Beatles work fast! -- Great singer's only No. 1! -- Bruce cover goes to the toppermost!

Harry Nilsson, Jan. 1972. (Photo: Stan Meagher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Harry Nilsson, Jan. 1972. (Photo: Stan Meagher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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2/19/1965 (53 years ago today) - At Abbey Road in London, The Beatles work out a new John Lennon song that ends up on the "Help!" soundtrack -- Get this: they finish "You're Going To Lose That Girl" in just two takes! Listen to those vocals! Two takes!!! They were more than on a roll, people...

2/19/1972 (46 years ago today) - The song was originally written and recorded by Badfinger: Nilsson's version of "Without You" features one of Harry's all-time best vocal performances (he was, sometimes, simply flat-out astonishing!) making this track a No. 1 single on this date for four weeks in a row. It would turn out to be a massive worldwide success, but Harry was a bit of an ornery character: the song nagged at him for years -- he was once quoted as saying he just plain hated it -- and thanks to producer Richard Perry who convinced him to 'just go with the feeling', they ended up winning a Grammy! Unfortunately, it was Nilsson's only No. 1 hit record, and even more sadly, a profound spiral into alcoholism was what followed. That shouldn't stop you from enjoying the eight studio albums Harry recorded between 1967 and 1972: fantastic and clever and ridiculously under-appreciated; we especially love "Harry" (1969, featuring covers of The Beatles' "Mother Nature's Son" and Randy Newman's "Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear"), "The Point!" (the animated children's classic from 1970, maybe his best work), and the monstrously hilarious/wicked rockin' "Son Of Schmilsson" (1972, featuring contributions from George Harrison, Peter Frampton and Little Feat's Lowell George). So, yes, we definitely love Mr. Nilsson...

2/19/1977 (41 years ago today) - Manfred Mann's Earth Band scored a No. 1 single on the Billboard chart with their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light", which included a few changed lyrics -- The most prominent alteration occurs in the chorus, where Bruce's "Cut loose like a deuce" is replaced with a reference to a feminine hygiene product. Didn't bother The Boss too much though, as he collected a tank load of royalties while dryly observing that the song never became a hit until Manfred Mann changed the lyric, so what the hey!!!?!?!?!?

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