It’s pretty hard to go wrong posting a Harry Nilsson song. A surefire hit-maker, Nilsson is the stuff of rock legend. He transcended genres, tapping into Tin Pan Alley, country, reggae, hard rock, and power ballads. His songs are embedded into the pop consciousness. Even if you don’t know his name, you probably have heard his operatic rendition of Badfinger’s “Without You,” his cover of Fred Neil’s “Everybody’s Talking” that closed out Midnight Cowboy, his novelty hit “Coconut,” or you may recall the raging drums in the helicopter scene in Goodfellas from his song, “Jump into the Fire.” Somehow Nilsson managed to top the charts while still cultivating a cult status (refusing to perform live for many years probably helped).

Nilsson exhibited a wicked, sneering sense of humor on many songs, a few that would have bordered on “Weird” Al-esque territory, if it wasn’t for Nilsson’s beautiful voice and song-writing talents. On the track “Joy,” Allmusic points to Johhny Cash as Nilsson’s point of parody. The Cash vocal influence is clearly evident, but there are also some hints that Nilsson is making fun of his own sad sack love songs as he grows bored with the lyrics “…good, bad, good, bad…” towards the end of the song.

In a live version posted below, Nilsson goes the more direct route, taking off the baritone vocals in favor of his trademark velvety delivery.