SONG OF THE DAY
“One” by Aimee Mann (For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson, MusicMasters Records, 1995). Written by Harry Nilsson. Also released on Warner Brother’s 1999 soundtrack to Magnolia.
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– The Magnolia soundtrack is largely culled from the work of Aimee Mann, enough so that she gets title billing on the album, though it does include tracks from Gabrielle, Supertramp, and Jon Brion.
– The song “One” opens with a sample of Harry Nilsson, the song’s author and original performer, taken from the start of the song “Cuddly Toy”. Neil Innes, from The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Monty Python and The Rutles, provides uncredited backing vocals on this track.
– The song appeared on Aerial Ballet, Nilsson’s third album, in 1968.
– In 1969, rock band Three Dog Night covered the song on their debut album Three Dog Night. The song was released as a single and became a hit, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
– Magnolia film director Paul Thomas Anderson, for whom Mann’s husband, Michael Penn, and Jon Brion had composed a soundtrack, is a close friend. Mann gained greater public recognition when she contributed eight songs to the soundtrack of Anderson’s Magnolia, including the Academy Award and Grammy-nominated song, “Save Me”. Anderson deliberately worked from Mann’s lyrics to create the film’s characters and situations. Mann soon became sought after as a soundtrack contributor.