Harry Nilsson’s ill-fated album “Pussy Cats”, produced by John Lennon, was released 50 years ago

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Harry Nilsson’s studio album kittenThe ill-fated record was produced by Nilsson's buddy John Lennon during Lennon's infamous “Lost Weekend.”

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nilsson had a successful and celebrated music career that included hit singles, Grammy Awards, and the love and respect of the Beatles. As the 1970s progressed, however, Nilsson's penchant for the excesses of the rock and roll lifestyle began to take its toll.

Harry had developed a close friendship with Lennon, and when the Beatles legend temporarily separated from his wife Yoko Ono in 1973, he moved to Los Angeles, where he and Nilsson eventually shared a house with some other rock star friends. This period in Lennon's life became known as his “Lost Weekend.” During this time, Nilsson and Lennon partied extensively together.

[RELATED: Behind the Album: How Harry Nilsson Maximized His Incredible Talents on Nilsson Schmilsson]

At some point Lennon decided to produce a new studio album for Nilsson. This album, kittenwas released on August 19, 1974.

Nilsson was known for his beautiful singing voice, but early in the recording session he tore his vocal cords. Fearing that he would never get another chance to work with Lennon if they stopped recording, Harry hid his injury from John and continued with the project. Unfortunately, Nilsson may have irreparably damaged his voice by continuing. His singing is noticeably scratchy and sometimes off-key on many tracks.

More about the kitten album

kitten It contained 10 songs, including five Nilsson originals and five covers. The originals included “Mucho Mungo/Mt. Elga,” which Lennon co-wrote, and the gem “Don't Forget Me.” Covers included versions of Jimmy Cliff's “Many Rivers to Cross,” Bob Dylan's “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” The Drifters' 1960 chart hit “Save the Last Dance for Me,” and the Bill Haley & His Comets classic “Rock Around the Clock.”

The album featured several well-known guest musicians, including Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and Jim Keltner on drums, guitarists Jesse Ed Davis and Danny Kortchmar, pedal steel player Sneaky Pete Kleinow, bassist Klaus Voormann and saxophonist Bobby Keys.

Lennon explained in an archive interview that because of the chaotic atmosphere in LA, he decided to take the tapes to New York City for mixing.

During the sessions, the Beatles partially reunited

On the first night of the kitten On March 28, 1974, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder unexpectedly showed up at the studio sessions. The various musicians, including Lennon and McCartney, began jamming and fooling around. The sessions were rather unproductive, likely due to the amount of cocaine that was reportedly consumed. Songs played during the meeting included covers of Little Richard's “Lucille” and Ben E. King's “Stand by Me.”

This was the only known time Lennon and McCartney recorded together after the Beatles split up. A bootleg of the sessions entitled A toot and a snorewas published in 1974.

The kitten Album cover

The cover of kitten shows a pair of cat puppets whose heads have been replaced by photos of Nilsson's and Lennon's heads. The cats are standing behind a table under which there are children's building blocks with the letters D and S on either side of a carpet. The image is a rebus for “drugs under the table”, an inside joke that alludes to the pleasures the two rockers indulged in at the time.

kitten Chart information

kitten was a commercial disappointment and reached number 60 on the Billboard 200. However, Nilsson never released another studio album that reached a higher chart position.

Several singles were released by kittenbut the only song that even made it into the charts was Harry's cover of “Many Rivers to Cross”, which only reached number 109 Billboard's list of pop singles.

The legacy of kitten

In the years that followed, “Don't Forget Me” was probably the track that garnered the most attention from the album. The song has been covered numerous times, including by Joe Cocker, Marshall Crenshaw, Neko Case and Neil Diamond.

kitten Tracklist:

“Many rivers to cross”
“Underground Homesickness Blues”
“Don’t forget me”
“My whole life”
“Old forgotten soldier”
“Save the last dance for me”
“Mucho Mungo/Mount Elga”
“Loop de Loop” – The journey begins on October 27, 2018.
“Black Sails”
“Rock around the clock”