NILSSON: the true one

mardi 24 avril 2018

Foto-Fi Four - The Beatles arrive in America!

The Beatles arrive in America!

STAND UP AND HOLLER by the Foto-Fi Four
(one of Harry’s pseudo in early days)

"Films of the BEATLES and a new song STAND UP AND HOLLER", that’s how the text on the back sleeve begins.

And a little further they claim : "Sing along with the new hit STAND UP AND HOLLER that was specially recorded for this film by the FOTO-FI Four" ...that should be Harry's pseudo for the occasion.

The Beatles came first to the USA in February 1964, to promote their upcoming USA tour by an appearance in the Ed Sullivan Show, two concerts in Carnegie Hall and at the Washington Coliseum. Their arrival at the airport, some press conferences and their concerts were filmed.

Harry, 22 years old, writes and sings this single as a Beatles tribute in a kind of Hey Bo Diddley style. A song released in August 1964 and co-written with another songwriter John Marascalco (co-author of classics like Good Golly Miss Molly, Rit It Up...).

Harry recorded several songs by songwriter John Marascalco at a demo session for Scott Turner in 1962. He recorded and co-authored several songs with him; these were released as singles under Nilsson's pseudonym Bo Pete.

The four-part vocals were recorded by Nilsson through multitracking.

An additional track added the harmonizing screams of backing vocalists, probably from Beach Girls, a girl group that had supported the Bo Pete record Baa Baa Blacksheep.

The single was packaged with an 8mn film reel of footage with The Beatles arrival in America in February 1964 (Ed Sullivan Show, Carnegie Hall, Washington Coliseum), so you could put them together to have images and music simultaneously.

Here come the famous Beatles on it

Look there's John, Paul, George and Ringo

One of them's taken but three are single

Yeah yeah!

A-side with Harry on vocal with girls screaming
to play along with the movie.

B-side with same tune minus the screaming girls.

A cover version was later released as "All for the Beatles

(Stand Up and Holler)" by The Originals.

Pandemonium Shadow Show Artwork

Pandemonium Shadow Show

Special artwork with a mix of front and back sleeve of Pandemonium Shadow Show + extra photographs from the recording session by E.J. Gold during the summer of 1967.

On those pictures, Harry is working with the young staff producer at RCA, Rick Jarrard, a former guitar player from Nashville, who produced the Jefferson Airplane (Surrealistic Pillow) or José Feliciano.

Jarrard produced Harry's first two albums, Pandemonium Shadow Show and Aerial Ballet, and part of his third album, Harry.

Also are present the recording engineer Dick Bogert (Dick "Knobbs" Bogert as it is said on the back sleeve), Harry's arranger and partner at "Vine St.Music" George Allison Tipton who produced Harry's first album at his own expense and backed the first few albums with time and talent.

Tipton has done a lot for Harry to boost his career.
Also some other studio musicians like the bass player Ray Brown.

Photographs by E.J. Gold (summer of 1967)

Mike Nesmith of The Monkees looking at the back sleeve of Pandemonium Shadow Show album with the artwork and pictures on it.

lundi 23 avril 2018

The True One motif

The motif 'Nilsson: the true one'

October 1967, Harry released his debut album
Pandemonium Shadow Show.

His label RCA tried to catch attention for his new signed young artist with a special design used for marketing campaign and all kind of promo items.

The "true one" motif was to dominate the promotion.
Full-page advertisements were placed in the music press and a promo box was released with 'Nilsson: the true one' motif. A box of delights sent to all and sundry in the media with different kind of items and some lines saying: "He's the sound of today... and he sings the total truth".

Inside is a copy of the LP, a very flowery biography, press-shits, press-photographs and also all kind of goodies like card, poster, balloons, stickers and badges proclaiming Nilsson to be "The True One".

HAVE FUN...
Join Nilsson's Circus !

NILSSON:
the true one

He's the sound of today... and he sings the total truth.
In this album, Nilsson delivers the message with such unique songs
as "Ten Little Indians," "You Can't Do That" and "1941."
The subject of a big promotion, Nilsson is phasing in as sign of the times listening.

Full-page advertisement in music magazine.

Opening a box of delights...

RCA Victor Special Popular Album Release, October 1967

Nilsson: the true one...

Featuring balloons in various colors (red, green, pink, white...)

Badges and buttons companions of promo campaigns for each albums

And a black box with Harry's face in the shadow on top of The true One promo-box

This special design with pink color was also used on record sleeves like a Japanese single issued with You Can’t Do That (/Ten Little Indians)

or later a Spanish single with his first hit Everybody’s Talkin’ (/Don’t Leave Me) made famous in 1969 as the theme song of John Schlesinger’s classic movie Midnight Cowboy.

You Can't Do That made in France

Harry et la France

A nice sleeve for this very first French single
with the Beatles medley You Can't Do That.
A quite rare and not easy to find record.

It was issued in October 1967 with reference 49.517
and no need to say that it didn't sell very well at that time in France.

That's probably why this one is so hard to find. And most of all, it was released long before the very first LP was out in France
(French people had to wait March 1970 to get Harry on LP).

This single is also unique because of the nice black & white picture sleeve taken from a photo session by Bob Beckhard shot in studio during the recording session of Harry's first album Pandemonium Shadow Show in summer 67.

A unique and funny picture that was only used for promotional purpose but not on record sleeve, for any other countries.

The whole photo session is great and has a lot of fabulous pictures that you can find on this page, The True One page.

The track You Can't Do That is arranged by George Tipton and produced by Rick Jarrard, as for the other tracks of the album Pandemonium Shadow Show, It's not only a Beatles cover but an inventive medley mixing maximum Fab songs into a true performance that fits in a 2’16 timing.

Medley includes:
You Can't Do That, She's a Woman, I'm Down, Drive My Car, You're Gonna Lose that Girl, Good Day Sunshine, Hard Day's Night, Rain, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Day Tripper, Paperback Writer, You Won't See Me, Do You Want To Know A secret, Norwegian Wood, Yesterday, Strawberry Fields Forever.

The recording is a true inventive creation using some beautiful multi-tracked backing vocals with Harry’s voice with the help of his three-and-a-half octave range.

John Lennon was very impressed by this version and loved the album so much he played it consecutively into a 36-hour marathon. That’s part of the legend but also the beginning of a true friendship in the 70’s.

From that photo-session, some of the photographs are funny with Harry sitting out of a window in the wall, clapping hands with his kind of smile.

One of them was used for a cover of the French single with this nice design and contrast between black & white picture and red letters.

Photo session by Bob Beckhard in studio during the recording session of Harry's debut album Pandemonium Shadow Show in summer 67.

A few of the photographs were used for promotion purpose like those press-photographs that were sent to music business

They are all in black & white, Harry sits at the piano or stands behind the microphone, in his little dark suit, black tie.

On the French single
from Oct. 1967:

Nilsson. You can’t do that 2’16
(Lennon; Mac Cartney)
Arranged by G. Tipton
Produced by R. Jarrard

Harry in early French pressing

Harry et la France

Early albums and singles in original French pressing.

Most of them issued in the same year 1970.

Typical French covers that make a particular discography

in the way that they were not used for any other countries.

Both LP’s presented here are compilations issued right after

the success of John Schlesinger’s classic movie Midnight Cowboy and the hit song from the OST, Everybody's Talkin'.

They are equally composed from the three first RCA original LPs issued in US a few years before (1967/1969) called Pandemonium Shadow Show, Aerial Ballet, Harry. So, that makes two LP's out of three.

Five singles made in France in late 60's with very specific sleeves, that a good way to discover Harry's songs like You Can't Do That, Ten Little Indians, Everybody's Talkin', Don't Leave Me, I Will Take You There, Rainmaker, I Guess The Lord Must Be In New-York City, and Maybe.

A very first French single is the Beatles medley You Can't Do That and is quite rare and not easy to find.

It was issued in October 1967 with reference 49.517 and no need to say that it didn't sell very well at that time in France.

That's probably why this one is so hard to find. And most of all, it was released long before the very first LP was out in France (French people had to wait March 1970 to get Harry on LP).

The second French single is the hit song Everybody's Talkin' and was issued in September 1968 and has the reference 49.562.

It was from Harry's second LP on RCA Victor, Aerial Ballet.

The same single was re-issued later in 1969 with the same reference for the movie Midnight Cowboy but a different cover with a picture of Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman taken from the movie.