Laura Nyro (born October 18, 1947; died April 8, 1997) was an American song… Read Full Bio ↴Laura Nyro (born October 18, 1947; died April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th Dimension recording her songs. Her style was a hybrid of Brill Building-style New York pop, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, show tunes, rock and soul. In 2012 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
She was born Laura Nigro on 18th October 1947 in the Bronx, New York, of Italian-American and Jewish-American parents. As a child, she taught herself piano, read poetry, and listened to her mother's records by Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday and classical composers such as Ravel and Debussy. She composed her first songs at age eight. While in high school, she sang with a group of friends in subway stations and on street corners.
As a teenager she experimented with using different names, and Nyro was the one she was using at the time. She sold her song "And When I Die" to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5,000, and made her first extended professional appearance in 1966, at age 18, singing at the "hungry i" coffeehouse in San Francisco. Mogull negotiated her a recording contract, and she recorded her debut album, More Than a New Discovery, for the Verve Folkways label. The album provided material for other artists, notably the 5th Dimension.
In 1967, Nyro made only her second major live appearance, at the Monterey Pop Festival. Although some accounts described her performance as a fiasco that culminated in her being booed off the stage,[8] recordings later made public contradict this view.[
Nyro was best known by the general public – and had the most commercial success – as a songwriter rather than a performer. Her best-known songs include "And When I Die" (made a hit by Blood, Sweat & Tears), "Stoney End" (covered by Barbra Streisand), "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Save the Country" (all covered by The 5th Dimension), and "Eli's Coming" (a hit for Three Dog Night). Ironically, Nyro's own best-selling single was "Up on the Roof", a cover of the Carole King-Gerry Goffin hit originally recorded by The Drifters in 1962.
She died on 8th April 1997.
In 2012 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
She was born Laura Nigro on 18th October 1947 in the Bronx, New York, of Italian-American and Jewish-American parents. As a child, she taught herself piano, read poetry, and listened to her mother's records by Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday and classical composers such as Ravel and Debussy. She composed her first songs at age eight. While in high school, she sang with a group of friends in subway stations and on street corners.
As a teenager she experimented with using different names, and Nyro was the one she was using at the time. She sold her song "And When I Die" to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5,000, and made her first extended professional appearance in 1966, at age 18, singing at the "hungry i" coffeehouse in San Francisco. Mogull negotiated her a recording contract, and she recorded her debut album, More Than a New Discovery, for the Verve Folkways label. The album provided material for other artists, notably the 5th Dimension.
In 1967, Nyro made only her second major live appearance, at the Monterey Pop Festival. Although some accounts described her performance as a fiasco that culminated in her being booed off the stage,[8] recordings later made public contradict this view.[
Nyro was best known by the general public – and had the most commercial success – as a songwriter rather than a performer. Her best-known songs include "And When I Die" (made a hit by Blood, Sweat & Tears), "Stoney End" (covered by Barbra Streisand), "Wedding Bell Blues", "Stoned Soul Picnic", "Sweet Blindness", "Save the Country" (all covered by The 5th Dimension), and "Eli's Coming" (a hit for Three Dog Night). Ironically, Nyro's own best-selling single was "Up on the Roof", a cover of the Carole King-Gerry Goffin hit originally recorded by The Drifters in 1962.
She died on 8th April 1997.
In 2012 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Playlist: The Very Best Of Laura Nyro
Laura Nyro Lyrics
American Dove Mama When the moon is done I walk on by the risin'…
And When I Die And when I die and when I'm dead, dead and…
Broken Rainbow The old people of the earth Tell stories An old woman Of …
Captain St. Lucifer Mama mama You're a whiz and a scholar too Mama open up…
Child In A Universe Oh Star Shine on me I'm just a grain in the universe I…
Christmas In My Soul Come young braves Come young children Come to the book of …
Flim Flam Man Hands off the man, the flim flam man. His mind is…
Lu Silver was the color Winter was a snowbell Mother of the win…
Stoned Soul Picnic Can you surry? Can you picnic? Whoa Can you surry? Can you p…
Stoney End I was born from love And my poor mother worked the…
To A Child What is life? Did you read about it In a magazine? Silent…