Son of Dracula is a musical comedy film released in 1974 by Apple Films, starring Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. It is also the title of a Harry Nilsson album released in conjunction with the film. It includes Nilsson songs that were showcased in the film as well as portions of dialogue, used as bridging sequences. All song tracks with the exception of "Daybreak" are from Nilsson Schmilsson (1971) and Son of Schmilsson (1972), albums previously released.
Ringo Starr appears as Merlin the Magician, who follows the birth and rise of young Count Downe, played by Harry Nilsson. Starr and Nilsson were longtime friends, and Starr had played drums on Son of Schmilsson, which had spoofed horror movie motifs. A year or so later, Starr decided to make a rock and roll Dracula movie, and invited Nilsson to come on board. Nilsson thought at first the whole idea came from his recent album; as it turned out, Starr hadn't followed its release, and until then-wife Maureen brought him a copy, he didn't even know Nilsson had already used a similar theme.
Making the movie, both Nilsson and Starr came to realise it wasn't going to be a great piece of cinematic art, though they still enjoyed their time on the set. After its release, not even wooden stakes were needed to put the movie in its coffin, seemingly once and for all. Showings over the years have been limited to midnight movies and similar outlets, no official home video release has ever been made, and reviewers including Leonard Maltin have little positive to say about the film.
The LP release of the soundtrack album included a T-shirt iron-on advertising the movie, and a companion songbook included a reproduction of the movie poster. The single version of "Daybreak" edited out the words "it's pissing me off" (referring to daylight), repeating the lyric "it's making me cough" instead, and the fadeout is longer than in any LP or CD release of the song. ("Daybreak" was covered later by Nilsson friend and former Monkee Micky Dolenz.)
Keith Moon, legendary drummer of English rock band the Who, as well as John Bonham, legendary drummer of Led Zeppelin, make appearances in the film, drumming in the Count's band. Among the notables credited on the album were George Harrison and Peter Frampton, the later appearing courtesy of A&M Records. Klaus Voorman, who worked frequently with The Beatles, also played bass on many of the songs.
The story follows a motley group of characters, including Count Downe, who is a vampire dreaming of immortality. Just when he think it's safe to be a living dead fiend, he is approached about getting his life changed from a vampire to normal life by Dr. Van Helsing (Dennis Price), who claims he can help the Count become human. Other characters include a rock band, Baron Frankenstein (Freddie Jones) and a girl named Amber (Suzanna Leigh).
It is unknown if the film will ever come out officially on DVD. Harry Nillson brought a VHS copy of the film to show at the 1982 New Jersey Beatlefeast convention to be shown only at a special Friday night party that Convention host Mark Lapidos gives for the convention guests and vendors. Most party attendees ignored the film. According to journalist Peter Palmiere, Ringo has said in the late 1980s that he had a copy of the video lying on top of his TV set, but couldn't bear to look at it.
Soundtrack listing
1. It is he who will be king (Paul Buckmaster) – 3:07
2. "Daybreak" (Nilsson) – 2:43
3. "At My Front Door" (Ewart B. Abner, John C. Moore) – 2:40
4. Count Downe meets Merlin and Amber (Buckmaster) – 2:10
5. "The Moonbeam Song" (Nilsson) – 3:20
6. Perhaps this is all a dream (Buckmaster) – :47
7. "Remember" (Nilsson) – 4:09
8. Intro, "Without You" (Pete Ham, Tom Evans) – 3:47
9. The Count's vulnerability (Buckmaster) – 2:10
10. "Down" (Nilsson) – 3:07
11. Frankenstein, Merlin and the operation (Taverner) – 3:20
12. "Jump into the Fire" (Nilsson) – 3:16
13. The abdication of Count Downe (Buckmaster) – 1:10
14. The end (Moonbeam) – :49
Wikipedia
Showing posts with label harry nilsson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harry nilsson. Show all posts
Friday, August 19, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Did Somebody Drop His Mouse?
Unreleased 1972 documentary filming the making of Harry Nilsson's album Son of Schmilsson in London.
Cast
Harry Nilsson ... Himself / Narrator
Richard Perry ... Himself / Narrator
Ray Cooper ... Himself
Peter Frampton ... Himself
Nicky Hopkins ... Himself
Bobby Keys ... Himself
Henry Krein ... Himself (as Henry Krein Quartet)
Ringo Starr ... Himself
Stepney & Pinner Choir Club No.6 ... Themselves
John Uribe ... Himself
Klaus Voormann ... Himself
Cast
Harry Nilsson ... Himself / Narrator
Richard Perry ... Himself / Narrator
Ray Cooper ... Himself
Peter Frampton ... Himself
Nicky Hopkins ... Himself
Bobby Keys ... Himself
Henry Krein ... Himself (as Henry Krein Quartet)
Ringo Starr ... Himself
Stepney & Pinner Choir Club No.6 ... Themselves
John Uribe ... Himself
Klaus Voormann ... Himself
Friday, July 08, 2011
The Point!
The Point! is a fable and the sixth album by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson about a boy named Oblio, the only round-headed person in the Pointed Village, where by law everyone and everything had to have a point.
"I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, 'Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it.'" – Harry Nilsson
There have been, so far, at least three different renditions of The Point!, each featuring songs written by Nilsson to accompany the story. There has been an animated film, an album, and a musical play.
Story
The round-headed Oblio has had to wear a cap since birth to conceal his "pointless" condition from his pointy-headed peers. However, Oblio is accepted in the town despite his nonconformity until one day when the son of an evil Count in the land is unwittingly dishonored by Oblio. The Count's son challenges Oblio to a one-on-one game of Triangle Toss (where participants catch the triangle on their heads), which Oblio wins. In a fit of rage, the Count (who wants his son to rule the land one day) confronts the King, who is a good King, to reaffirm the law of the land, which states that those who are pointless must be banished from the kingdom and into the Pointless Forest. A jury reluctantly convicts both Oblio and his dog Arrow (who helped him win the Triangle Toss), leaving the king no choice but to send the pair away.
Oblio and Arrow are sent to the Pointless Forest, but soon discover that even the Pointless Forest has a point. They meet curious creatures like giant bees, a "pointed man" pointing in all directions who proclaims "A point in every direction is the same as no point at all", a man made of rock who helps Oblio see that everyone has a point (as in reason) though it might not be readily displayed.
Oblio and Arrow spend the night in the Pointless Forest, then awaken to a large stone hand with the finger pointing to their "destination". They take the road indicated by the hand and make their way back to the Land of Point, where they receive a heroes' welcome from the land's citizens, and the King. Oblio begins to tell his story but is interrupted by the furious Count, who is then silenced by the King.
Oblio tells the King and the people of the land that everything has a point, including the Pointless Forest, and himself. Unable to stand hearing what he believes is nonsense any longer, the Count pulls off Oblio's cap, but is taken aback when he sees a point on top of Oblio's bare head.
Upon this revelation, the points of everyone else in the land disappeared, and pointed buildings became round.
Animated film
The film version of The Point! first aired February 2, 1971, at 7:30pm on the ABC television network as an ABC Movie of the Week. The film was directed by Fred Wolf and produced by Murakami-Wolf Films in association with Nilsson House Music. In this version, there is a framing device of a father telling his son the fable as a bedtime story. In its initial airing, the voice of the father was provided by Dustin Hoffman, but for contractual reasons later airings of the film could not use Hoffman's voice and it had to be re-recorded. The initial re-recording was done by actor Alan Barzman. The VHS and DVD releases feature Ringo Starr as the father. Another version, seen on cable television in the '80s and '90s, featured narration by Alan Thicke. The voice of the son, and of Oblio, was provided by Mike Lookinland, an actor best known as young Bobby Brady on the television series The Brady Bunch.
Voice Cast
* Ringo Starr as Narrator/Father (home video release)
* Dustin Hoffman as Narrator/Father (first telecast)
* Alan Barzman as Narrator/Father (second telecast)
* Alan Thicke as Narrator/Father (third telecast)
* Paul Frees as Oblio's Father/Pointed Man's Right Head/King/Leaf Man/Villagers
* Lennie Weinrib as Count
* Bill Martin as Rock Man
* Buddy Foster as Count's Son
* Joan Gerber as Oblio's Mother
* Mike Lookinland as Oblio
Album
The Nilsson album called The Point! features the same songs as the film, and the same basic fable. However, the framing device of the father and son is discarded, and Nilsson himself tells the story directly to the listener, providing all the characters' voices as well as the narration.
A comic storyboard was included with the vinyl record when it was first released, enabling the listener to be more engaged in the story.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Harry Nilsson.
Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Everything's Got 'Em" 2:25
2. "The Town" (Narration) 1:31
3. "Me and My Arrow" 2:04
4. "The Game" (Narration) 1:49
5. "Poli High" 2:41
6. "The Trial and Banishment" (Narration) 2:11
7. "Think About Your Troubles" 2:49
Side two
No. Title Length
8. "The Pointed Man" (Narration) 2:42
9. "Life Line" 2:21
10. "The Birds" (Narration) 1:58
11. "P.O.V. Waltz" 2:12
12. "The Clearing in the Woods" (Narration) 1:53
13. "Are You Sleeping?" 2:17
14. "Oblio's Return" (Narration) 3:08
Musical play
In 1975, Esquire Jauchem, Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theater, approached Harry Nilsson about creating a stage musical of "The Point!" Although Nilsson said he had been asked many times and had always turned down the request, this time he granted his permission. Esquire Jauchem adapted and directed the production which starred 18-year-old David Morse (who went on to star in St. Elsewhere and many other roles) as Oblio.
The production was extremely successful with the press and the Boston audience. Harry Nilsson, along with his wife Una, attended the opening and wore a sign to the party following the performance which read "I loved it!". The show also received positive reviews from critics:
"Extraordinarily attractive...joyous and imaginative songs" – Eliot Norton, Boston Herald-American
"Fantasy comes to life ....and it's a very different production, using techniques and devices you don't see on stage every day – Associated Press
The same production later toured to the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence where it was again extremely well received by audiences and the critics.
In 1977, a stage adaptation of The Point! was presented at the Mermaid Theatre in London. Featured in the cast were Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz, both former members of the band The Monkees and long-time friends of Nilsson. In order to accommodate the expansion of The Point! to a full-length musical, other Nilsson songs from various points in his career were incorporated. An original cast album was released in the United Kingdom by MCA.
In 1991, Nilsson gave Esquire Jauchem permission to present his adaptation of The Point! in a Hollywood workshop. It was nominated as musical of the year and once again it received very good reviews:
"Imaginatively adapted...blends broad acting, balloon characters, Bunraku style puppetry, fog effects, strobe lighting and choreography by former Martha Graham troupe member Janet Eilber" – Time
"A well rounded POINT....the multilayered odyssey, with its jazz riffs and dreamy musical segues, satiric references to censorship, lawyers and politics, succeeds as an allegory....Nilsson's fabulous, quirkly songs" – L.A. Times
London credits
Cast
* Davy Jones as Oblio
* Micky Dolenz as Count's Kid and The Leafman
* Colin Bennett as The Count
* David Claridge as Arrow
* Veronica Clifford as Oblio's Mum, Balloon Lady
* Noel Howlett as The King
* Julia Lewis as Oblio's Girlfriend
* Clovissa Newcombe as Count's Lady, The Pointed Man
* Mark Penfold as The Pointed Man
* Felix Rice as The Rockman
* Chrissy Roberts as Balloon Lady
* Denny Ryder as The Pointed Man
* Roy Sampson as Oblio's Dad
* Gary Taylor as Balloon Man, New Bird
Backing vocals were provided by Anna Macleod, Richard Barnes, and Jean Gilbert.
Crew
* Directed by Colin Bennett
* Original adaptation by Ron Pember and Bernard Miles
* Designed by Peter Whiteman
* Lighting by Peter Sutton
* Choreography by Gillian Gregory
* Musical director Mike McNaught
Track listing, original cast recording
All titles were written by Harry Nilsson, except "Thursday" (Nilsson, Danny Kortchmar).
1. Overture – Orchestra
2. "Everything's Got 'Em" – Company
3. "Me and My Arrow" – Davy Jones
4. "Poli High" – Company
5. "Remember" – Veronica Clifford
6. "To Be a King" – Noel Howlett and Company
7. "He's Leaving Here This Morning (Bath)" – Micky Dolenz, Colin Bennett, Clovissa Newcombe
8. "Think About Your Troubles" – Davy Jones and Company
9. "Blanket For a Sail" – Davy Jones
10. "Life Line" – Davy Jones'
11. "Thursday (Here's Why I Did Not Go to Work Today)" – Felix Rice
12. "It's a Jungle Out There" – Micky Dolenz
13. "P.O.V. Waltz" – Davy Jones and Company
14. "Are You Sleeping? (Song Title)" – Davy Jones and Company
15. "Gotta Get Up" – Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz
16. Reprise Overture – Orchestra
Pop-culture references
* The chorus of the title track on Blackalicious' 2002 album Blazing Arrow uses a sample of the chorus of "Me And My Arrow" (from the 1971 album) as a centerpiece.
* A cover of the song "Think About Your Troubles" was recorded by Belly for the album: Safe and Sound: A Benefit in Response to the Brookline Clinic Violence (1996).
* The song "Me and My Arrow" was used in television commercials in the United States promoting the Plymouth Arrow during the 1970s. When Plymouth approached Nilsson about licensing the tune, Nilsson told them they could use the song in exchange for a Mercedes. Negotiation stalled, but eventually, Plymouth agreed and purchased the car.
* The board game "Balderdash" featured this movie on one of the trivia questions. Players were given the name of the movie and had to guess what is was about.
* The album Songs From The Point features cover versions of the entire album, recorded by assorted prominent artists, mostly from the Indie area.
Wikipedia
"I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, 'Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn't, then there's a point to it.'" – Harry Nilsson
There have been, so far, at least three different renditions of The Point!, each featuring songs written by Nilsson to accompany the story. There has been an animated film, an album, and a musical play.
Story
The round-headed Oblio has had to wear a cap since birth to conceal his "pointless" condition from his pointy-headed peers. However, Oblio is accepted in the town despite his nonconformity until one day when the son of an evil Count in the land is unwittingly dishonored by Oblio. The Count's son challenges Oblio to a one-on-one game of Triangle Toss (where participants catch the triangle on their heads), which Oblio wins. In a fit of rage, the Count (who wants his son to rule the land one day) confronts the King, who is a good King, to reaffirm the law of the land, which states that those who are pointless must be banished from the kingdom and into the Pointless Forest. A jury reluctantly convicts both Oblio and his dog Arrow (who helped him win the Triangle Toss), leaving the king no choice but to send the pair away.
Oblio and Arrow are sent to the Pointless Forest, but soon discover that even the Pointless Forest has a point. They meet curious creatures like giant bees, a "pointed man" pointing in all directions who proclaims "A point in every direction is the same as no point at all", a man made of rock who helps Oblio see that everyone has a point (as in reason) though it might not be readily displayed.
Oblio and Arrow spend the night in the Pointless Forest, then awaken to a large stone hand with the finger pointing to their "destination". They take the road indicated by the hand and make their way back to the Land of Point, where they receive a heroes' welcome from the land's citizens, and the King. Oblio begins to tell his story but is interrupted by the furious Count, who is then silenced by the King.
Oblio tells the King and the people of the land that everything has a point, including the Pointless Forest, and himself. Unable to stand hearing what he believes is nonsense any longer, the Count pulls off Oblio's cap, but is taken aback when he sees a point on top of Oblio's bare head.
Upon this revelation, the points of everyone else in the land disappeared, and pointed buildings became round.
Animated film
The film version of The Point! first aired February 2, 1971, at 7:30pm on the ABC television network as an ABC Movie of the Week. The film was directed by Fred Wolf and produced by Murakami-Wolf Films in association with Nilsson House Music. In this version, there is a framing device of a father telling his son the fable as a bedtime story. In its initial airing, the voice of the father was provided by Dustin Hoffman, but for contractual reasons later airings of the film could not use Hoffman's voice and it had to be re-recorded. The initial re-recording was done by actor Alan Barzman. The VHS and DVD releases feature Ringo Starr as the father. Another version, seen on cable television in the '80s and '90s, featured narration by Alan Thicke. The voice of the son, and of Oblio, was provided by Mike Lookinland, an actor best known as young Bobby Brady on the television series The Brady Bunch.
Voice Cast
* Ringo Starr as Narrator/Father (home video release)
* Dustin Hoffman as Narrator/Father (first telecast)
* Alan Barzman as Narrator/Father (second telecast)
* Alan Thicke as Narrator/Father (third telecast)
* Paul Frees as Oblio's Father/Pointed Man's Right Head/King/Leaf Man/Villagers
* Lennie Weinrib as Count
* Bill Martin as Rock Man
* Buddy Foster as Count's Son
* Joan Gerber as Oblio's Mother
* Mike Lookinland as Oblio
Album
The Nilsson album called The Point! features the same songs as the film, and the same basic fable. However, the framing device of the father and son is discarded, and Nilsson himself tells the story directly to the listener, providing all the characters' voices as well as the narration.
A comic storyboard was included with the vinyl record when it was first released, enabling the listener to be more engaged in the story.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Harry Nilsson.
Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Everything's Got 'Em" 2:25
2. "The Town" (Narration) 1:31
3. "Me and My Arrow" 2:04
4. "The Game" (Narration) 1:49
5. "Poli High" 2:41
6. "The Trial and Banishment" (Narration) 2:11
7. "Think About Your Troubles" 2:49
Side two
No. Title Length
8. "The Pointed Man" (Narration) 2:42
9. "Life Line" 2:21
10. "The Birds" (Narration) 1:58
11. "P.O.V. Waltz" 2:12
12. "The Clearing in the Woods" (Narration) 1:53
13. "Are You Sleeping?" 2:17
14. "Oblio's Return" (Narration) 3:08
Musical play
In 1975, Esquire Jauchem, Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theater, approached Harry Nilsson about creating a stage musical of "The Point!" Although Nilsson said he had been asked many times and had always turned down the request, this time he granted his permission. Esquire Jauchem adapted and directed the production which starred 18-year-old David Morse (who went on to star in St. Elsewhere and many other roles) as Oblio.
The production was extremely successful with the press and the Boston audience. Harry Nilsson, along with his wife Una, attended the opening and wore a sign to the party following the performance which read "I loved it!". The show also received positive reviews from critics:
"Extraordinarily attractive...joyous and imaginative songs" – Eliot Norton, Boston Herald-American
"Fantasy comes to life ....and it's a very different production, using techniques and devices you don't see on stage every day – Associated Press
The same production later toured to the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence where it was again extremely well received by audiences and the critics.
In 1977, a stage adaptation of The Point! was presented at the Mermaid Theatre in London. Featured in the cast were Davy Jones and Micky Dolenz, both former members of the band The Monkees and long-time friends of Nilsson. In order to accommodate the expansion of The Point! to a full-length musical, other Nilsson songs from various points in his career were incorporated. An original cast album was released in the United Kingdom by MCA.
In 1991, Nilsson gave Esquire Jauchem permission to present his adaptation of The Point! in a Hollywood workshop. It was nominated as musical of the year and once again it received very good reviews:
"Imaginatively adapted...blends broad acting, balloon characters, Bunraku style puppetry, fog effects, strobe lighting and choreography by former Martha Graham troupe member Janet Eilber" – Time
"A well rounded POINT....the multilayered odyssey, with its jazz riffs and dreamy musical segues, satiric references to censorship, lawyers and politics, succeeds as an allegory....Nilsson's fabulous, quirkly songs" – L.A. Times
London credits
Cast
* Davy Jones as Oblio
* Micky Dolenz as Count's Kid and The Leafman
* Colin Bennett as The Count
* David Claridge as Arrow
* Veronica Clifford as Oblio's Mum, Balloon Lady
* Noel Howlett as The King
* Julia Lewis as Oblio's Girlfriend
* Clovissa Newcombe as Count's Lady, The Pointed Man
* Mark Penfold as The Pointed Man
* Felix Rice as The Rockman
* Chrissy Roberts as Balloon Lady
* Denny Ryder as The Pointed Man
* Roy Sampson as Oblio's Dad
* Gary Taylor as Balloon Man, New Bird
Backing vocals were provided by Anna Macleod, Richard Barnes, and Jean Gilbert.
Crew
* Directed by Colin Bennett
* Original adaptation by Ron Pember and Bernard Miles
* Designed by Peter Whiteman
* Lighting by Peter Sutton
* Choreography by Gillian Gregory
* Musical director Mike McNaught
Track listing, original cast recording
All titles were written by Harry Nilsson, except "Thursday" (Nilsson, Danny Kortchmar).
1. Overture – Orchestra
2. "Everything's Got 'Em" – Company
3. "Me and My Arrow" – Davy Jones
4. "Poli High" – Company
5. "Remember" – Veronica Clifford
6. "To Be a King" – Noel Howlett and Company
7. "He's Leaving Here This Morning (Bath)" – Micky Dolenz, Colin Bennett, Clovissa Newcombe
8. "Think About Your Troubles" – Davy Jones and Company
9. "Blanket For a Sail" – Davy Jones
10. "Life Line" – Davy Jones'
11. "Thursday (Here's Why I Did Not Go to Work Today)" – Felix Rice
12. "It's a Jungle Out There" – Micky Dolenz
13. "P.O.V. Waltz" – Davy Jones and Company
14. "Are You Sleeping? (Song Title)" – Davy Jones and Company
15. "Gotta Get Up" – Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz
16. Reprise Overture – Orchestra
Pop-culture references
* The chorus of the title track on Blackalicious' 2002 album Blazing Arrow uses a sample of the chorus of "Me And My Arrow" (from the 1971 album) as a centerpiece.
* A cover of the song "Think About Your Troubles" was recorded by Belly for the album: Safe and Sound: A Benefit in Response to the Brookline Clinic Violence (1996).
* The song "Me and My Arrow" was used in television commercials in the United States promoting the Plymouth Arrow during the 1970s. When Plymouth approached Nilsson about licensing the tune, Nilsson told them they could use the song in exchange for a Mercedes. Negotiation stalled, but eventually, Plymouth agreed and purchased the car.
* The board game "Balderdash" featured this movie on one of the trivia questions. Players were given the name of the movie and had to guess what is was about.
* The album Songs From The Point features cover versions of the entire album, recorded by assorted prominent artists, mostly from the Indie area.
Wikipedia
Monday, May 10, 2010
Did the Beatles Sing "One is the Loneliest Number"?
No, the song, written and performed by Harry Nilsson (released on Aerial Ballet
The Beatles became fans of Nilsson after being given copies of his 1967 LP Pandemonium Shadow Show
One of Lennon's favorite tracks from Pandemonium Shadow Show was the album's closer, "River Deep - Mountain High"
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Testimony of Harry Nilsson, Executive Committee Members, National Coalition to Ban Handguns
Testimony of Harry NilssonExecutive Committee Member
National Coalition to Ban Handguns
Before the Subcommittee on Crime
Committee on the Judiciary
United States House of Representatives
February 24, 1988
Mr. HUGHES. Mr. Nilsson.
Mr. NILSSON. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I would first like to say I am very honored to be here. I would like to compliment Mrs. Brady for her courage and also her responsibility in taking care of her duties as a citizen. I am here for the same purpose.
I am Harry Nilsson and am speaking today on behalf of the National Coalition to Ban Handguns as a member of its executive board.
Although I primarily speak for the 33 religious, professional and civic organizations which make up the coalition, I have a personal commitment to ending handgun violence in America. I was always concerned about the issue, but became deeply involved with the coalition 7 years ago when my dear friend, John Lennon, became yet another victim.
Today you are hearing testimony on a bill that would be a first important step toward reducing handgun violence in this country. I urge you to support the strictest possible legislation mandating a waiting period and background check.
There are two House bills that deal with waiting periods. Although today's focus may be on H.R. 975, I urge you not to overlook too quickly the merits of H.R. 155, which calls for a 15-day waiting period and mandatory background check.
In California, where I live, there is a 15-day waiting period before the purchase of every handgun, which makes California's laws among the strictest in the country. Any Federal law that is passed should be at least as strict as the strictest State law already in effect. As California is the most populated State in the country, representing 11 percent of the entire U.S. population, the State's strict waiting period law should serve as a model of the minimum acceptable Federal standard.
This standard will vastly improve laws of many States that have lesser or no waiting periods, such as Mrs. Brady pointed out. In fact, there are several States with waiting periods already in effect that are more strict than H.R. 975 proposes. In total, more than 68 million people, or 28 percent of the U.S. population, already live in States or cities that have stricter laws than what is proposed in the 7-day waiting period bill.
A 15-day waiting period allows law enforcement time to complete a more thorough background check. Law enforcement officials in States with 7-day waiting periods have let us know that this time frame affords only sufficient time to complete a computer check for felony convictions. It is wholly insufficient to permit a check of whether the applicant is a member of another prohibited class, for instance, whether the applicant has ever been adjudicated mentally incompetent. Most importantly, a 15-day waiting period is but a minor inconvenience to lawful purchasers.
On this point, you have undoubtedly heard from the gun lobbyist that law-abiding citizens will be left without protection, vulnerable to criminal attack for the duration of any waiting period. The reality is a handgun is not a useful self-defense weapon. FBI figures show that only 193 people used a handgun to kill an assailant in self-defense in 1986. In stark contrast 22,000 Americans lost their lives to handgun violence in 1986.
I do not wish to convey the impression that the California law has been the solution to the problem of handgun violence in our State. California still has a significant problem with handgun violence with the freeway shootings and recent gang violence, but the 15-day waiting period has stopped thousands of prohibited persons from purchasing handguns, and it also serves as a "cooling-off" period for those who might buy a handgun in the heat of anger and use it impulsively.
The national legislation you are considering today is important in several respects. It will serve to reinforce State laws by setting a national, uniform minimum waiting period. Some of the problems with handgun violence experienced by States with meaningful waiting periods are caused by less stringent regulation in nearby States, as also was pointed out earlier, Virginia and DC, as examples. It is easy to see why we need a national standard. It is not asking a lot when you consider some of the statistics--54,000 persons lost their lives in 1963 to 1973 in Vietnam while 84,000 Americans lost their lives here with handguns. We barely blinked.
A meaningful waiting period and mandatory background check is only the first step in acting to reduce the shameful level of handgun violence afflicting our Nation today. The only real solution to the problem is a complete ban on the private possession of handguns with exceptions for law enforcement, trained security personnel, target shooters who keep their guns at a controlled target range and collectors who disable their weapons.
Only then will America begin to be free of the disease that has claimed the lives of 500,000 Americans since 1968. Only then will we not have to suffer the violent and senseless loss of our friends and families. I don't think I'm overstepping the bounds of friendship when I paraphrase John Lennon: "Imagine there's no handguns. It isn't hard to do."
After listening today, I wonder. It is hard to do. Imagine the 15-day waiting period. That isn't so hard to do. Fifteen days isn't asking too much. Seven may be asking not enough. I thank you very much.
Mr. HUGHES. Thank you very much, Mr. Nilsson.
[...]
Mr. LAWRENCE SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mrs. Brady and Mr. Nilsson, I sat through a lot of testimony today and you sat through it before, and you have heard it before. I hope it doesn't strike you as any more difficult to swallow than it was previously, in previous times or previous years, especially the testimony of the people who were on the last panel.
I find it odd that they continue to use statistics the way they want. You give us statistics referencing all the people that have been killed and they give us statistics that don't bear any relation to that at all, and it is amazing how one can juggle all the statistics and somehow in the capability to juggle, lose all these dead bodies.
That is what they are. They are just dead bodies and those over half million since 1968 represent not only dead people, but broken families, broken lives, economic loss of an incredible nature. I find it difficult to hear constantly that argument--"Well, maybe we don't have enough assets."
I haven't the faintest idea, couldn't even postulate on how much more it cost the U.S. Government and the taxpayers for these half million deaths and lost earnings capacity, welfare, which may have had to have been paid afterwards, social security benefits and the likes of the people killed than it would have cost to check all these background forms that might have to be filled out if there was a waiting period and some kind of background check.
I am going to congratulate you for your courage. Mrs. Brady, you have been here before. I am sure that you are frustrated. I am sure that you feel that there are a lot of good people in this country whose will is being thwarted by a small but significant minority.
I feel the same way. Mr. Nilsson, you have lost a friend. I have lost friends. Many of us have been touched with this crime. And I don't know, I really don't know what to do about it anymore. I am almost at a loss. Unless this Congress can throw off the yoke of the NRA, which most of Americans don't subscribe to anyway, over 96 percent of Americans don't, then I don't know how we are ever going to pass this legislation, and I am curious how you think we are going to generate the kind of support we need.
Are we going to be able to get good people out there once and for all to wake up and write letters or do they have to wait around until one of their family members gets maimed or killed. I don't know. I am as frustrated as you are.
Mr. NILSSON. Certainly. I am---
Mr. LAWRENCE SMITH. Anybody that can make an album called "Nilsson Schmilsson," has got to be one of the better people. I have it, too.
Mr. NILSSON. I like the name, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." I am as frustrated as anyone when I hear the talk about what does it cost. Yes, it will cost something, but what is a human life worth? Twenty-two thousand a year is--it can't cost that much if you pro rate or amortize that cost in terms of saving those lives and the broken families.
I also had a family member commit suicide with a handgun and two of my other friends also died because of handguns. Accessibility of handguns is the problem. Organizations for banning them, not confiscating them, banning the future manufacturers, interstate transportation, importation of guns and their parts, specifically plastic guns we talked about earlier, Glock 17's, which have no purpose on earth than to take human life.
How are we going to get it done? We do write letters and talk to each other. I think the best way is to expose the four people here before us and the rest of the country and see what they see when they listen to that lecture.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Corn Flakes with John Lennon and Other Tales from a Rock 'n' Roll Life
by Robert Hilburn
Introduction by Bono
Robert Hilburn’s storied career as a rock critic has allowed him a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of some of the most iconic figures of our time. He was the only music critic to visit Folsom Prison with Johnny Cash. He met John Lennon during his lost weekend period in Los Angeles and they became friends. Bob Dylan granted him his only interviews during his "born-again" period and the occasion of his 50th birthday. Michael Jackson invited Hilburn to watch cartoons with him in his bedroom. When Springsteen took to playing only old hits, Hilburn scolded him for turning his legendary concerts into oldies revues, and Springsteen changed his set list.
In this totally unique account of the symbiotic relationship between critic and musical artist, Hilburn reflects on the ways in which he has changed and been changed by the subjects he’s covered; Bono weighs in with an introduction about how Hilburn’s criticism influenced and altered his own development as a musician.
Corn Flakes with John Lennon is more than about one man’s adventures in rock and roll: It’s the gripping and untold story of how popular music reshapes the way we think about the world and helps to define the modern American character.
"[Hilburn] was always looking for subject matter that was fresh and patiently observed, what Van Morrison described as ‘the inarticulate speech of the heart.’ U2 was shambolic and erratic, but he seemed to see the ‘what might be’ in the ‘what was.’ Bob’s role as a critic was to encourage the suspension of disbelief not just in the audience, but in the artist as well. That is an environment in which music grows. He made us better."
--Bono
"So many great memories came flooding back to me when I read Corn Flakes With John Lennon. A must read for genuine music lovers."
--Elton John
"It’s impossible to read this book and not encounter passages that surprise, sadden and hearten. It¹s also impossible to read Corn Flakes With John Lennon and not recognize Robert Hilburn as the greatest interviewer in rock & roll history."
--Mikal Gilmore, author of Shot in the Heart and Night Beat: A Shadow History of Rock and Roll
"Hilburn's amazing resilience and commitment for music shines through his decades of reportage and reviews of music. On behalf of the musicians of the 60's on, I thank you for having been the communicator of our music with love."
--yoko ono, summer of 2009
"Beautifully written, and passionately told, this book captures the very essence of what it means to be someone who loves music."
-- Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven and Room Full of Mirrors.
"I never gave a damn for rock criticism until I read Robert Hilburn."
--Bernie Taupin
Excerpt
John Lennon raced into Yoko Ono's home office in the mammoth old Dakota building with a copy of Donna Summer's new single, "The Wanderer." "Listen!" he shouted as he put the 45 on the record player. "She's doing Elvis!" I didn't know what he was talking about at first. The arrangement felt more like rock than the singer's usual electro-disco approach, but the opening vocal sure sounded like Donna Summer to me. Midway through the song, however, her voice shifted into the playful, hiccuping style Elvis had used on so many of his early recordings.
"See! See!" John said, pointing at the speakers.
The record was John's way of saying hello again after five years. I had spent time with him in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, during the period he later referred to as his "lost weekend"--months when he was estranged from Yoko and spent many a night in notorious drinking bouts with his buddies Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. John got so boisterous one night that he was thrown out of the Troubadour, one of the city's landmark music clubs. He invited me to dinner a few times, and I later found out it was when he had an important business meeting the next morning and didn't want to wake up with a hangover. I got the nod over Harry and Ringo because I didn't drink anything stronger than Diet Coke. We would eat at a chic Chinese restaurant and then return to his suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Those hours would race by because we loved talking about our favorite rock hero, Elvis, which brings us back to "The Wanderer."
I've experienced hundreds of memorable concert and interview moments, so it's hard to rank them in any favorite order, but my final hours with John in New York are certainly on the short list. It was just weeks before his death in December of 1980, and his playing the Summer record was an endearing greeting--and one that was typical of John. Of the hundreds of musicians I've met, John was among the most down-to-earth.
I was in New York to spend three days with John and Yoko while they finished Double Fantasy, John's first collection of new material since the mostly forgettable Walls and Bridges six years earlier. He returned to New York after the "lost weekend" period and spent the next five years rebuilding his life with Yoko and helping to raise their son, Sean. On this day, he looked nice and trim in jeans, a jean jacket, and a white T-shirt. He was maybe twenty-five pounds slimmer than the last time I'd seen him. "It's Mother's macrobiotic diet," he said later, and employing his nickname for Yoko. "She makes sure I stay on it."
By the time we headed to the recording studio, it was nearly dark. As the limo pulled up to the studio's dimly lit entrance, I could see the outlines of a couple dozen fans in the shadows. They raced toward the car as soon as the driver opened John's door. Flashbulbs went off with blinding speed. Without a bodyguard, John was helpless, and I later asked if he didn't worry about his safety. "They don't mean any harm," he replied. "Besides, what can you do? You can't spend all your life hiding from people. You've got to get out and live some, don't you?"
Inside the studio, I heard several tracks from Double Fantasy, which was John's most revealing album since Imagine. Some critics branded the gentle, relaxed tone of the collection too soft. They missed the old Lennon bite. To me, however, the collection was a marvelous reflection of John's mood, and Grammy voters were right when they named it album of the year.
I spent hours at the apartment and the studio talking to John about the changes since Los Angeles. He felt at peace for one of the few times in his life. He was deeply in love with Yoko and thrilled to be a father again. He also spoke with affection about the Beatles days and how much he still looked forward to seeing Paul. That surprised me because of the sarcastic barbs he'd launched in interviews and the biting lyrics he'd written about Paul since the breakup of the band. "Aw, don't believe all that," he said, smiling. "Paul is like a brother. We've gotten way past all that." He also spoke fondly of Ringo, but more distantly of George. He felt slighted by some things in George's autobiography, I, Me, Mine, especially George's failure to give John credit for helping him learn guitar techniques.
Mostly, we talked about the "house husband" period that was just ending, a time of emotional drying out, a chance to reset priorities. He may have declared "I don't believe in Beatles" in "God" on his 1970 album, Plastic Ono Band, but it took the five-year sabbatical that followed the "lost weekend" for him to break away from the suffocating pressures of being an ex-Beatle, including the need to mirror in his music and in his life the image of the witty, sarcastic John. During his time away, he learned that there was personal joy and fulfillment away from the rock 'n' roll merry-go-round. For Double Fantasy, he even wrote a tender song about his newfound outlook and freedom, "Watching the Wheels."
On that November night, the studio atmosphere was so relaxed that John invited me to contribute to the album's sound effects. Yoko and I took turns dropping coins in a tin bowl to duplicate the sound of someone giving change to a beggar. We had to do it several times before the noise level was just right. For most of the evening, I just watched John and Yoko at work--and took advantage of breaks to ask them questions. The studio tape must have been running much of the time, because years later a bootleg of that interview surfaced in Japan.
One thing troubled me during the all-night recording sessions: the way John would slip from time to time into an adjoining lounge. The first thing that came to mind was drugs, because I was so used to seeing musicians pass around bowls of cocaine with the casualness of M&Ms. John had had drug problems earlier in his life, and I feared he had relapsed--despite all his talk about feeling healthier than ever. Maybe the pressure of being back in the studio was greater than he was letting on. At one point, I happened into the lounge and saw John at the far end of the narrow room. He was reaching for something on a cabinet shelf, and my first instinct was to go back into the studio so I wouldn't violate his privacy. But he spotted me and called me over, putting his finger up to his lips in a signal to be quiet. When I was next to him, he reached into the cabinet again and pulled out something wrapped in a towel.
"Want some?" he asked. "Just don't tell Mother," he said with a conspiratorial look. "She doesn't want me doing this anymore."
As he opened the towel, I had to laugh.
John Lennon's private stash turned out to be a giant-size Hershey bar. He broke off a chunk for me and one for himself. Holding his piece in a toast, John smiled and said, "Good to see you again."
Introduction by Bono
Robert Hilburn’s storied career as a rock critic has allowed him a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of some of the most iconic figures of our time. He was the only music critic to visit Folsom Prison with Johnny Cash. He met John Lennon during his lost weekend period in Los Angeles and they became friends. Bob Dylan granted him his only interviews during his "born-again" period and the occasion of his 50th birthday. Michael Jackson invited Hilburn to watch cartoons with him in his bedroom. When Springsteen took to playing only old hits, Hilburn scolded him for turning his legendary concerts into oldies revues, and Springsteen changed his set list.
In this totally unique account of the symbiotic relationship between critic and musical artist, Hilburn reflects on the ways in which he has changed and been changed by the subjects he’s covered; Bono weighs in with an introduction about how Hilburn’s criticism influenced and altered his own development as a musician.
Corn Flakes with John Lennon is more than about one man’s adventures in rock and roll: It’s the gripping and untold story of how popular music reshapes the way we think about the world and helps to define the modern American character.
"[Hilburn] was always looking for subject matter that was fresh and patiently observed, what Van Morrison described as ‘the inarticulate speech of the heart.’ U2 was shambolic and erratic, but he seemed to see the ‘what might be’ in the ‘what was.’ Bob’s role as a critic was to encourage the suspension of disbelief not just in the audience, but in the artist as well. That is an environment in which music grows. He made us better."
--Bono
"So many great memories came flooding back to me when I read Corn Flakes With John Lennon. A must read for genuine music lovers."
--Elton John
"It’s impossible to read this book and not encounter passages that surprise, sadden and hearten. It¹s also impossible to read Corn Flakes With John Lennon and not recognize Robert Hilburn as the greatest interviewer in rock & roll history."
--Mikal Gilmore, author of Shot in the Heart and Night Beat: A Shadow History of Rock and Roll
"Hilburn's amazing resilience and commitment for music shines through his decades of reportage and reviews of music. On behalf of the musicians of the 60's on, I thank you for having been the communicator of our music with love."
--yoko ono, summer of 2009
"Beautifully written, and passionately told, this book captures the very essence of what it means to be someone who loves music."
-- Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven and Room Full of Mirrors.
"I never gave a damn for rock criticism until I read Robert Hilburn."
--Bernie Taupin
Excerpt
John Lennon raced into Yoko Ono's home office in the mammoth old Dakota building with a copy of Donna Summer's new single, "The Wanderer." "Listen!" he shouted as he put the 45 on the record player. "She's doing Elvis!" I didn't know what he was talking about at first. The arrangement felt more like rock than the singer's usual electro-disco approach, but the opening vocal sure sounded like Donna Summer to me. Midway through the song, however, her voice shifted into the playful, hiccuping style Elvis had used on so many of his early recordings.
"See! See!" John said, pointing at the speakers.
The record was John's way of saying hello again after five years. I had spent time with him in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, during the period he later referred to as his "lost weekend"--months when he was estranged from Yoko and spent many a night in notorious drinking bouts with his buddies Harry Nilsson and Ringo Starr. John got so boisterous one night that he was thrown out of the Troubadour, one of the city's landmark music clubs. He invited me to dinner a few times, and I later found out it was when he had an important business meeting the next morning and didn't want to wake up with a hangover. I got the nod over Harry and Ringo because I didn't drink anything stronger than Diet Coke. We would eat at a chic Chinese restaurant and then return to his suite at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Those hours would race by because we loved talking about our favorite rock hero, Elvis, which brings us back to "The Wanderer."
I've experienced hundreds of memorable concert and interview moments, so it's hard to rank them in any favorite order, but my final hours with John in New York are certainly on the short list. It was just weeks before his death in December of 1980, and his playing the Summer record was an endearing greeting--and one that was typical of John. Of the hundreds of musicians I've met, John was among the most down-to-earth.
I was in New York to spend three days with John and Yoko while they finished Double Fantasy, John's first collection of new material since the mostly forgettable Walls and Bridges six years earlier. He returned to New York after the "lost weekend" period and spent the next five years rebuilding his life with Yoko and helping to raise their son, Sean. On this day, he looked nice and trim in jeans, a jean jacket, and a white T-shirt. He was maybe twenty-five pounds slimmer than the last time I'd seen him. "It's Mother's macrobiotic diet," he said later, and employing his nickname for Yoko. "She makes sure I stay on it."
By the time we headed to the recording studio, it was nearly dark. As the limo pulled up to the studio's dimly lit entrance, I could see the outlines of a couple dozen fans in the shadows. They raced toward the car as soon as the driver opened John's door. Flashbulbs went off with blinding speed. Without a bodyguard, John was helpless, and I later asked if he didn't worry about his safety. "They don't mean any harm," he replied. "Besides, what can you do? You can't spend all your life hiding from people. You've got to get out and live some, don't you?"
Inside the studio, I heard several tracks from Double Fantasy, which was John's most revealing album since Imagine. Some critics branded the gentle, relaxed tone of the collection too soft. They missed the old Lennon bite. To me, however, the collection was a marvelous reflection of John's mood, and Grammy voters were right when they named it album of the year.
I spent hours at the apartment and the studio talking to John about the changes since Los Angeles. He felt at peace for one of the few times in his life. He was deeply in love with Yoko and thrilled to be a father again. He also spoke with affection about the Beatles days and how much he still looked forward to seeing Paul. That surprised me because of the sarcastic barbs he'd launched in interviews and the biting lyrics he'd written about Paul since the breakup of the band. "Aw, don't believe all that," he said, smiling. "Paul is like a brother. We've gotten way past all that." He also spoke fondly of Ringo, but more distantly of George. He felt slighted by some things in George's autobiography, I, Me, Mine, especially George's failure to give John credit for helping him learn guitar techniques.
Mostly, we talked about the "house husband" period that was just ending, a time of emotional drying out, a chance to reset priorities. He may have declared "I don't believe in Beatles" in "God" on his 1970 album, Plastic Ono Band, but it took the five-year sabbatical that followed the "lost weekend" for him to break away from the suffocating pressures of being an ex-Beatle, including the need to mirror in his music and in his life the image of the witty, sarcastic John. During his time away, he learned that there was personal joy and fulfillment away from the rock 'n' roll merry-go-round. For Double Fantasy, he even wrote a tender song about his newfound outlook and freedom, "Watching the Wheels."
On that November night, the studio atmosphere was so relaxed that John invited me to contribute to the album's sound effects. Yoko and I took turns dropping coins in a tin bowl to duplicate the sound of someone giving change to a beggar. We had to do it several times before the noise level was just right. For most of the evening, I just watched John and Yoko at work--and took advantage of breaks to ask them questions. The studio tape must have been running much of the time, because years later a bootleg of that interview surfaced in Japan.
One thing troubled me during the all-night recording sessions: the way John would slip from time to time into an adjoining lounge. The first thing that came to mind was drugs, because I was so used to seeing musicians pass around bowls of cocaine with the casualness of M&Ms. John had had drug problems earlier in his life, and I feared he had relapsed--despite all his talk about feeling healthier than ever. Maybe the pressure of being back in the studio was greater than he was letting on. At one point, I happened into the lounge and saw John at the far end of the narrow room. He was reaching for something on a cabinet shelf, and my first instinct was to go back into the studio so I wouldn't violate his privacy. But he spotted me and called me over, putting his finger up to his lips in a signal to be quiet. When I was next to him, he reached into the cabinet again and pulled out something wrapped in a towel.
"Want some?" he asked. "Just don't tell Mother," he said with a conspiratorial look. "She doesn't want me doing this anymore."
As he opened the towel, I had to laugh.
John Lennon's private stash turned out to be a giant-size Hershey bar. He broke off a chunk for me and one for himself. Holding his piece in a toast, John smiled and said, "Good to see you again."
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