Sunday May 3, 2020 “I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City” Nilsson
Not exactly a Sunday song but it does have the Lord in the title and lyrics and I was looking for an opportunity to get to Harry Nilsson, an amazing singer/songwriter who never achieved the wide success he should have because he refused to tour and made few public appearances, excepting perhaps the legendary Los Angeles drunken escapades with his friend John Lennon as they were working on one of Harry’s albums.
This particular tune was Harry Nilsson’s submission for the theme song for the controversial, 1970 Dustin Hoffman/Jon Voight movie “Midnight Cowboy”. The producers liked Harry’s voice but favored another song submitted by Fred Neil, “Everybody’s Talkin” which Harry recorded and earned a Grammy for. In a world of irony, for all the great songs Harry Nilsson wrote his only Grammy’s were for two songs which were composed by other writers.
If you don’t know Nilsson’s music you owe it to yourself to check out his catalog of memorable tunes, compelling lyrics, a wide array of musical styles and some great vocals. He also wrote one of the more memorable break-up songs ever, “You’re Breaking My Heart” but it never got any radio airplay due to its lyrical content…which is absolutely not suitable for younger listeners...or Sundays.
Stay safe and well… and we all will breathe free in New York City again.