Don't know much about Warren Zevon, he appears to be a good songwriter, from the two or three songs I've heard, and I really like the Turtles' song "Outside Chance" which he wrote but... well, that sums it up, in my experience he's not someone who is on many people's radar in the UK. Harry Nilsson, on the other hand, has two incredibly well known songs that even people who don't know much about music know - much much more well known than anything Randy Newman's ever recorded. I'm pretty sure if I was going to work on Monday and I had a conversation with work colleagues a few would have heard of Harry Nilsson, not many would have heard of Randy Newman and I doubt any would have heard of Warren Zevon! Let's chalk this up as yet another US/UK thing.
Anyway, first to two songs here are garbage, the next two are good-to-great. Voted "Short People".
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:20 (three years ago) link
I must have gotten lost too--I was arguing that Zevon had greater stature than Nilsson, nothing to do with Graham Parker one way or the other. Anyway, as someone else pointed out, Nilsson's biggest hit, "Without You," wasn't a novelty song.
The novelty of this poll quickly wore off.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:23 (three years ago) link
Not sure what you mean by stature? I was slightly amazed to see Warren Zevon described as a major American pop artist, but I suppose he might be in the US.
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:25 (three years ago) link
Over here, I think Nilsson's fame goes as follows: 1) friend/drinking buddy of John Lennon's, 2) one #1 album with a #1 song, 3) "Everybody's Talkin'." Not negligible, but I don't think, long-term, equal to the regard for Zevon (who sort of became the rock-critic-sanctioned pushback against all the late-'70s L.A. stuff scorned by critics at the time). Which was, it's true, elevated by his early death.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:28 (three years ago) link
I think Zevon is probably viewed as a major artist by other musicians more than by the public.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:29 (three years ago) link
You know what's missing from this poll?
Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue".
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:44 (three years ago) link
Damn...I think that definitely qualifies.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 01:47 (three years ago) link
Count me as one American who assumed Nilsson was much better known/influential than Warren Zevon. Nilsson had a bunch of Top 40 hits, Zevon had one, "Werewolves." Critics don't make Top 40 hits, so that line about "a subset of rock critics" applies much more to Zevon, I'd say. Even if Nilsson had only done the Midnight Cowboy song he might be better known. And now young people know him from the Russian Doll TV show as well.
Also, Nilsson has been rediscovered by millennials, Zevon has not (despite his fans constantly pushing for it). You can buy Nilsson albums in Barnes & Noble now, that says something.
― Josefa, Saturday, 4 July 2020 02:50 (three years ago) link
It's an interesting question--maybe I'm off here. Had a similar disagreement once about who was more famous, Suicide or the Shoes.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 03:43 (three years ago) link
My gateway was from that cover album of “Pussycats” the Walkmen did.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Saturday, 4 July 2020 06:43 (three years ago) link
(xp) I really hope you said Suicide!
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 10:55 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Opz_drg1O8
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 13:34 (three years ago) link
I would wager that as many people know “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” as any of Nilsson’s songs.
― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Saturday, 4 July 2020 13:57 (three years ago) link
voted "short people" narrowly over "werewolves," the other two get old reeeeeally fast.imho nilsson is definitely a bigger artist than zevon for the chart-performance reasons others have cited, but to be clear, neither of them, or newman, are remotely at the level of chuck berry or bob dylan in terms of prominence. that's okay tho - the thread doesn't call for airtightness or comprehensiveness the way, say, the "every huge artist" clause of the New Jersey threads does.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 4 July 2020 14:05 (three years ago) link
Yeah, it was just a spur of the moment thing. I do wish I'd thought of Johnny Cash, who sits in the space between Berry/Dylan at the pinnacle and Newman/Zevon somewhere below,.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 14:11 (three years ago) link
Sorry I had to bring up Johnny Cash but it had to be done!
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 14:13 (three years ago) link
Do they know who sang it though?
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 14:15 (three years ago) link
I tried to troll vote but I don't think it's possible on this poll.
The only Warren Zevon song I've heard is the one listed here. I should probably remedy that but at least in my world of suburban-ish southern americans he was an unknown. Not that Nilsson was anything more either, but "Coconut" reached me by osmosis the same way "Werewolves of London" did.
― Joey Corona (Euler), Saturday, 4 July 2020 14:31 (three years ago) link
Do most people know who sang without you or line in the coconut?
― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Saturday, 4 July 2020 17:44 (three years ago) link
Lime that is
― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Saturday, 4 July 2020 17:47 (three years ago) link
"Coconut" I don't know about, I don't think it was a hit single, but "Without You" I would assume so.
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 17:54 (three years ago) link
"Coconut" was featured on The Muppet Show, which is how little kid me knew the song.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:00 (three years ago) link
Point of Zevon/Nilsson intersection: two famous Scorsese scenes, "Werewolves" in The Color of Money and "Jump Into the Fire" in Goodfellas. Independent of the who's-more-famous question (if anything, it's another thing on Nilsson's resume I'd forgotten), I think many more people would identify Zevon with "Werewolves" than would know who sings the weird echo-ey thing from the helicopter montage in Goodfellas.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:30 (three years ago) link
I didn't know either of those songs were in either of those films tbh. I've only saw "The Color of Money" once though.
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:33 (three years ago) link
did “jump in the fire” get classic rock radio play? Feels like I heard it a million times before I knew who did it. I’ve only seen Goodfellas once.
― brimstead, Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:33 (three years ago) link
maybe it was like a Wayne’s World/BoRap thing?
― brimstead, Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:34 (three years ago) link
The "Werewolves" scene, for me, is one of Scorsese's greatest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsAE2jFPqLw
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:35 (three years ago) link
Not a film I've ever had any great urge to re-watch.
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:37 (three years ago) link
Not sure about "Jump in the Fire." I'd had Nilsson Schmilsson for years when Goodfellas came out, but I bought it for the two hits and never played the whole album much, so when I first saw the film, I had it in my mind that "Jump Into the Fire," which I didn't recognize, must have been "Memo from Turner," which I spotted in the credits and didn't know either.
― clemenza, Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:45 (three years ago) link
I actually came to know “werewolves of London” via David Lindsey’s version... “his hair was very very greasy”
― brimstead, Saturday, 4 July 2020 18:55 (three years ago) link
lindley (dad was a fan)
In the Kidz Bop version, they sing, “A little old lady got quite a scare the other night...”
― Pat McGroin (morrisp), Saturday, 4 July 2020 19:00 (three years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Sunday, 5 July 2020 00:01 (three years ago) link
Re-run with "A Boy Named Sue".
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Sunday, 5 July 2020 00:41 (three years ago) link
That was my idea too--maybe just here, informally. "Werewolves" or "A Boy Named Sue"?
I like "Sue," but "Werewolves" for me.
― clemenza, Sunday, 5 July 2020 00:54 (three years ago) link
I love the David Lindley version.
― banjoboy, Sunday, 5 July 2020 02:42 (three years ago) link
Something that made me laugh: I mentioned this poll to some friends, we got talking about it, and we realized that Ray Stevens' biggest hit was a non-novelty song, "Everything Is Beautiful."
― clemenza, Friday, 14 August 2020 02:59 (three years ago) link
― The Fields o' Fat Henry (Tom D.), Saturday, July 4, 2020 7:41 PM (one month ago) bookmarkflaglink
― budo jeru, Friday, 14 August 2020 03:42 (three years ago) link
speaking of novelty hits, I just head "Dawn of Correction" (#36, 1965) by the Spokesmen, an answer record to "Eve of Destruction" performed by guys who wrote "At the Hop" "You Don't Own Me" "Rock'n'Roll is Here to Stay" etc. Very neolib lyrics:
You tell me that marches won't bring integrationBut look what it's done for the voter registrationBe thankful our country allows demonstrationsInstead of condemnin', make some recommendations
You missed all the good in your evaluationWhat about the things that deserve commendation?Where there once was no cure, there's vaccinationWhere there once was a desert, there's vegetationSelf-government's replacing colonizationWhat about the Peace Corp. organization?Don't forget the work of the United Nations
― Muswell Hillbilly Elegy (President Keyes), Friday, 14 August 2020 16:01 (three years ago) link
A playlist I was listening to just reminded me of this piece of crap, which I thought might belong in this thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFacWGBJ_cs
Turns out, it was a hit nearly everywhere but the US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaddap_You_Face#Charts
A rare way to go, America from me, then!
― A White, White Gay (cryptosicko), Sunday, 23 August 2020 18:22 (three years ago) link
A Czech interpretation written by Zdeněk Borovec, "Já na bráchu blues", performed by Helena Vondráčková and Jiří Korn, was a hit in Czechoslovakia in 1981.
― brimstead, Sunday, 23 August 2020 18:32 (three years ago) link