Nilsson Sings Newman is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released in February 1970 on RCA Victor. It features songs written by Randy Newman. Recorded over six weeks in late 1969, the album showcases Nilsson's voice multi-tracked in layers of tone and harmony. Its arrangements are otherwise sparse, with most of the instrumentation provided by Newman on piano. The record was not a great commercial success, but won a 1970 "Record of the Year" award from Stereo Review magazine. The LP record cover art was illustrated by Dean Torrence. Background In 1968, Ricky Nelson released his concept album Perspective, a move to expand his musical horizons. The album included songs by Newman, Nilsson and others woven together to tell the story of the interactions of a famous family; author Kevin Courrier writes that this album may have been part of the inspiration for Nilsson Sings Newman. In August 1969, Nilsson released his fourth album Harry. It ended with one of Newman's songs: "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear". Years later, Nilsson told Paul Zollo that he was in awe of Newman writing so many songs, ones he thought were better than his own. Recording On August 20, 1969, Nilsson and Newman began to record what would become Nilsson Sings Newman. After basic tracks were laid down, Nilsson spent six weeks overdubbing his voice to create layers and harmonies, line by line. As many as 118 overdubs were laid down for a single song. Nilsson occasionally broke the fourth wall in his performance. His voice in the control room is heard on several songs, instructing the recording engineer to add more echo or remove a voice. On the album's final song "So Long Dad", amid a multi-Nilsson chorus of voices, Nilsson softly asks for "more first voice." Louder, he counters himself by saying "actually I need more current voice. Forget the one that's saying 'more first voice. Besides piano, other instruments were sometimes used in the studio, including bass drum, tambourine and various electronic keyboards. On the song "Cowboy", Nilsson used electronic harpsichord to bring in a different concluding theme, quoting John Barry's theme from the film Midnight Cowboy, an inside joke that referenced Fred Neil's "Everybody's Talkin'" from the same film, a major success for Nilsson earlier that year. A number of alternate takes and songs were recorded but left off the 1970 album. Two such