Maybe it's not surprising to those who were around in the 60s and 70s, but I recently discovered something amazing about these two songs. The first is the folk rock song "Everybody's Talkin" from 1969 that was made popular after it became the theme song for the Oscar winning Midnight Cowboy. The second is the 1972 love ballad "Without You". You know it: "I can't live if living is without you..." What's amazing to me about these two songs is the fact that they are sung by the same guy. Along with the disparity in the style of music, I don't hear any similarities between the two voices. It's like the musical equivalent of 1984 Mickey Rourke and 2010 Mickey Rourke:
Throw in a third song for the Harry Nilsson trifecta, send them out in to space, and when an alien civilization finds them they will think, "wow this planet has a very diverse music scene."
It is interesting to note that the two songs Nilsson won Grammys for were cover songs.
"Everybody's Talkin" was written by Fred Neil. Hear his version here.
"Without You" was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger. See their version here.
It has been recorded by over 180 artist, but I'll let you find all the versions on your own.
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