Harry and Me: Memories of Harry Nilsson by the fans and musicians that loved him the most

by David Roberts, Neil Watson

Harry Nilsson was The Beatles’ favourite recording artist but terrified of performing live. Consequently, only a tiny minority of the hundreds of fans and musicians who contributed memories to this collection of stories ever saw him play in front of any kind of audience. But it’s the songs—“there’s nothing like them” according to Jimmy Webb—and his vocal style—“the supreme singer of any generation” says producer Richard Perry—that keep the love of Harry Nilsson lingering so long after his death aged just 52 in 1994. These very personal reflections by Harry on his career have been transcribed and added to the book and effectively make it Harry & Me … & Harry. Illustrated with rare and personal photos and memorabilia from the fans, Harry & Me is a beautifully designed treasure trove of the memories of a unique character who left an unforgettable legacy of some of the most life-affecting songs ever recorded.

400 pages, Hardcover

Published December 16, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
David Roberts is an English editor and novelist.
Roberts worked for several years as a book editor at Chatto and Windus, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and Michael O'Mara Books. Since 2000 he has been a full-time writer, best known for a series of crime novels set during the late 1930s, and featuring the joint adventures of Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne. The novels use actual historical events as a backdrop and there is an Author's Note at the back of the books briefly outlining what happened to the historical characters subsequently.
Publishers Weekly has described his novels as "well-researched" and "first-rate fun".

Reviews

[Little Nemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride!

These wonderful memories of Nilsson is a nice trip through some of the best songs of the 20th century (I state in full confidence of their being no dispute from any music lover)! I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to see how to honor a truly talented artist like Harry, although there are damn few artists as talented as he. I have been a true fan of Harry since the 60s and when I was a nightclub dj, would always get some Nilsson into the mix during the sessions and always had a choice of music from this one amazing talent to keep the audience engaged. This book is a wonderful tribute to this most talented man. Thank you for a great read to all who shared in the making of this book.

[David Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this book, which is mostly made up of various people's memories and takes on Nilsson and his career. Unfortunately, if you're not part of this round table, the cumulative effect is like that of being in a bar with a group of smart people and the opinions are flying around fast and furious... but you're not allowed to participate. I got so tired of wanting to speak up about this or refute that opinion that I just gave up about halfway through. Still, if you're not me, and you're a Nilsson fan, you'll find this of interest.