Laura Nyro

Laura Nyro was a singer-songwriter from New York City who started releasing music in the mid-1960s. Her debut album 'More Than a New Discovery' came out in 1966, followed by records like 'Eli and the Thirteenth Confession' and 'New York Tendaberry' over the next few years. She wrote songs like 'Sweet Blindness' and 'Brown Earth' that blended folk, soul, and pop in a way that felt both personal and musically ambitious.

Her work attracted attention from other artists who recorded her material, though Nyro's own versions had a distinctive, emotionally direct quality. She recorded with musicians including bassist Lee Sklar and drummer Jim Keltner, and her 1971 album 'Gonna Take a Miracle' was a collaboration with Labelle. The music could be lush and orchestrated one moment, spare and piano-driven the next.

Nyro kept making albums through the 1970s, including 'Smile' in 1976 and 'Nested' in 1978. She died in 1997 at age 49. Her songs have been covered by various artists over the decades, and her catalog retains a following among listeners drawn to her particular blend of vulnerability and musical sophistication.