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Twisted Tales: The Curse of Lennon Pal Harry Nilsson's Death Crib

At a press conference in 1968, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were asked to name their favorite artists. Both Beatles singled out a virtual unknown named Harry Nilsson, who had just released a psychedelic pop album called 'Pandemonium Shadow Show.' It was a heady debut for the young singer from Brooklyn, who had only recently been cutting jingles for deodorant ads.

By the early 1970s, Nilsson was a bona fide pop star. His songs had been covered by the Monkees and Three Dog Night, and his version of Fred Neil's 'Everybody's Talkin'' won a Grammy after being featured as the theme to 'Midnight Cowboy.' Nilsson's melodramatic cover of Badfinger's 'Without You' was a No. 1 smash in 1972.

Having sat in on the 'White Album' sessions, he'd become good friends with Lennon and Ringo Starr. (Starr would lend his voice to 'The Point!,' Nilsson's animated fable featuring the hit song 'Me and My Arrow.') When the Beatle drummer wanted to make a horror spoof called 'Son of Dracula,' he asked Nilsson to star. Improbably, Starr was unaware that his friend's most recent album, 'Son of Schmilsson,' featured a cover image of the singer parodying old horror movies.

With film production in England, Nilsson took a flat in London's fashionable Mayfair district. A friend of Ringo's redecorated. When Nilsson moved in, he was dismayed to find a bad omen: In a bathroom with matching sinks, one of the mirrors had an image of an apple tree. The other had a hangman's noose.

After 'Son of Dracula' tanked, Nilsson headed back to California, where he and Lennon would soon partake in their infamously debauched "lost weekend" (which actually lasted about a year and a half) while making the album 'Pussy Cats' together. He began lending his London apartment to friends in the music business. After two sold-out shows at the London Palladium in July 1974, "Mama" Cass Elliot suffered a fatal heart attack in one of the beds in Nilsson's flat. (Contrary to the longstanding urban legend, the zaftig singer did not die from choking on a ham sandwich.)

Four years later, Keith Moon and his girlfriend retired to the same apartment after joining Paul and Linda McCartney at a screening of 'The Buddy Holly Story.' Trying to quit drinking, the Who drummer was treating his withdrawals with Clomethiazole. He died of an overdose of the sedative -- reportedly, in the same bed that Mama Cass had died in. Moon's last album with the Who, 'Who Are You,' had just been released. On the cover, the drummer was seated backward in a chair stamped "Not to Be Taken Away."

Appalled by the deaths of his friends, Nilsson sold the flat to Pete Townshend. From there, the once-prolific recording artist's career went quickly downhill. His visibility during the 1980s consisted largely of appearances on behalf of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, which he joined after the murder of his friend Lennon. Nilsson released only a few more albums, all widely ignored, before his own heart gave out in 1994.

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Charles Blythe

Bullshit to the whole thing !!

June 15 2009 at 3:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
hawg

I was blessed with seeing Gonzo and Keith Moon both play. I never saw that much energy in a single human; Keith Moon said he NEVER practiced, his shows were his practice"

June 15 2009 at 9:17 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
sandran712

MacArthur's Park may have been sung by other people .But, we all know it's famous by Donna Summer.

June 15 2009 at 8:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Kerry

someone left the cake out inthe rain is a line from the song MacArthurs Park written by Jimmy Webb , sung by Richard Harris

June 15 2009 at 7:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sheila

didn't nilsson sing the song with the words, 'someone left the cake out in the rain...'? stupid lyrics but good song.

June 15 2009 at 7:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Sheila's comment
HAPPYMAN

no... "Someone left the cake out in the rain" was a one hit wonder by McArthur Park.

June 15 2009 at 7:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
pmedved1515

I HEARD MAMMA CASS ROLLED OVER MOON IN BED THEN FELL ON TOP OF A HAM SANDWICH THAT BECAME LOGED IN HER THROGHT FOR TWO DAYS.

June 15 2009 at 6:42 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ROKNROLBILLY

i always thought kieth moon left us in a swiming pool? anyways, long live rock!!!!!!

June 15 2009 at 2:18 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to ROKNROLBILLY's comment
*Wizard Krystyn*

I think that was Brian Jones.

June 15 2009 at 3:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
LostStar

Well as Charlie Manson said..Ya live freaky, ya die freaky!

June 14 2009 at 11:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mike r

Curses sound interesting (look up the so-called Superman curse if you want to be amused at how dumb some people are), but Harry and Keith were drinking deaths just waiting to happen. Chicago area radio personality Garry Meier sat and watched Nilsson drink vodka straight for hours ... that'll kill almost anyone.

June 14 2009 at 9:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jules

In the words of Pete Townshend, "Long live rock. I need it every night." Sadly, too, "The Song Is Over" for both Mama Cass and Keith Moon. I was bummed in not seeing Moon perform with The Who. However, I've seen The Who live four times over the years and Ringo's son, Zach Starkey, was a great replacement and is certainly very capable and talented in his own right. It would be neat to have a drum-off or percussion contest between him and his Dad.
Another rumored home to be a death crib might be Jimmy Page's, where his bandmate and Led Zeppelin percussionist John Bonham and supposedly another person had perished during their stays. That was also a bummer for the rock and roll world, and me since I was hoping to see them perform live as Led Zep in my lifetime. However, similarly John Bonham's son, Jason, was a great addition to Foreigner and played some great Zep tributes during their tour for his dad.

June 14 2009 at 9:00 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply