5 amazingly overlooked debut albums of the 1960s

Harry Nilsson - Spotlight on Nilsson

Everyone knows a Harry Nilsson song, don't they? Yet his debut album was a big miss. Spotlight on Nilsson came out in 1966 and pulled together a number of songs, some released as singles, which Nilsson had been working on and released under Tower Records.

In the first half of the 1960s Nilsson had been writing songs for himself, Little Richard and Phil Spector plus others. After signing with RCA in 1966 he went on to write more songs, this time for The Monkees as well as his own material. Introductions led to his work being shared with the Beatles, and each of the Fab Four has been credited with declaring Nilsson as one of their favorite artists. He of course went on to have his own hits, notably “Everybody’s Talking” and “Without You”.

It often seems as though his debut album came later than Spotlight On Nilsson, probably under RCA. But that is not the case. This debut album was his earliest recorded work of his own. Now if you want a top-quality album, polished recordings, and great production then this isn’t the one for you. Several of the tracks on there are quite demo-like in places. But if you want to hear early Nilsson, his voice, and his developing style of writing, then this album is a fantastic insight.