1980 Harry Nilsson – Flash Harry

Ben Benay, Bill Payne, Danny Kortchmar, Donald Dunn, Fred Tackett, Harry Nilsson, Jim Horn, Jim Keltner, John Jarvis, Klaus Voormann, Lowell George, Mac Rebennack, Richie Zito, Rick Shlosser, Ricky Lawson, Ringo Starr, Scott Edwards, Steve Cropper, Wilton Felder

Flash Harry is the fifteenth studio album by Harry Nilsson. Originally the album was not given a worldwide release and was only issued in the U.K., Japan, Germany, France, Spain, The Netherlands, Australia, and Scandinavia. It was not issued in the United States until August 2013. Upon release it received little promotion from Mercury, with no proper single from the album.

The album features Nilsson’s own recording of “Old Dirt Road”, co-written and performed with John Lennon on Lennon’s album Walls and Bridges (1974), Lennon’s last album of original songs before his six-year hiatus.

Shortly after the release of this album, Nilsson retired from recording. Though he would subsequently reverse his decision and record various songs for film soundtracks in the 1980s and 1990s, he never issued another full album. (Hours before his 1994 death, Nilsson finished recording the final vocal tracks for a planned ‘comeback’ album, which was released on November 22, 2019 as Losst and Founnd.)

Tracks

1 Harry (Eric Idle) 02:17
2 Cheek To Cheek (Lowell George; Martin Kibbee; Van Dyke Parks) 02:26
3 Best Move (Harry Nilsson; Michael Hazelwood; Van Dyke Parks) 04:03
4 Old Dirt Road (Harry Nilsson; John Lennon) 04:25
5 I Don’t Need You (Rick Christian) 03:50
6 Rain (Harry Nilsson) 03:49
7 I’ve Got It (Harry Nilsson; Perry Botkin Jr) 03:41
8 It’s So Easy (Harry Nilsson; Paul Stallworth) 04:41
9 How Long Can Disco On (Harry Nilsson; Ringo Starr) 02:55
10 Bright Side Of Life (Eric Idle) 04:13

Biography

Harry Nilsson

Musicians

Bass	Donald Dunn
Bass	Klaus Voormann
Bass	Paul Stallworth
Bass	Scott Edwards
Drums	Fred Staehle
Drums	Jim Keltner
Drums	Rick Shlosser
Drums	Ricky Lawson
Drums	Ringo Starr
Guitar	Ben Benay
Guitar	Danny Kortchmar
Guitar	Lowell George
Guitar	Fred Tackett
Guitar	Steve Cropper
Guitar	Keith Allison
Guitar	Richie Zito
Guitar	Luis Damian
Keyboards	Bill Payne
Keyboards	John Jarvis
Keyboards	Van Dyke Parks
Piano	Mac Rebennack
Sax	Bobby Keys
Sax	Jim Horn
Sax	Jerry Jumonville
Sax	Jimmy Roberts
Sax	Wilton Felder
Harp	Arthur Gerst
Background Vocals	Tony Martin
Background Vocals	Luis Damian
Vocals	Harry Nilsson

Liner Notes

Producer – Steve Cropper
Producer – Andre Jacquemin, Eric Idle, Trevor Jones (Track 1)
Engineer – Bruce Robb
Engineer (Assistant) – Larold Rebhun, Sheridan Wolf-Eldridge
Mastered By – Frank DeLuna

Art Direction – Alan Schmidt
Illustration – Klaus Voormann
Photography – Simon Fowler

Mastered At A&M Studios
Mixed At Cherokee Studios
Recorded At Cherokee Studios
Phonographic Copyright Phonogram International
Copyright Phonogram International

1 Comment

Dean Prescott
June 9, 2025 @ 23:16

Sort of the LAST album by Harry. Except “Losst And Founnd” which was a comp. of later recordings before Harry passed. “Flash Harry” is definitely an album Harry probably didn’t care about CHART ACTION. There are some cool tunes here. And some bizarre ones, too. That’s what I love about Harry, after 1973, SUGGESTION… please take the time…. Slap some good headphones on, grab your fav. beverage, “Turn out the light” and really listen to Harry’s albums. The albums to buy are… “Pussycats” 1974, “Duit On Mon dei” (1975), “Sandman” 1976, “That’s the way it is” 1976, “Knnillssonn” 1977, “Flash Harry” (1980), Me, Myself & I (Bootlegs) (1994) and of course the 2019 release, finally of “Losst And Founnd” Love To Harry Nilsson!