Harry Nilsson

Although he synthesized disparate elements of both rock and pop traditions, singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson was at heart a maverick whose allegiance belonged to neither. He's best-known for his versions of other people's songs (Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'," Badfinger's "Without You," an entire album of Randy Newman songs), but he was a skilled composer and is recognized as a pop craftsman of the first order. His initial series of albums in the late '60s made him a personal favorite of the Beatles, who found a natural affinity with his knack for catchy melodies, witty lyri...