pop music on blue vinyl, etc. with a total of eight colors of discs over as many music formats.

RCA also released some "extended play" (EP) discs with running times up to 7 minutes per side, primarily for classical recordings. (One of the first of the extended 45-rpm recordings was a disc by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra featuring Tchaikovsky's Marche Slave and Ketèlbey's In a Persian Market.) Additionally, many boxed sets of four to six 45's in a box, essentially the same amount of music as an LP over a collection of smaller discs.

The 1950s[link]

In 1950, realizing that Columbia's LP format had become successful and fearful that RCA was losing market share, RCA Victor began issuing LPs themselves.^[6][7] Among the first RCA LPs released was a performance of Gaîté Parisienne by Jacques Offenbach, played by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra, which had actually been recorded in Boston's Symphony Hall on June 20, 1947; it was given the catalogue number LM-1001. Non-classical albums were issued with the prefix "LPM." When RCA later issued classical stereo albums (in 1958), they used the prefix "LSC." Non-classical stereo albums were issued with the prefix "LSP."

In the 1950s, RCA had three subsidiary or specialty labels: Groove, Vik and "X". Label "X" was founded in 1953 and renamed Vik in 1955. Groove was an R&B specialty label founded in 1954.^[8]

Through the 1940s and 1950s, RCA was in competition with Columbia Records. A number of recordings were made with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, usually conducted by Arturo Toscanini; sometimes RCA utilized recordings of broadcast concerts (Toscanini had been recording for the label since the days of acoustic recordings, and the label had been recording the NBC Symphony since its creation in 1937). When the NBC Symphony was reorganized in the fall of 1954 as the Symphony of the Air, it continued to record for RCA, as well as other labels, usually with Leopold Stokowski. RCA also released a number of recordings with the Victor Symphony Orchestra, later renamed the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, which was usually drawn from either Philadelphia or New York musicians, as well as members of the Symphony of the Air. By the late 1950s RCA had fewer high prestige orchestras under contract than Columbia had: RCA recorded the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Pops, whereas Columbia had the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

On October 6, 1953, RCA held experimental stereophonic sessions in New York's Manhattan Center with Leopold Stokowski conducting a group of New York musicians in performances of Enesco's Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1 and the waltz from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin. There were additional stereo tests in December, again in the Manhattan Center, this time with Pierre Monteux conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In February 1954, RCA made its first commercial stereophonic recordings, taping the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Münch, in a performance of The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz. This began a practice of simultaneously taping orchestras with both stereophonic and monaural equipment. Other early stereo recordings were made by Toscanini and Guido Cantelli respectively, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra; the Boston Pops Orchestra under Arthur Fiedler; and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner. Initially, RCA used RT-21¼ inch tape recorders (which ran at 30 inches per second), wired to mono mixers, with Neumann U-47 cardioid and M-49/50 omnidirectional microphones. Then they switched to an Ampex 300-3½ inch machine, running at 15 inches per second (which was later increased to 30 inches per second). These recordings were initially issued in 1955 on special stereophonic reel-to-reel tapes and then, beginning in 1958, on vinyl LPs with the logo "Living Stereo." Sony Music and successor companies have continued to reissue these recordings on CD.^[9] Another 1953 project for RCA was converting the acoustically superior building Webster Hall into its East Coast recording studio. It operated this studio venue from 1953 to 1968.

In September 1954, RCA introduced 'Gruve-Gard' where the center and edge of a disc are thicker than the playing area, reducing scuff marks during handling and when used on a turntable with a record changer.^[10] Most of RCA Victor Records' competitors quickly adopted the raised label and edges.

The Toscanini stereo albums, however, were never issued by RCA (they were the last two concerts he conducted with the NBC Symphony Orchestra). They were not issued until 1987 and 2007 respectively, when they appeared on compact disc on the Music and Arts label, and betrayed no sign whatsoever of the Maestro's apparent memory loss in the last concert, probably because the rehearsals had also been taped in stereo and portions of them were included in the final edit.

In 1955, RCA purchased the recording contract of Elvis Presley from Sun Records for the then astronomical sum of $35,000. Elvis would become RCA's biggest selling recording artist. His first gold record was Heartbreak Hotel, recorded in January 1956.

In 1957, RCA ended its 55-year association with EMI and signed a distribution deal with Decca Records, which caused EMI to purchase Capitol Records. Capitol then became the main distributor for EMI recordings in North and South America, with RCA distributing its recordings through Decca in the United Kingdom on the RCA (later RCA Victor) label. This had the lightning bolt logo instead of the His Master's Voice Nipper logo (now owned by HMV Group plc in the UK as EMI transferred trademark ownership in 2003).^[11] RCA set up its own British distribution in 1971.

Also in 1957, RCA opened a state-of-the-art recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee, which recorded hit after hit for RCA and other labels for 20 years and is now open for tours as RCA Studio B. Elvis Presley made most of his recordings in this studio.

The 1960s[link]

In 1960, RCA announced the Compact 33 double and singles. In January 1961, these discs hit the market. The Compact 33 discs were released simultaneously with their 45 rpm counterparts. The long-term goal was to phase out the 45 rpm. This campaign eventually failed by early 1962.^[12]

In 1963, RCA introduced Dynagroove which added computer technology to the disc cutting process, ostensibly to improve sound reproduction. Whether it was actually an improvement or not is still debated among audiophiles.

In September 1965, RCA & Lear Jet Corp. teamed up to release the first Stereo 8-Track Tape Music Cartridges (Stereo 8) which were first used in the 1966 line of Ford Automobiles and were popular throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. (The initial release comprised 175 titles from RCA Victor and RCA Camden's catalog of artists.)

In late 1968, RCA modernized its image with a new futuristic-looking logo (the letters RCA in block modernized form), replacing the old lightning bolt logo, and the virtual retirement of both the Victor and Nipper trademarks. The background of the labels, which had always been black for its regular series (as opposed to its Red Seal line), switched to bright orange (becoming tan later in the early 1970s). Possibly in response to customers' complaints, RCA Records reinstated Nipper to most of its record labels beginning in 1976 in countries where RCA had the rights to the Nipper trademark. The famous "shaded" label used on RCA's "Living Stereo" albums was revived in the 1990s for a series of CDs devoted to the historic triple-track stereophonic recordings.

In late 1969 RCA introduced a very thin, lightweight vinyl LP known as DynaFlex (the name has nothing to do with the gyroscope). This type of pressing claimed to overcome warping and other problems in conventional thicker pressings, but it had a controversial reputation in the industry. At about the same time John Denver recorded his first RCA LP: Rhymes & Reasons.

Debut of Quadraphonic releases[link]

In April 1970 RCA announced the first quadraphonic 4-channel 8-track tape cartridges (Quad-8, later called just Q8). RCA then began releasing quadraphonic vinyl recordings in 1971, primarily of classical music, in the CD-4 format developed by Japan Victor Corporation (JVC), and made commercially practical by Quadracast Systems Inc. (QSI). RCA's trade name became Quadradisc. The CD-4 format required a special cartridge that had a ±1 db frequency response out to 50 kHz, a CD-4 demodulator which decoded the difference between the front and rear channels from a 30 kHz subcarrier, four separate amplifier channels, and four separate speakers for the left and right front and left and right rear. Both the CD-4 Quadradisc and Quad-8 tape cartridge systems were true discrete 4-4-4 quadraphonic systems. Columbia introduced a quadraphonic matrix system, SQ, which required a decoder, 4-channel amplifier and the four speakers. The SQ system was referred to as a 4-2-4 matrix system. The Warner Music labels also adopted the Quadradisc format, but they, RCA and Columbia abandoned quadraphonic recording within a few years; some of the RCA sessions were later remastered for Dolby encoding (same as Peter Scheiber's original matrix system) and released on CD. This included Charles Gerhardt's series of albums devoted to classic film scores by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Alfred Newman, Dimitri Tiomkin, Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, and others, performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra in London's Kingsway Hall.

Acquisition by Bertelsmann[link]

In 1983, Arista Records owner Bertelsmann sold 50% of Arista to RCA. In 1985, Bertelsmann and RCA formed a joint venture called RCA/Ariola International.^[2]

When General Electric acquired RCA in 1986, the company sold its 50% interest in RCA/Ariola International to its partner Bertelsmann and the company was renamed BMG Music for Bertelsmann Music Group.^[13] BMG brought back the lightning bolt logo that was last used in 1968 to make clear that RCA Records was no longer co-owned with the other RCA entities which GE sold or closed. The only RCA unit GE kept was the National Broadcasting Company. BMG also revived the "RCA Victor" label for musical genres outside of country, pop and rock music.

Many artists such as Eurythmics, indie-popsters The Bongos, and Rick Astley recorded with RCA in the 1980s. Charlie Rich had several recordings produced by RCA as well as Charley Pride. Co-writer Marvin Walters worked closely with both artists producing hit songs such as "Set Me Free" for Rich and "Pretty Girl" for Pride. Walters left RCA when it sold its interest to BMG.

1990s[link]

In the 1990s, RCA's corporate structure basically remained the same. Also, RCA had marked success in the contemporary jazz genres with artists such as Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, Opafire and Hugh Masekela, as well as an explosion of urban talent, such as Tyrese, SWV, Chantay Savage, and others. Some of these artists, such as Mobb Deep, recorded for the RCA label via a distribution deal with Loud Records, which remained distributed by RCA until 1999. Many of these artists have since left RCA for a number of reasons, such as SWV's breakup and Tyrese's move to J Records. Also, artists of other genres, such as Christina Aguilera and The Dave Matthews Band were launched by the RCA label in the '90s. The Foo Fighters joined the label in 1999.

RCA saw continued success with artists such as Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews Band, the Foo Fighters, and later The Strokes. New acts that signed to the label included Kings of Leon and various American Idol contestants such as Kelly Clarkson and David Cook. Early in the decade the label became part of the RCA Music Group which also included Arista Records and J Records. The company was headed by Clive Davis until April 2008.

Merger[link]

In 2004, BMG and Sony merged their music holdings into a joint venture called Sony BMG. Because Sony Music was the successor to the old CBS record division, this merger meant that RCA Records, once owned by parent RCA, was now under the same umbrella as the label once owned by RCA's rival, the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Columbia Records.

In 2006, Sony BMG merged its Broadway music labels, including RCA Victor to the new Masterworks Broadway Records.

In 2008, Sony acquired Bertelsmann's interest in the record company which was officially renamed Sony Music Entertainment at the start of 2009. RCA became part of the newly formed RCA/Jive Label Group (also known as RCA Records Group) as a result.

2010s: Label Integration[link]

The early 2010s saw RCA as part of the RCA/Jive Label Group which was headed by Barry Weiss. More recently RCA has introduced Ke$ha as one of its new artists on its roster. She has enjoyed widespread commercial success. Since 2011, RCA no longer signed contestants from American Idol, but the company continues to achieve great success with Idol alumni such as Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, David Cook, and Adam Lambert. The RCA/Jive Label Group had been signing contestants from the show since it started in 2002 when the music group was still BMG. In 2011, Idol contestants signed to Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records of the Universal Music Group.

RCA Records was restructured in 2011 and took in artists from Arista and J Records and multiple artists from Jive Records, as those labels closed down.^[14]

The RCA Music Group was separated from the Jive Label Group in July 2011. Multiple Jive artists became part of a restructured Epic Records as Jive moved under the RCA Music Group. The RCA Music Group later continued its operations and contained "marquee" Jive acts such as Britney Spears and Pink.^[15][16][17] In 2011, Peter Edge became the new CEO of the RCA Music Group.^[18] RCA Records will start releasing all releases by RCA Music Group artists.^[19][20] In October 2011, the RCA Music Group shut down J Records, Jive Records and Arista Records. All artists moved under RCA Records, making it a standalone label under Sony Music.^[14] As of March 2012, RCA Records was home to 77 artists.^[21]

Broadway and Hollywood[link]

RCA has produced several notable Broadway cast albums as well, among them the original Broadway recordings of Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, the Mary Martin Peter Pan, Damn Yankees, Hello, Dolly!, Oliver!, and Fiddler on the Roof. RCA has also recorded and released recordings of revival stagings of musicals. These include the musical productions staged at Lincoln Center such as the 1966 revivals of Show Boat and Annie Get Your Gun, the 1987 revival of Anything Goes and the 1998 Broadway revivals of Cabaret and The Sound of Music. Call Me Madam was recorded by RCA Victor with all of its original cast except for its star Ethel Merman, who, due to contractual obligations, could not be released from her American Decca Records contract. She was replaced on the RCA album by Dinah Shore. RCA was also responsible for the film soundtrack albums of Damn Yankees, South Pacific, Exodus, Bye Bye Birdie, and The Sound of Music. The album made from the 1965 hit Julie Andrews film was (and is) one of the best selling soundtracks of all time. The film soundtrack of Oliver!, made by Colgems Records, was distributed by RCA, which had released the Broadway cast album. RCA also released the original American cast album of Hair.

RCA Victor made several studio cast recording albums as well, including a Lerner and Loewe series with Jan Peerce, Jane Powell, and Robert Merrill, as well as a 1963 album of excerpts from George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, with its 1952 revival leads, Leontyne Price and William Warfield, but a different supporting cast. They also issued two studio cast versions of Show Boat, one with Robert Merrill, Patrice Munsel, and Rise Stevens and the other with Howard Keel, Anne Jeffreys, and Gogi Grant.

All of these recordings are now under Masterworks Broadway Records, which has remastered and reissued many of these albums.

Spoken word albums[link]

RCA Victor also issued several spoken word albums in the 1950s and 60s, notably the soundtracks of the films Richard III,^[22] A Man for All Seasons and The Taming of the Shrew,^[23] as well as complete versions of the National Theatre of Great Britain stage productions of Othello (starring Laurence Olivier) and Much Ado About Nothing (starring Maggie Smith, who also played Desdemona in the Olivier Othello). None of these albums have appeared on compact disc, but the films of Richard III, A Man For All Seasons, The Taming of the Shrew and the Olivier Othello have all been issued on DVD.

Criticisms and controversy[link]

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RCA Victor decided to demolish their Camden warehouse in the early 1960s. This warehouse held four floors' worth of catalog and vault masters (most of them were pre-tape wax and metal discs), test pressings, lacquer discs, matrix ledgers, and rehearsal recordings. A few days before the demolition took place, some collectors from the US and Europe were allowed to go through the warehouse and salvage whatever they could carry with them for their personal collections. Soon after, collectors and RCA Records officials watched from a nearby bridge as the warehouse was demolished, with many studio masters still intact in the building. The remnants were bulldozed into the Delaware River and a pier was built on top of them. In 1973, when the company decided to release all of Rachmaninoff's recordings on LPs (to celebrate the centennial of the composer's birth), RCA was forced to go to record collectors for materials, as documented by Time.

In the early 1920s, Victor was slow about getting deeply involved in recording and marketing black jazz and vocal blues. By the mid to late 1920s, Victor had signed Jelly Roll Morton, Bennie Moten, Duke Ellington and other black bands and were becoming very competitive with Columbia and Brunswick, even starting their own V-38000 "Hot Dance" series that was marketed to all Victor dealers. They also had a V-38500 "race" series, a 23000 'hot dance' continuation of the V-38000 series, as well as a 23200 'Race' series with blues, gospel and some hard jazz. However, throughout the 1930s, Victor's involvement in jazz and blues slowed down and by the time of the musicians' strike and the end of the war, Victor was neglecting the R&B (race) scene, which is one of the reasons so many independent companies sprang up so successfully.

In the 1970s the label let much of its catalog go out of print. This pattern affected its jazz catalog most greatly, followed by its classical music catalog.

In the compact disc era a small proportion of its jazz catalog has been reissued. (For example, Jelly Roll Morton albums were reissued; but they were removed from circulation in less than ten years.) Similarly, only a fraction of its vast classical catalog has remained available on compact disc.

Canadian rockers Triumph claimed to be ignored by the label. When the band wanted to resign from their deal with RCA, the label refused. Afterwards, MCA Records executive Irving Azoff co-opted their debts and bought the band out of their RCA contract and signed them for five albums.

Kelly Clarkson[link]

In 2007, reports said that many RCA workers, including mogul Clive Davis, were unhappy with Kelly Clarkson's album My December. Davis was even said to offer Clarkson $10 million to scrap five of her songs, but she refused. Months of controversy concluded with Clarkson's tour being rescheduled, My December becoming the lowest-selling album of her career, and Clarkson joining Starstruck Entertainment. In 2009, RCA decided to release "Already Gone" as the third single off her album, All I Ever Wanted. Clarkson objected to this because it sounded very similar to Beyoncé's song, "Halo". Both songs were co-written by Ryan Tedder. RCA persisted in the release of the single. The press noted the similarities between the two songs.

Avril Lavigne[link]

In November 2010, singer Avril Lavigne explained the reason for the long delay of her fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby, which she said was completed a year ago. She says she "experienced a bunch of bureaucratic BS" prior to the label recently deciding to release it.^[24] Disagreements between Lavigne and RCA resulted in the album's release date being pushed back several times until it finally came out in March 2011. In October 2011, Lavigne confirmed that she had left RCA Records for Epic Records.^[25][26]

Kenny Rogers[link]

After singer Kenny Rogers left the label, RCA was accused of trying to ruin his career. Rogers signed to RCA in 1983 for an advance sum of $20 million (the largest deal ever in country music at that time) when Bob Summers was head of the label. Shortly after Rogers' first album for the label, Summers was fired (for unrelated reasons) by RCA. Deciding it would make the label look bad for firing Summers if Rogers continued to be a major success (his duet with Dolly Parton, "Islands in the Stream", had been one of the biggest hits of 1983), Rogers received very little support from the label during the next several years he was with them.^{[citation needed]} Although Rogers and RCA parted ways many years ago, the results of the conflict can still be seen today. In 1989, RCA deleted all of Rogers' solo albums soon after he signed back to Reprise, where he used to record when he was a rock artist with his former group, The First Edition. Rogers, in turn, took the rights to those albums with him as RCA refused to keep them, with only Once Upon A Christmas (a 1984 album of seasonal duets with Parton) remaining in print. Recent CD reissues of that album have omitted the tracks on which Rogers sang solo.

Other RCA labels[link]

• RCA Records (UK): A division of Sony Music UK, since 2006, which acts as an import label of American and multinational Sony Music artists, and also signs UK artists.
• RCA Red Seal Records: The prestigious RCA Red Seal classical music label is now part of Sony Masterworks.
• RCA Records (France): A division of Sony Music France. Founded as RCA Cinematre in 1978. Renamed to its current name in 2006.
• RCA Records (Italy): A division of Sony Music Italy. Founded as RCA Italiana in 1949. It went bankrupt in 1987 and was bought by BMG. Reactivated in 2006.
• RCA Victor: The former name of RCA Records that currently distributes electronic, rock and soundtrack albums, such as The Sound of Music soundtrack, Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad, a handful of albums by Elvis Presley, and other classic albums. The current roster includes Imogen Heap and The Fashion.
• RCA Records (Australia): A division of Sony Music Australia. Founded in 1963 for Australian artists. Renamed to RCA Limited Australia and New Zealand in 1976 for Australian & New Zealandian artists. Renamed to its current name in 2006.

Previous labels[link]

• RCA Victor Label Group: The RCA Victor label group consisted of the RCA Victor, Windham Hill and Bluebird labels.
• RCA distributed labels: Colgems, Calendar/Kirshner, Metromedia, Chelsea, Grunt Records, Roadshow Records, Windstar, Midland International, Wooden Nickel, Millennium Planet and Tortoise International Records (Detroit)^[27]

Executives[link]

• Peter Edge: Chairman & CEO
• Tom Corson: President & COO

See also[link]

• List of RCA Records artists
• RCA Records Nashville
• RCA Studio B
• List of record labels

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official RCA Records website
• Official RCA Label Group UK website
• Historic photo gallery of RCA in Camden, N.J.
• Video Interview with Bob Jamieson, former CEO & Chairman of RCA
• RCA Victor Discography
• RCA A&R team contact list
• Internet Archive: Command Performance (1942) - How RCA records are made, narrated by Milton Cross.
• Berliner Gramophone Company, whose Canadian operation became RCA Victor of Canada
• Camden Building History
• History of RCA Victor record label designs
• The Rise and Fall of the Compact 33

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Milton John Cross (April 16, 1897 – January 3, 1975) was an American radio announcer famous for his work on the NBC and ABC radio networks.

He was best known as the voice of the Metropolitan Opera, hosting its Saturday afternoon radio broadcasts for 43 years, from the time of their inception in 1931 until his death in 1975.^[1]

Biography[link]

Born in New York City, Cross started his career just as network radio itself was in its earliest stages. He joined the New Jersey station WJZ in 1921, not just as an announcer but also as a singer, often enaging in recitals with the station's staff pianist, Keith McLeod. ^[2] By 1927, WJZ had moved to Manhattan and had become the flagship station of the Blue Network of NBC's new national radio network. Cross' voice became familiar as he not only delivered announcements for the Blue Network but also hosted a number of popular programs. Cross was the announcer for the quiz program Information Please and the musical humor show The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street, among others.

Metropolitan Opera broadcasts[link]

It is as the host of the Metropolitan Opera's broadcasts that Cross will be most remembered. His distinctive voice conveyed the excitement of live performances "from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City" for generations of radio listeners. Initially, he broadcast from a seat in "Box 44" at the old Metropolitan Opera House at Broadway and 40th Street. In 1966, he introduced the radio audience to the Met's new home at Lincoln Center as he hosted a special broadcast of the opening night performance from a modern radio booth in the new house.

In 43 seasons he missed only two broadcasts, due to the death of his wife. Cross never retired but died in New York from a heart attack during the Met season of 1974-75. He was succeeded by Peter Allen, who had been his standby announcer.

A native New Yorker, Cross died in New York City where he had lived all his life. He is interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, NY.

Books[link]

Cross edited several popular editions of opera synopses, published in conjunction with the Met broadcasts. He also co-authored (with David Ewen) Milton Cross' Encyclopedia of the Great Composers and their Music — a set of biographies of 78 composers, published in 1953 by Doubleday & Co.

Popular culture[link]

Cross was parodied in Peter Schickele's album, "P.D.Q. Bach: The Stoned Guest." Will Jordan played "Milton Host," the host for the opera quiz, with a voice strikingly similar to Cross'.

References[link]

See also[link]

• WABC (AM) WJZ history

External links[link]

• Musicradio77.com Milton Cross profile
• The New York Times photo
• Milton Cross at Find a Grave
• Milton Cross at the Internet Movie Database

Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994^[1]) was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson. He is known for the hit singles "Everybody's Talkin'" (1969), "Without You" (1971), and "Coconut" (1972). Nilsson's career is also notable for the fact that he was one of the few major pop-rock recording artists of his era to achieve significant commercial success without ever performing major public concerts or undertaking regular tours.

He was awarded Grammys for two of his recordings; best male contemporary vocal in 1969 for "Everybody's Talkin'", the theme song to the Academy Award-winning movie Midnight Cowboy, and best male pop vocal in 1972 for "Without You."

Life and career[link]

Early years[link]

Nilsson was born in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York, in 1941. His paternal grandparents were Swedish circus performers and dancers, especially known for their "aerial ballet" (which is the title of one of Nilsson's albums). His father, Harry Edward Nilsson, Jr., abandoned the family when young Harry was three. An autobiographical reference to this is found in the opening to Nilsson's song "1941":

Well, in 1941, the happy father had a son

And in 1944, the father walked right out the door

Nilsson's "Daddy's Song" also refers to this period in Nilsson's childhood.^[2]

Nilsson grew up with his mother Bette and his younger half-sister. His younger half-brother Drake was left with family or friends during their moves between California and New York, sometimes living with a succession of relatives and stepfathers. His Uncle John, a mechanic in San Bernardino, California, helped Nilsson improve his vocal and musical abilities.^[3]

He had a half-brother and a half-sister through their mother. He also had three half-sisters and one half-brother through his father.^[2]

Because of the poor financial situation of his family, Nilsson worked from an early age, including a job at the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles. When the Paramount closed in 1960, Nilsson applied for a job at a bank, falsely stating he was a high school graduate on his application (he only completed ninth grade).^[3] He had an aptitude for computers, which were beginning to be employed by banks at the time. He performed so well that the bank retained him after discovering the lie about his education. He worked on bank computers at night, and in the daytime pursued his songwriting and singing career.^[3]

Musical beginnings[link]

As early as 1958, Nilsson was intrigued by emerging forms of popular music, especially rhythm and blues artists like Ray Charles. He had made early attempts at performing while he was working at the Paramount, forming a vocal duo with his friend Jerry Smith and singing close harmonies in the style of the Everly Brothers. The manager at a favorite hangout gave Nilsson a plastic ukulele, which he learned to play, and he later learned to play the guitar and piano. In the 2010 documentary Who is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him), Nilsson recalled that when he could not remember lyrics or parts of the melodies to popular songs, he created his own, which led to writing original songs.

Uncle John's singing lessons, along with Nilsson's natural talent, helped when he got a job singing demos for songwriter Scott Turner in 1960. Turner paid Nilsson five dollars for each track they recorded. (When Nilsson became famous, Turner decided to release these early recordings, and contacted Nilsson to work out a fair payment. Nilsson replied that he had already been paid — five dollars a track.).^[2]

In 1963, Nilsson began to have some early success as a songwriter, working with John Marascalco on a song for Little Richard. Upon hearing Nilsson sing, Little Richard reportedly remarked: "My! You sing good for a white boy!"^[3] Marascalco also financed some independent singles by Nilsson. One, "Baa Baa Blacksheep", was released under the pseudonym "Bo Pete" to some small local airplay. Another recording, "Donna, I Understand", convinced Mercury Records to offer Nilsson a contract, and release recordings by him under the name "Johnny Niles."^[3]

In 1964, Nilsson worked with Phil Spector, writing three songs with him. He also established a relationship with songwriter and publisher Perry Botkin, Jr., who began to find a market for Nilsson's songs. Botkin also gave Nilsson a key to his office, providing another place to write after hours.^[2] Through his association with Botkin, Nilsson met and became friends with musician, composer and arranger George Tipton, who was at the time working for Botkin as a music copyist. During 1964 Tipton invested his life savings - $2500 - to finance the recording of four Nilsson songs, which he arranged; they were able to sell the completed recordings to the Tower label, a recently-established subsidiary of Capitol Records, and the tracks were subsequently included on Nilsson's debut album. The fruitful association between Nilsson and Tipton continued after Nilsson signed with RCA Records - Tipton went on to create the arrangements for nearly all of Nilsson's RCA recordings between 1967 and 1971 but their association ended in the 1970s when the two fell out for unknown reasons. Whatever the cause, it was evidently a source of lingering resentment for Tipton, who was one of the few significant collaborators who refused to participate in the 2010 documentary on Nilsson's life and career.

Nilsson's recording contract was picked up by Tower Records, which in 1966 released the first singles actually credited to him by name, as well as the debut album Spotlight on Nilsson. None of Nilsson's Tower releases charted or gained much critical attention, although his songs were being recorded by Glen Campbell, Fred Astaire, The Shangri-Las, The Yardbirds, and others. Despite his growing success, Nilsson remained on the night shift at the bank.^[2]

Signing with RCA Victor[link]

Nilsson signed with RCA Victor in 1966 and released an album the following year, Pandemonium Shadow Show, which was a critical (if not commercial) success. Music industry insiders were impressed both with the songwriting and with Nilsson's pure-toned, multi-octave vocals. One such insider was Beatles press officer Derek Taylor, who bought an entire box of copies of the album to share this new sound with others. With a major-label release, and continued songwriting success (most notably with The Monkees, who had a hit with Nilsson's "Cuddly Toy"^[4] after meeting him through their producer Chip Douglas), Nilsson finally felt secure enough in the music business to quit his job with the bank. Monkees member Micky Dolenz maintained a close friendship until Nilsson's death in 1994.

Some of the albums from Derek Taylor's box eventually ended up with the Beatles themselves,^[5] who quickly became Nilsson fans. This may have been helped by the track "You Can't Do That", in which Nilsson covered one Beatles song but added 22 others in the multi-tracked background vocals. When John Lennon and Paul McCartney held a press conference in 1968 to announce the formation of Apple Corps, John was asked to name his favorite American artist. He replied, "Nilsson". Paul was then asked to name his favorite American group. He replied, "Nilsson".^[2]

Aided by the Beatles' praise, "You Can't Do That" became a minor hit in the US, and a top 10 hit in Canada.^[2]

When RCA had asked if there was anything special he wanted as a signing premium, Nilsson asked for his own office at RCA, being used to working out of one. In the weeks after the Apple press conference, Nilsson's office phone began ringing constantly, with offers and requests for interviews and inquiries about his performing schedule. Nilsson usually answered the calls himself, surprising the callers, and answered questions candidly. (He recalled years later the flow of a typical conversation: "When did you play last?" "I didn't." "Where have you played before?" "I haven't." "When will you be playing next?" "I don't.") Nilsson acquired a manager, who steered him into a handful of TV guest appearances, and a brief run of stage performances in Europe set up by RCA. He disliked the experiences he had, though, and decided to stick to the recording studio. He later admitted this was a huge mistake on his part.^[2]

Once John Lennon called and praised Pandemonium Shadow Show, which he had listened to in a 36-hour marathon.^[3] Paul McCartney called the following day, also expressing his admiration. Eventually a message came, inviting him to London to meet the Beatles, watch them at work, and possibly sign with Apple Corps.

Pandemonium Shadow Show was followed in 1968 by Aerial Ballet, an album that included Nilsson's rendition of Fred Neil's song "Everybody's Talkin'". A minor US hit at the time of release (and a top 40 hit in Canada), the song would become extremely popular a year later when it was featured in the film Midnight Cowboy, and it would earn Nilsson his first Grammy Award.^[4] The song would also become Nilsson's first US top 10 hit, reaching #6, and his first Canadian #1.

Aerial Ballet also contained Nilsson's version of his own composition, "One", which was later taken to the top 5 of the US charts by Three Dog Night and also successfully covered in Australia by John Farnham. Nilsson was also commissioned at this time to write and perform the theme song for the ABC television series The Courtship of Eddie's Father. The result, "Best Friend", was very popular, but Nilsson never released the song on record; the original version of the song (entitled "Girlfriend") was recorded during the making of Aerial Ballet but not included on that LP, and it eventually appeared on the 1995 Personal Best anthology. Late in 1968, The Monkees' notorious experimental film Head premiered, featuring a memorable song-and-dance sequence with Davy Jones and Toni Basil performing Nilsson's composition "Daddy's Song." (This is followed by Frank Zappa's cameo as "The Critic," who dismisses the 1920s-style tune as "pretty white.")^[2]

With the success of Nilsson's RCA recordings, Tower re-issued or re-packaged many of their early Nilsson recordings in various formats. All of these re-issues failed to chart, including a 1969 single "Good Times".^[2]

Chart success[link]

Nilsson's next album, Harry (1969), was his first to hit the charts, and also provided a Top 40 single with "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" (written as a contender for the theme to Midnight Cowboy), used in the Sophia Loren movie La Mortadella (1971) (US title: Lady Liberty). While the album still presented Nilsson as primarily a songwriter, his astute choice of cover material included, this time, a song by a then-little-known composer named Randy Newman, "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear." Nilsson was so impressed with Newman's talent that he devoted his entire next album to Newman compositions, with Newman himself playing piano behind Nilsson's multi-tracked vocals.^[3] The result, Nilsson Sings Newman (1970), was commercially disappointing but was named Record of the Year by Stereo Review magazine and provided momentum to Newman's career.^[3] The self-produced Nilsson Sings Newman also marked the end of his collaboration with RCA staff producer Rick Jarrard, who recounted in the Nilsson documentary that the partnership was terminated by a phone call from Nilsson, who abruptly informed Jarrard that he wanted to work with other producers, and the two never met or spoke again.^[2]

Nilsson's next project was an animated film, The Point!, created with animation director Fred Wolf, and broadcast on ABC television on February 2, 1971, as an "ABC Movie of the Week". Nilsson's self-produced album of songs from The Point! was well received, and it spawned a hit single, "Me and My Arrow".^[2]

Later that year, Nilsson went to England with producer Richard Perry to record what became the most successful album of his career. Nilsson Schmilsson yielded three very stylistically different hit singles. The first was a cover of Badfinger's song "Without You" (by Pete Ham and Tom Evans), featuring a highly emotional arrangement and soaring vocals to match - recorded, according to Perry, in a single take.^[2] His superb performance was rewarded with Nilsson's second Grammy Award.^[4]

The second single was "Coconut", a novelty calypso number featuring three characters (the narrator, the sister, and the doctor) all sung (at Perry's suggestion^[2]) in different voices by Nilsson. The song is best remembered for its chorus lyric, "Put de lime in de coconut, and drink 'em both up." Also notable is that the entire song is played using one chord, C 7th.

The third single, "Jump into the Fire", was raucous, screaming rock and roll, including a drum solo by Derek and the Dominos' Jim Gordon and a bass detuning by Herbie Flowers.

Nilsson followed quickly with Son of Schmilsson (1972), released while its predecessor was still in the charts. Besides the problem of competing with himself, Nilsson was by then ignoring most of Perry's production advice^[2] and his decision to give free rein to his bawdiness and bluntness on this release alienated some of his earlier, more conservative fan base. With lyrics like "I sang my balls off for you, baby", "Roll the world over / And give her a kiss and a feel", and the notorious "You're breaking my heart / You're tearing it apart / So fuck you"- a reference to his ongoing divorce, Nilsson had traveled far afield from his earlier work. Still, the album reached 12 in the US Hot 100 and the single "Spaceman" was a Top 40 hit. However, the follow-up single "Remember (Christmas)" stalled at #53. A third single, the tongue-in-cheek C&W send up "Joy", was issued on RCA's country imprint Green and credited to Buck Earle, but it failed to chart.^[2]

Maverick[link]

Nilsson's disregard for commercialism in favor of artistic satisfaction showed itself in his next release, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (1973). Performing a selection of pop standards by the likes of Berlin, Kalmar and Ruby, Nilsson sang in front of an orchestra arranged and conducted by veteran Gordon Jenkins in sessions produced by Derek Taylor. This musical endeavor did not do well commercially. The session was filmed, and broadcast as a television special by the BBC in the UK.^[2]

1973 found Nilsson back in California, and when John Lennon moved there during his separation from Yoko Ono, the two musicians rekindled their earlier friendship. Lennon was intent upon producing Nilsson's next album, much to Nilsson's delight. However, their time together in California became known much more for heavy drinking and drug use than it did for musical collaboration. In a widely publicized incident, they were ejected from the Troubadour nightclub in West Hollywood for drunken heckling of the Smothers Brothers.^[6] Both men also caused property damage during binges, with Lennon trashing a bedroom in Lou Adler's house, and Nilsson throwing a bottle through a 30-foot-high hotel window.

To make matters worse, Nilsson ruptured a vocal cord during the sessions for this album, but he hid the injury for fear that Lennon would call a halt to the production. The resulting album was Pussy Cats. In an effort to clean up,^[2] Lennon, Nilsson and Ringo Starr first rented a house together, then Lennon and Nilsson left for New York.^[2]

After the relative failure of his latest two albums, RCA Records considered dropping Nilsson's contract. In a show of friendship, Lennon accompanied Nilsson to negotiations, and both intimated to RCA that Lennon and Starr might want to sign with them, once their Apple Records contracts with EMI expired in 1975, but would not be interested if Nilsson were no longer with the label.^[3] RCA took the hint and re-signed Nilsson (adding a bonus clause, to apply to each new album completed), but neither Lennon nor Starr signed with RCA.

Nilsson's voice had mostly recovered by his next release, Duit on Mon Dei (1975), but neither it nor its follow-ups, Sandman and ...That's the Way It Is (both 1976) met with chart success. Finally, Nilsson recorded what he later considered to be his favorite album, 1977's Knnillssonn. With his voice strong again, and his songs exploring musical territory reminiscent of Harry or The Point!, Nilsson anticipated Knnillssonn to be a comeback album. RCA seemed to agree, and promised Nilsson a substantial marketing campaign for the album. However, the death of Elvis Presley caused RCA to ignore everything except meeting demand for Presley's back catalog, and the promised marketing push never happened^{[citation needed]}. This, combined with RCA releasing a Nilsson Greatest Hits collection without consulting him, prompted Nilsson to leave the label.^[2]

London flat[link]

Nilsson's 1970s London flat, at Flat #12, 9 Curzon Street on the edge of Mayfair, was a two-bedroom apartment decorated by the design company that Starr and Robin Cruikshank owned at that time. Nilsson cumulatively spent several years at the flat, which was located near Apple Records, the Playboy Club, Tramps disco and the homes of friends and business associates. Nilsson's work and interests took him to the US for extended periods, and while he was away he lent his place to numerous musician friends. During one of his absences, ex-Mamas and Papas singer Cass Elliot and a few members of her tour group stayed at the flat while she performed solo at the London Palladium, headlining with her Torch Songs and "Don't Call Me Mama Anymore." Following a strenuous performance with encores, Elliot returned to the flat to relax and sleep and was discovered in one of the bedrooms, dead of heart failure at 32, on July 29, 1974.^[3]

On September 7, 1978, The Who's drummer Keith Moon returned to the same room in the flat after a night out, and died at 32 from an overdose of Clomethiazole, a prescribed anti-alcohol drug.^[3] Nilsson, distraught over another friend's death in his flat, and having little need for the property, sold it to Moon's bandmate Pete Townshend and consolidated his life in Los Angeles.

Winding down[link]

Nilsson's musical work after leaving RCA Victor was sporadic. He wrote a musical, Zapata, with Perry Botkin, Jr., libretto by Allan Katz, which was produced and directed by longtime friend Bert Convy. The show was mounted at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut, but never had another production. He wrote all the songs for Robert Altman's movie-musical Popeye (1980),^[3] the score of which met with unfavorable reviews. Nilsson's Popeye compositions included several songs that were representative of Nilsson's acclaimed "Point" era, such as "Everything is Food" and "Sweethaven". The song "He Needs Me" featured years later in the film Punch-Drunk Love. Nilsson recorded one more album, Flash Harry, co-produced by Bruce Robb and Steve Cropper, which was released in the UK but not in the US. From this point onward, Nilsson increasingly began referring to himself as a "retired musician".

Nilsson was profoundly affected by the death of John Lennon on December 8, 1980. He joined the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and overcame his preference for privacy to make appearances for gun control fundraising. He began to appear at Beatlefest conventions and he would get on stage with the Beatlefest house band "Liverpool" to either sing some of his own songs or "Give Peace a Chance."^[2]

After a long hiatus from the studio, Nilsson started recording sporadically once again in the mid to late 1980s. Most of these recordings were commissioned songs for movies or television shows. One notable exception was his work on a Yoko Ono Lennon tribute album, Every Man Has A Woman (1984) (Polydor); another was a cover of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" recorded for Hal Willner's 1988 tribute album Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films. Nilsson donated his performance royalties from the song to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.^[2]

In 1985 Nilsson set up a production company, Hawkeye, to oversee various film, TV and multimedia projects he was involved in. He appointed his friend, satirist and screenwriter Terry Southern, as one of the principals. They collaborated on a number of screenplays including Obits (a Citizen Kane-style story about a journalist investigating an obituary notice) and The Telephone, a comedy about an unhinged unemployed actor.^[2]

The Telephone was virtually the only Hawkeye project that made it to the screen. It had been written with Robin Williams in mind but he turned it down; comedian-actress Whoopi Goldberg then signed on, with Southern's friend Rip Torn directing, but the project was troubled. Torn battled with Goldberg, who interfered in the production and constantly digressed from the script during shooting, and Torn was forced to plead with her to perform takes that stuck to the screenplay. Torn, Southern and Nilsson put together their own version of the film, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival in early 1988, but it was overtaken by the "official" version from the studio, and this version premiered to poor reviews in late January 1988. The project reportedly had some later success when adapted as a theatre piece in Germany.^[7]

In 1990, Hawkeye floundered and Nilsson found himself in a dire financial situation after it was discovered that his financial adviser Cindy Sims had embezzled all the funds he had earned as a recording artist. The Nilssons were left with $300 in the bank and a mountain of debt, while Sims served less than two years and was released from prison in 1994 without making restitution.^[8]

In 1991, the Disney CD For Our Children, a compilation of children's music performed by celebrities to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, included Nilsson's original composition "Blanket for a Sail," recorded at the Shandaliza Recording Studio in Los Angeles.^[2]

Nilsson made his last concert appearance September 1, 1992, when he joined Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band on stage at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada to sing "Without You" with Todd Rundgren handling the high notes. Afterwards, an emotional Ringo Starr embraced Nilsson on stage.^[2]

Death[link]

Nilsson suffered a massive heart attack in 1993. After surviving that, he began pressing his old label, RCA, to release a boxed-set retrospective of his career, and resumed recording, attempting to complete one final album. He finished the vocal tracks for the album with producer Mark Hudson, who still retains the tapes of that session.

Nilsson died of heart failure on January 15, 1994 in his Agoura Hills, California, home.

In 1995, the 2-CD anthology he worked on with RCA, Personal Best, was released.^[2]

Legacy[link]

Nilsson is the subject of a 2006 documentary, Who is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him) produced by David Leaf and John Schienfeld. The film was screened in 2006 at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Santa Barbara Film Festival. In August 2006, the film received its Los Angeles premiere when it was screened at the 7th Annual Mods & Rockers Film Festival followed by a panel discussion about Nilsson featuring the filmmakers and two friends of Nilsson, producer Richard Perry and attorney/executive producer Lee Blackman.^[2]

The filmmakers re-edited the film with found rare footage of Nilsson, further interviews, and family photographs, and finally released it on September 17, 2010 at selected theaters in the United States. A DVD, including additional footage not in the theatrical release, was released on October 26, 2010.^[2]

As of July 2010^[update], Nilsson's final album, tentatively titled Papa's Got a Brown New Robe (produced by Mark Hudson) has not been released, though several demos from the album are available on promotional CDs and online.^[2]

The musical Everyday Rapture features three songs by Nilsson.

Nilsson was survived by his third wife, Una (née O'Keeffe), and their six children (Annie, Beau, Ben, Kief, Olivia, Oscar), his son Zachary Nine Nilsson from his marriage to Diane Clatworthy, and one grandson (Caleb). He was married to Sandy Maganiello (1964 to 1966), Diane Clatworthy (1969 to 1974) and Una O'Keeffe (1976 to his passing in 1994).

Awards and nominations[link]

Nilsson won two Grammy Awards. He received several more Grammy nominations for the album Nilsson Schmilsson.^[9]

The New York Post rated Nilsson's cover of Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talking" #51 on their list of the 100 Best Cover Songs of All Time.^[10]

Discography[link]

Tribute albums[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

• Nilsson by Tipton (1970, Warner Bros. Records), Although it may not be considered a tribute, it featured George Tipton conducting instrumental versions of 11 Nilsson songs.

• For The Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson^[11] (1995, MusicMasters/BMG), featured Nilsson's songs performed by Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Richard Barone, Brian Wilson, Aimee Mann, Fred Schneider, and others, with proceeds benefitting the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

• "Pussy Cats" Starring The Walkmen. The whole of the Pussy Cats album covered by The Walkmen.

• I'll Never Leave You: A Tribute to Harry Nilsson (2005 Wood Records). A percentage of profits from sales of the CD went to benefit Amnesty International.

Filmography[link]

Note: this section is for songs Nilsson recorded specifically for film and television projects, as well as his few acting roles. Later use of Nilsson recordings are listed in the next section.

• Skidoo (1968) songs written and performed, soundtrack music composer, actor (bit role)
• The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (1969 TV Series) acted and sang—He appeared in the episode "The Music Maker", and his character name was Tim Seagirt. He sang "Without Her" and "If Only I Could Touch Your Hand."
• The Courtship of Eddie's Father (TV series, 1969–1972) theme song written and performed, incidental music
• Midnight Cowboy (1969) new version of "Everybody's Talkin'" performed
• Jenny (1970) song "Waiting" written and performed
• The Point! (1971) story, all songs written and performed
• Son of Dracula (1974) actor (lead role), all songs performed
• The World's Greatest Lover (1978) song "Ain't It Kinda Wonderful" performed
• In God We Tru$t (1980) new version of "Good For God" performed
• Popeye (1980) all songs written, except "I'm Popeye the Sailor Man"
• Handgun (1983) song "Lay Down Your Arms" written and performed
• First Impressions, (TV series, 1988) theme song co-written, performed
• Camp Candy (TV series, animated, 1989–1991) theme song written, and performed with John Candy
• The Fisher King (1991) song "How About You" performed
• Me, Myself, and I (1992) song "Me, Myself and I" written and performed

In film and television[link]

• The Monkees (1967, 2nd season) - "Cuddly Toy" (cover version by The Monkees)
• Head (1968) - "Daddy's Song" (cover version by The Monkees)
• The Ghost & Mrs. Muir (TV series) 1969 - "Without Her" and fragments of other songs
• Midnight Cowboy (1969) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Dusty and Sweets McGee (1971) - "Don't Leave Me"
• La Mortadella (1971) - "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City"
• The Muppet Show (1979, episode 410) - "Coconut"
• All That Jazz (1979) - "Perfect Day"
• Real Life (1979) - "Jump Into the Fire"
• Porridge (film version, 1979) - "Without You"
• Popeye (1980) - Soundtrack—all songs
• Ziggy's Gift (1982) - "Ziggy's Gift"
• Only Fools And Horses The Jolly Boys' Outing (1989) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Private School for Girls (1983) - "You're Breakin' My Heart"
• Goodfellas (1990) - "Jump Into the Fire"
• Reservoir Dogs (1992) - "Coconut"
• Caroline (animated short, 1993) - "Caroline"
• Forrest Gump (1994) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Duckman (1994 episode) - "Best Friend"
• Casino (1995) - "Without You"
• Seinfeld (1995 episode) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Beverly Hills, 90210 (1995 episode) - "Remember"
• The Craft (1996) - "Jump Into The Fire"(covered by Tripping Daisy)
• Angel on My Shoulder (1997)
• Contact (1997) - "Spaceman"
• Ellen Foster (1997) - "Remember"
• The Ice Storm (1997) - "Coconut"
• Practical Magic (1998) - "Coconut"
• You've Got Mail (1998) - "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City", "Remember", "The Puppy Song", "Over The Rainbow"
• Dick (1999) - "Coconut"
• Futurama - Brannigan Begin Again (1999) - "Everybody's Talkin"
• Magnolia (1999) - "One" (Aimee Mann's cover version opens with a sample from Cuddly Toy)
• High Fidelity (2000) - "The Moonbeam Song"
• Bridget Jones' Diary (2001) - "Without You"
• Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) - "Everything's Got 'Em", "Me And My Arrow"
• Black Books - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - "He Needs Me" (Shelley Duvall's version from Popeye)
• The Rules of Attraction (2002) - "Without You"
• Shanghai Knights (2003) - "One"
• Good Boy! (2003) - "The Puppy Song"
• Daddy Day Care (2003) - Jeff Garlin entertains the kids with "Coconut"
• That '70s Show (2004) - "Best Friend"
• Around the Bend (2004) - "Daddy's Song"
• The Girl Next Door (2004) - "Jump Into the Fire"
• House (2004) - "One"
• Max & Paddy's Road To Nowhere (UK) (2004, Series 1, episode 2) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Coke with Lime Ad (2005) - altered version of "Coconut"
• Breakfast on Pluto (2005) - "Me And My Arrow", "You're Breakin' My Heart", "The Moonbeam Song"
• Beyond Our Control (1967–1986) - "Remember" Closing theme for the series
• Little Man (2006) - "Best Friend"
• Crank (2006) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• Rob & Big (2006) - "Best Friend"
• American Dad (2006 episode 2.08) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• A Good Year (2007) - "How Can I Be Sure Of You" "Jump Into The Fire", "Gotta Get Up"
• Unison TV Advert (2007) - "One"
• DigitalUK TV Advert (2007) - "Everybody's Talkin'"
• My Name is Earl (2008 episode) - "Me And My Arrow"
• Life on Mars (2008 episode) - "Spaceman"
• Confessions Of A Shopaholic (2009) - "Don't Forget Me" (covered by Macy Gray)
• 44 Inch Chest (2009) - "Without You"
• You Don't Know Jack (film) (2010) - "Early in the Morning"
• Bones (TV series), 2011) - "Coconut"
• Red Dog (film), 2011) - "Jump Into The Fire"

References[link]

External links[link]

• For The Love Of Harry (rare recordings, articles, videos, photos)
• The Harry Nilsson Web Pages: A Little Touch of Schmilsson on the Net
• RareHarry: Email discussion group covering rare Harry Nilsson audio and video recordings
• Harry Nilsson Discography/Bibliography
• Harry Nilsson at the Internet Movie Database
• Podcast featuring Harry Nilsson
• "One Last Touch of Nilsson" by Dawn Eden (Goldmine magazine, April 29, 1994)
• Bruce Robb (producer)