b. Laura Nigro, 18th October 1947 in New York, New York State [The Bronx], U.S.A.
d. 8th April 1997, Danbury, Connecticut, U.S.A.
Laura Nyro was one of pop music's true originals and a highly talented songwriter embraced by Black and White audiences and artists alike.
The daughter of a jazz trumpeter, she was born on the 18th October, 1947, and composed her first songs at the age of eight.
After attending Manhattan's famed High School of Music and Art, she began performing in area clubs, drawing on influences as diverse as Bob Dylan and John Coltrane.
In 1966, Nyro issued her first LP, 'More Than a New Discovery'.
The album provided material for other artists with the Fifth Dimension scoring with 'Wedding Bell Blues' and 'Blowin' Away'.
Barbra Streisand covered 'Stoney End,' and Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded 'And When I Die.'
In 1967, Nyro made just her second major live appearance to date at the Monterey Pop Festival.
Then music agent David Geffen saw her set and was so impressed that he quit his current position to become her manager.
He also won Nyro a contract with Columbia, and in 1968 she returned with the album 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'.
'New York Tendaberry', was released in 1969.
The record's 'Time and Love' and 'Save the Country' soon emerged as two of her most well-regarded and popular songs.
With 1970's 'Christmas and the Beads of Sweat', she continued her exploration of soul music, enlisting Muscle Shoals staples like Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins and Eddie Hinton.
'Beads of Sweat' also featured guitar work from Duane Allman.
1971's 'Gonna Take a Miracle', was recorded with Labelle and the production team of Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff.
This was Nyro's lone album of non-original material, it featured her tributes to Motown ('Jimmy Mack,' 'Nowhere to Run'), doo-wop ('The Bells,' 'Spanish Harlem') and the girl-group era ('I Met Him Om A Sunday').
At the age of 24, Nyro announced her retirement.
She married, severed her industry connections, and moved to a small community in New England.
The marriage ended in divorce, and in 1975 she resurfaced with 'Smile'; a subsequent tour yielded the 1977 live set 'Season of Lights'.
However, the long lay off derailed whatever chart momentum her music had garnered, and after the poor sales of 1978's 'Nested', she again retreated from the music business.
When Laura finally returned from her self-imposed exile in 1984 with 'Mother's Spiritual', her music had grown more melancholic.
As the title indicated, her own motherhood provided considerable inspiration for her new work, as did her rustic New England lifestyle.
Laura waited another five years before issuing her next LP, 'Live at the Bottom Line', recorded at the legendary New York club.
'Walk the Dog and Light the Light', her first collection of new material in nearly a decade, followed in 1993.
Laura Nyro died of ovarian cancer on 8th April 1997, at her home in Danbury, Connecticut.
Recommended Reading:
SOUL PICNIC: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro by Michele Kort @ Amazon, (Published in the U.S., in April 2002, by St. Martin's Press / Thomas Dunne Books).
Albums:
More Than A New Discovery (Columbia 1966)
Eli and the 13th Confession (Columbia 1968)
New York Tendaberry (Columbia 1969)
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat (Columbia 1970)
Gonna Take a Miracle (Columbia 1971)
The First Songs (Columbia 1973)
Smile (Columbia 1976)
Season of Lights...Laura Nyro in Concert [live] (Columbia 1977)
Nested (Columbia 1978)
Mother's Spiritual (Columbia 1984)
Live at the Bottom Line (Cypress 1990)
Walk the Dog & Light the Light (Run the Dog...) (Columbia 1993)
Impressions (Embassy 1980)
Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro (Sony 1997)
