I know it was the ’60s and all, but really? Even tripping that color scheme would be hard on the eyes, I’d think.

Fact of the matter is, as much as I think the big Three Dog Night hit version of “One” is very good, I prefer Harry Nilsson’s own version of the song, which he wrote and released in the same year as (although slightly after) this one, which was added to the release of Three Dog Night’s debut album after it became such a big (Top 5) hit in 1968. But I want to feature the Three Dog Night version here today specifically for that reason: to give Nilsson the oft-overlooked props he deserves for writing the song. It’s one of the great songs of heartbreak in all of pop/rock, even if 3DN goes a bit overboard on the emoting. Nilsson’s version is the one that brings home the quiet despair.

This post is particularly short because it’s something of a companion piece to my guest post over at the Star Maker Machine blog on Nilsson’s version, which I chose there to go along with the current “Numbers” theme. And that’s why I’m not also including the Nilsson version here. But you can check it out here.