Editing Harry Nilsson (section)

===1967–1968: Signing with RCA Victor===
[[File:Harry Nilsson.png|thumb|right|Nilsson in 1967]]
[[File:Nilsson-everybodys-talkin-rca-victor-US-vinyl-1969-rerelease.jpg|thumb|"Everybody's Talkin{{'"}} US vinyl 1969]]
Nilsson signed with RCA Victor in 1966 and released an album the following year, ''[[Pandemonium Shadow Show]]'', which was a critical success. Music industry insiders were impressed both with the songwriting and with Nilsson's pure-toned, multi-octave vocals. One such insider was [[The Beatles|Beatles]] press officer [[Derek Taylor]], who bought an entire box of copies of the album to share this new sound with others. With a major-label release, and continued songwriting success (most notably with [[the Monkees]], who recorded Nilsson's "Cuddly Toy"<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05EFD81E31F935A25752C0A962958260 |title=Harry Nilsson, Singer, Dies at 52 |work=The New York Times |date=January 16, 1994 |access-date=March 28, 2008 |first=Richard D. |last=Lyons}}</ref> after meeting him through their producer [[Chip Douglas]]), Nilsson finally felt secure enough in the music business to quit his job with the bank. [[Monkees]] member [[Micky Dolenz]] maintained a close friendship until Nilsson's death in 1994.

Some of the albums from Derek Taylor's box eventually ended up with the Beatles themselves,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nilssonschmilsson.com/harry-nilsson-biography.html |title=Harry Nilsson Biography |publisher=NilssonSchmilsson.com |year=2008 |access-date=March 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617102728/http://www.nilssonschmilsson.com/harry-nilsson-biography.html |archive-date=June 17, 2008  }}</ref> who quickly became Nilsson fans. This may have been helped by the track "[[You Can't Do That]]", in which Nilsson covered the John Lennon penned tune – and also worked references to 17 other Beatles tunes in the mix, usually by quoting snippets of Beatles lyrics in the multi-layered backing vocals. When [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]] held a press conference in 1968 to announce the formation of the [[Apple Corps]], Lennon was asked to name his favorite American artist. He replied, "Nilsson". McCartney was then asked to name his favorite American group. He replied, "Nilsson".<ref name="Who is" />

"[[You Can't Do That]]" was Nilsson's first hit as a performer; though it stalled at No. 122 on the US charts, it hit the top 10 in Canada.<ref name="Who is" />

When RCA had asked if there was anything special he wanted as a signing premium, Nilsson asked for his own office at RCA, being used to working out of one. In the weeks after the Beatles' Apple press conference, Nilsson's office phone began ringing constantly, with offers and requests for interviews and inquiries about his performing schedule. Nilsson usually answered the calls himself, surprising the callers, and answered questions candidly. (He recalled years later the flow of a typical conversation: "When did you play last?" "I didn't." "Where have you played before?" "I haven't." "When will you be playing next?" "I don't.") Nilsson acquired a manager, who steered him into a handful of TV guest appearances, and a brief run of stage performances in Europe set up by RCA. He disliked the experiences he had, though, and decided to stick to the recording studio. He later admitted this was a huge mistake on his part.<ref name="Who is" />

John Lennon called and praised ''Pandemonium Shadow Show'', which he had listened to in a 36-hour marathon.<ref name="Eden" /> Paul McCartney called the following day, also expressing his admiration. Eventually a message came, inviting him to London to meet the Beatles, watch them at work, and possibly sign with Apple.

''Pandemonium Shadow Show'' was followed in 1968 by ''[[Aerial Ballet]]'', an album that included Nilsson's rendition of [[Fred Neil]]'s song "[[Everybody's Talkin']]{{-"}}. A minor US hit at the time of release (and a top 40 hit in Canada), the song would become more popular a year later when it was featured in the film ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'', and it would earn Nilsson his first [[Grammy Award]].<ref name="NYT" /> The song would also become Nilsson's first US top 10 hit, reaching No. 6, and his first Canadian #1.{{sfn|Shipton|2013|pp=65–96}}

''Aerial Ballet'' also contained Nilsson's version of his composition [[One (Harry Nilsson song)|"One"]], which was later taken to the top 5 of the US charts by [[Three Dog Night]] and also successfully covered in Australia by [[John Farnham]]. Nilsson was commissioned at this time to write and perform the theme song for the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] television series ''[[The Courtship of Eddie's Father (TV series)|The Courtship of Eddie's Father]]''. The result, "Best Friend", was very popular, but Nilsson never released the song on record; the original version of the song (titled "Girlfriend") was recorded during the making of ''Aerial Ballet'' but not included on that LP, and it eventually appeared on the 1995 ''Personal Best'' anthology, and as a bonus track on a later release of ''Aerial Ballet''. Late in 1968, [[the Monkees]]' notorious experimental film ''[[Head (film)|Head]]'' premiered, featuring a memorable song-and-dance sequence with [[Davy Jones (actor)|Davy Jones]] and [[Toni Basil]] performing Nilsson's composition "Daddy's Song". (This is followed by [[Frank Zappa]]'s cameo as "The Critic", who dismisses the 1920s-style tune as "pretty white".)<ref name="Who is" />

With the success of Nilsson's RCA recordings, Tower re-issued or re-packaged many of their early Nilsson recordings in various formats. All of these reissues failed to chart, including a 1969 single "Good Times".<ref name="Who is" /> This track, however, was resurrected as a duet with Micky Dolenz for the 2016 Monkees' [[Good Times!|album of the same name]] by adding additional parts to an unused Monkees backing track recorded in 1968.