TAKE TWO: LAURA NYRO

During her career, Laura Nyro released ten studio albums. These recordings have gone on to become greatly admired and widely inspirational to listeners and other musicians yet the singer/songwriter was unable to achieve wider recognition as a performer. But it was her songs, atmospheric works filled with alluring, poetic imagery, that have endured to bring her worldwide fame. Nyro used her life experiences, imagination and deep love for all genres of music to share her specific view of the world that many could find a connection.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Laura Nigro immersed herself into her own special world created through music when she was very young, using this largely as a way of coping through a challenging childhood. Finding inspiration through her father, Louis Nigro, a jazz musician and the classical records that her mother loved, she taught herself how to play the piano, wrote songs and poetry. As a teen, Nigro attended the High School of Music & Art and sang wherever she could; parties, street corners and subways.

After deciding to pursue a career in music, Nigro considered several stage names before settling on "Laura Nyro". Through her father's contacts, Nyro met Artie Mogull and Paul Barry who would become her first managers. They helped the twenty year old get signed to the Verve Forecast label and released her debut album, "More Than a New Discovery" in 1967. Nyro wrote all of the songs and while the album received some critical acclaim, it failed to generate much attention. But some of the songs, "And When I Die", "Wedding Bell Blues", "Blowin' Away" and "Stoney End" would go on to greater success for other artists a few years later.

After an appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival, Nyro caught the attention of David Geffen. In short order, he became her new manager, helped get her out of her recording contract, got her signed to a major label, Columbia Records, purchased the publishing rights to her early music and started a publishing company with Nyro, receiving half of the royalties from future compositions. Now with more artistic control as a co-producer, Nyro released her follow-up album, "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession" in 1968 with her insisting that the lyric sheet in the album be perfumed (not a cheap endeavor, I'm sure). The album, with it's lush production, featured r&b inspired, pop songs that touched on her singular thoughts on love, death and drugs. And while it did help bring more attention to the young singer, the record still failed commercially although once again, some songs ("Sweet Blindness", "Eli's Comin'", "Stoned Soul Picnic") would gain popularity later through other artists.

While her follow-up, "New York Tendaberry" would be her highest charting release, reaching number thirty-two on the Billboard 200, and considered one of the greatest of Nyro's recordings, the album still wasn't able to deliver the performer to much of a wider audience. More songs from the record ("Save The Country", "Time and Love") would go on to be find success with versions by other performers. Nyro would continue to record (including an album featuring soul covers produced by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff, a live album and a jazz-pop collection) without much commercial success but her ethereal songs made her very popular amongst other artists and hardcore fans. As time went on, she became more political with her music, writing songs involving feminism, animal rights and Native American rights.

Late in 1996, Nyro was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and sadly succumbed on April 8, 1997 at the age of forty-nine. The legacy of Laura Nyro has grown tremendously since her passing with a greater appreciation for not only her songs but her gift as a performer. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Here are two songs made famous by other artists (the 5th Dimension and Barbra Streisand, respectively) but listen to what Nyro brings to these songs, expressing the joy and pain in her own remarkably, heartfelt style.