Nilsson – Without You

“Without You” – Single by Nilsson from the album Nilsson Schmilsson. Released October 11, 1971.
Songwriters: Pete Ham and Tom Evans.

This gut-wrenching ballad was originally released by Badfinger in 1970 and appeared on their second album, No Dice. Badfinger members Peter Ham and Tom Evans wrote it.

Ham had written a song called “Is This Love?” but wasn’t happy with the chorus. Evans came up with the “I can’t live if living is without you” chorus but had no verses for it, so they put the two songs together as one.

The Badfinger original wasn’t released as a single, so most people weren’t familiar with it. Nilsson’s version, laced with lush orchestration, became a huge hit, climbing to #1 US in February 1972 and staying for four weeks. Nilsson was known as a songwriter and wrote most of the songs he recorded, but two of his biggest hits were covers: “Without You” and “Everybody’s Talkin’.”

Nilsson first came across this song at a Laurel Canyon party in 1971 and thought it was a Beatles song. Badfinger was signed to Apple Records, The Beatles’ label, and their version of “Without You” was produced by Beatles associates Geoff Emerick and Mal Evans. Nilsson also had a Beatles connection: John Lennon helped launch his career when he referred to Harry as his “favorite American group.” He and Lennon enjoyed a destructive time together from 1973-1975 that became known as the “lost weekend.”
Nilsson’s version added an orchestra and gave the song a dramatic production. When Nilsson recorded it, he initially played the song slow and dark, accompanied only by piano. Producer Richard Perry recalled to Mojo magazine April 2008 that he had to persuade an unwilling Nilsson to record it as a big ballad: “I had to force him to take a shot with the rhythm section. Even while we were doing it, he’d be saying to the musicians, ‘This song’s awful.'”

After realising it was not, he decided to cover the song for his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson. According to Breihan, “He wanted his version of the song to be a stark, heavy solo-piano thing, but [producer Richard] Perry convinced him to turn it into a grand, crashing, theatrical monster-ballad, complete with orchestra.” Gary Wright, who worked with Badfinger on George Harrison’s projects, played the piano. Also featured are Klaus Voormann (bass), Jim Keltner (drums) and John Uribe (acoustic guitar). The string and horn arrangements are by Paul Buckmaster.

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Harry Nilsson -Without You

Harry Nilsson -Without You03:19

“Without You” is not the kind of song Nilsson, who died in 1994, would have written. His compositions were far more acerbic, and he took pains to avoid the topic of love (or lack of it).

This song made a lot of money for a lot of people, but for those most entitled to the windfall, it had tragic consequences. As the song’s writers, Peter Ham and Tom Evans should have been set for life, but Badfinger’s label, Apple Records, collapsed in 1973 and they never got their due. Despondent over career setbacks and overwhelmed by myriad legal difficulties, Ham hanged himself in 1975. In 1983, Evans followed suit, hanging himself from a willow tree after a bitter argument with Badfinger guitarist Joey Molland about the royalties for “Without You.”

As for Nilsson, he didn’t handle success well. Alcoholism ran in his family, and the fame and fortune from “Without You” triggered him to drink. He went into a downward spiral, and his career and health never recovered. Nilsson died of heart failure in 1994 at age 52.

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