Coconut (song)

"Coconut"
"Coconut"
Single by Dannii Minogue
from the album Girl
B-side	"Everybody Changes Underwater"; "Heaven Can Wait"; "Someone New";
Released	16 November 1998
Recorded	1994–1995
Genre	Dance-pop; techno-pop;
Length	4:50
Label	WEA
Songwriter(s)	Harry Nilsson
Producer(s)	Flexifinger; (Original vocal production: DNA)
Dannii Minogue singles chronology
Music video
	"Coconut" by Dannii Minogue on YouTube
Audio
	"Coconut" (from The 1995 Sessions) by Dannii Minogue on YouTube

"Coconut"
"Coconut"
	Side A of the US single
Single by Nilsson
from the album Nilsson Schmilsson
B-side	"The Moonbeam Song"
Released	June 1972
Recorded	1971
Genre	Novelty; calypso; exotica;
Length	3:52
Label	RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)	Harry Nilsson
Producer(s)	Richard Perry
Nilsson singles chronology
Official audio
	"Coconut" by Harry Nilsson on YouTube

"Coconut" is a novelty song written^[3] and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson, released as the third single from his 1971 album, Nilsson Schmilsson. It was on the U.S. Billboard charts for 14 weeks, reaching #8,^[4] and was ranked by Billboard as the #66 song for 1972. It charted in a minor way in the UK, reaching #42.^[5] "Coconut" did best in Canada, where it peaked at #5.^[6]

Lyrics

The lyrics feature Nilsson singing three characters (a narrator, a woman, and a doctor), each in a different voice.^[7] The woman drinks a mixture of lime juice and coconut milk, becomes sick, and calls the doctor. The doctor, annoyed at being woken up, tells her to drink the same thing again and call in the morning.

Music

An arpeggiated C⁷ chord accompanies the song throughout.

Personnel

According to the 1971 LP credits:^[8]

Harry Nilsson – vocals
Caleb Quaye – guitar
Ian Duck – acoustic guitar
Herbie Flowers – bass
Jim Gordon – drums, percussion
Roger Pope – drums

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Canada RPM Top Singles^[9]	5
UK (OCC)	42
US Billboard Hot 100^[10]	8
US Cash Box Top 100^[11]	12

Year-end charts

Chart (1972)	Rank
Canada^[12]	55
US Billboard Hot 100^[13]	66
US Cash Box^[14]	87

Dannii Minogue version

Dannii Minogue recorded the song in 1994 with UK dance producers DNA. When Minogue parted ways with Mushroom Records in 1995 and signed to Eternal Records in 1996, she had the track remixed by producers Flexifinger.

The track was originally used as a hidden bonus track on her third album Girl. It was subsequently released in Australia on 16 November 1998 as the fourth and final single from that album, peaking at number 62 on the ARIA singles chart upon its debut, on the chart dated week commencing 23 November 1998.^[15]

In 2009, the original version of "Coconut" was made available on the compilation The 1995 Sessions.

Charts

Chart performance for "Coconut" by Dannii Minogue
Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[15]	62

Muppets version

The Muppets performed a version in The Muppet Show episode 4x10 with Kenny Rogers. In this version, Kermit the Frog portrays the patient, so the lyric about a “belly ache” is changed to a “flipper ache.”

References

^ Taylor, Kate (2005). "Harry Nilsson - Nillson Schmilsson". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 251.
^ Moon, Tom (28 August 2008). "Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson". 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company. p. 551. ISBN 9-780761-139638.
^ Jones, Dylan (22 October 2010). "You may remember Harry Nilsson as the man who led John Lennon astray during a lost LA weekend". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Billboard Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 458. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
^ UK Official Charts, 27 September 1969
^ RPM Top Singles, 9 September 1972
^ Alyn Shipton (2013). Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter. Oxford University Press. 9780199330690
^ Nilsson Schmilsson (CD booklet: reproduced 1971 LP sleeve). Harry Nilsson. BMG Entertainment. 2000.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "RPM 100 Singles - Volume 18, No. 3". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 2, 1972". Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
^ "Best of 1972 songs and music, on". Musicandyears.com. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
^ "Musicoutfitters.com". Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1972". Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart: Week Commencing 23 Nov 1998". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

[1] Taylor, Kate (2005). "Harry Nilsson - Nillson Schmilsson". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 251.

[Moon_2008-2] Moon, Tom (28 August 2008). "Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson". 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. Workman Publishing Company. p. 551. ISBN 9-780761-139638.

[3] Jones, Dylan (22 October 2010). "You may remember Harry Nilsson as the man who led John Lennon astray during a lost LA weekend". The Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2019.

[4] Whitburn, Joel (2004). Billboard Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 458. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.

[5] UK Official Charts, 27 September 1969

[6] RPM Top Singles, 9 September 1972

[7] Alyn Shipton (2013). Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter. Oxford University Press. 9780199330690

[credits-8] Nilsson Schmilsson (CD booklet: reproduced 1971 LP sleeve). Harry Nilsson. BMG Entertainment. 2000.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[9] "RPM 100 Singles - Volume 18, No. 3". Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2024.

[10] Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X

[11] "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 2, 1972". Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.

[12] "Best of 1972 songs and music, on". Musicandyears.com. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2017.

[13] "Musicoutfitters.com". Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.

[14] "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1972". Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2017.

[ARIA-15] "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart: Week Commencing 23 Nov 1998". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

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v t e Harry Nilsson
Studio albums	Spotlight on Nilsson Pandemonium Shadow Show Aerial Ballet Harry Nilsson Sings Newman The Point! Nilsson Schmilsson Son of Schmilsson A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night Pussy Cats Duit on Mon Dei Sandman ...That's the Way It Is Knnillssonn Flash Harry Losst and Founnd
Soundtracks	Skidoo The Point! Son of Dracula Popeye
Remixes	Aerial Pandemonium Ballet
Compilations	Early Tymes Nilsson The RCA Albums Collection
Singles	"All for the Beatles" "Sixteen Tons" "Without Her" "You Can't Do That" "River Deep – Mountain High" "One" "Everybody's Talkin'" "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City" "Me and My Arrow" "Without You" "Jump into the Fire" "Coconut" "Spaceman" "As Time Goes By" "Subterranean Homesick Blues" "Save the Last Dance for Me" "Many Rivers to Cross" "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)" "Sail Away" "Just One Look/Baby I'm Yours (medley)"
Other songs	"Gotta Get Up" "Old Dirt Road" "The Puppy Song" "Ten Little Indians" "This Could Be the Night" "You're Breakin' My Heart"
Collaborations	Pussy Cats Every Man Has a Woman Ringo Son of Dracula Walls and Bridges Goodnight Vienna Ringo's Rotogravure Stop and Smell the Roses Two Sides of the Moon Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films
Related articles	Discography The Monkees Richard Perry The Hollywood Vampires The Telephone "Pussy Cats" Starring the Walkmen For the Love of Harry: Everybody Sings Nilsson Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?

v t e Baha Men
Albums	Who Let the Dogs Out Move It Like This Greatest Movie Hits Holla!
Singles	"Dancing in the Moonlight" "Who Let the Dogs Out" "You All Dat" "Move It Like This"
Filmography	My Father the Hero Stanley
People	Rik Carey Anslem Douglas Steve Greenberg

v t e Dannii Minogue
Discography
Studio albums	Dannii / Love and Kisses Get into You Girl Neon Nights Club Disco
Compilations	The Singles The Remixes The Hits & Beyond Unleashed The 1995 Sessions This Is It: The Very Best Of
Video albums	Love and Kisses: Video Collection Get into You: Video Collection The Videos Dannii Minogue: The Video Collection
Singles	"Love and Kisses" "Success" "Jump to the Beat" "Baby Love" "I Don't Wanna Take This Pain" "Show You the Way to Go" "Love's on Every Corner" "This Is It" "This is the Way" "Get into You" "Rescue Me" "Boogie Woogie" "All I Wanna Do" "Everything I Wanted" "Disremembrance" "Coconut" "Everlasting Night" "Who Do You Love Now?" "Put the Needle on It" "I Begin to Wonder" "Don't Wanna Lose This Feeling" "You Won't Forget About Me" "Perfection" "So Under Pressure" "I Can't Sleep at Night" "He's the Greatest Dancer" "Touch Me Like That" "Summer of Love" "100 Degrees" "Holding On" "Galaxy" "All I Wanna Do 2020" "We Could Be the One"
Books	My Story My Style
Television	Young Talent Time Home And Away Australia's Got Talent The X-Factor (UK) The X Factor Australia Style Queen Let It Shine The Masked Singer Australia I Kissed a Boy I Kissed a Girl
Related articles	Kylie Minogue Terry Ronald Ian Masterson
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