Stoned Soul Picnic: A Tribute to Laura Nyro
On October 18th, 1947, an angel was born in The Bronx, New York City, by the name of Laura Nyro.
At an early age, Laura taught her self piano, read poetry and listened to classic artists such as Billie Holiday. At 17, she wrote her first song, “And When I Die,” an unthinkable expression of maturity for someone so young.
Laura went on to become one of the most prolific songwriters of her time. In 1969, perhaps at the peak of music, there were three songs written by Laura in the top ten of the Billboard chart.
Most important, Laura was a beautiful, kind and spiritual person. My favorite quote about her: “Laura didn’t make distinctions — white, black, yellow, man, woman — she saw a circular kind of energy between nature, animals, and human beings. It was all one big circle to her.” If everyone was like Laura, the world would know peace.
Although I prefer Laura’s amazing voice and her original works to covers, for some reason her material performed better in others’ hands. Perhaps for this reason, as well as her tragic early death at 49 of ovarian cancer, the same cause and age which took her mother, Laura has been largely forgotten. In 2012, Sara Bareilles gracefully brought Laura back with an amazing performance of “Stoney End” at Laura’s long-deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In my mind, she stands as perhaps the greatest solo artist of all time, and certainly next to Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Aretha Franklin as the greatest female solo artists of all time.
To me, she’s never been lost. For me, she lives on
