Laura Nyro CBS News Sunday Morning 2001 

Laura Nyro has never been forgotten and never will. She's a giant.

I was a 15 year old kid and one day in my boat I stopped at the town landing to get a slice of pizza. Laura was sitting on the dock and asked if I could give her a ride to see the harbor (Gloucester, MA) so I did. When we returned she said: "Thanks for the inspiration". I didn't really know what she meant until years later I found out she was a song writer.

She didn’t NEED to be famous, like everybody else. She wrote great songs, had a golden voice, but wasn’t interested in being famous. That’s so rare.

If you discover Laura's music, you're hooked forever. Bless her soul.

Thank-you Bill ... why Laura Nyro is not mentioned in the same breath/conversation as Carol King and Joni Mitchell escapes me. Her music usually brings a tear to my eye. She might be the most underrated singer/songwriter ever. ... oh well. RIP Ms. Nyro. We miss you.

Listening to Laura Nyro is like having a religious experience 💖

I have never forgotten her. Not for one minute.

Whenever I an deeply troubled I play New York Tendaberry.

Laura Nyro -- "Hide your heart girl." I see you. A Kansas housewife sees and digs your brilliance,

She wasn't the "female Dylan" or anything like that, she was singular and special, unlike anyone else. She was so young when she wrote her most known songs. I still need to listen to her music all these years later and I can't help but wonder what music she would have written over all these years she's been gone from this world. She didn't write it but I love the way she does "Up On The Roof" because she completely captures what it felt like living in New York City in those days. So much of New York in her music and lyrics, the best of that city during those days. Paul Simon captures his perspective of NYC; Carole King offered her angle on that city. But Laura Nyro, you knew she felt it fully as an ethnic female. As I always think, I lived through a whole lot of the best musical times which included her.

I saw her in concert in 1969 for $1, and it was the best dollar I ever spent. She was a monumental talent. What a voice. Maybe the greatest female singer and songwriter ever.

Her album Gonna Take A Miracle with Labelle needs to be in everybody's collection

Thank you for keeping Laura Nyro's music alive. Beautiful.

The reporter had such compassion for Laura. It was kind.

New York Tendaberry is truly a record I can"t live without.

With her amazing voice and lyrics, she could make you cry or make you rock. Pure genius and wonder

You can tell this guy doing the piece here truly loved Laura's music and deeply respected her. Ah Laura, we miss you so.

Laura is Unforgettable. Spread her music & her love wherever whenever you can. This world needs her.

I can’t imagine my childhood or youth without this woman’s music.

Thank you, Bill Flanagan-your tribute to Laura is beautifully expressed. Some of us never forgot our girl. She gave me my sense of self 48 years ago and I’ve loved her through three live concerts and four decades of her robust political principles and creative brilliance, while surrounded by a growing musical mediocrity in America. I miss her sooooo much. “No one like her.”-that’s right.

I saw an interview recently with Todd Rundgren and he mentioned her influence on his music in those late 60s, early 70s years. I’d never heard her name before. It has been a pleasure to let Laura Nyro’s voice and songs become familiar.

She sadly died on April 8-1997 at 49 of Ovarian Cancer like her mother, absolutely tragic.

so for anyone who is wondering, this is what a real woman is.

By far one my favorite songwriter ever wish I could of met her.

I was 13 when The Fifth Dimension had a hit with "Sweet Blindness". Listening late at night on my transistor radio, my window to the world after bedtime.

Laura was a singular artist. She managed to combine soul, pop, gospel, rock, jazz, tin pan alley--and even vaudeville--into her own hybrid. That made it hard to pigeonhole her, and the public, sadly, likes performers that are easy to categorize. I also feel as if Laura had a love/hate relationship with chasing fame. Fortunately, certain artists appreciated her, embraced her music, and made hits out of a number of her songs. She knew the 5th Dimension, for example--and without them, many would never have known who Laura was. She was an idiosyncratic writer and an idiosyncratic singer. I don't think the comparisons to Dylan and Joni are apt: each is his or her own genre--and, at least at times, Laura adds a stronger pop element than the other two. We had her first four albums in the house and they were a revelation. I hope her legacy will continue and her music not forgotten. She was one of a kind.

A musical genius, a poet! I'm so so happy she's getting her well deserved props! She was magic! I will always love her! No one like her ! She was finally inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!

I saw Laura perform at the Orpheum Theater in 1974 in Minneapolis. It was one of the best concerts I've ever experienced, the entire audience was enthralled, and Laura seemed surprised and touched by the standing ovation she received.

I have a good number of friends around the U.S. and abroad who live/love a wide range of musical genres and musical acts. That includes an awful lot of obscure acts, though they aren't obscure to us. But still, I very rarely every find anyone who really appreciates (or even knows) Laura Nyro, Alejandro Escovedo, Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson's albums, or Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" album. Boggles my mind.

I remember listening to her while in Vietnam early 70’s-such a clear & distinctive voice-a true soul sister!

Laura touched my soul when I was 12... I lived through her sound... she still moves me...her words, notes, visceral piercing rawness and musicality.. Her rhythms... I never tire... I feel her loss. xoxoxoxo

No, there is no one else like Laura Nyro!

Laura was beyond Joni and Carole all wrapped up in one supernova of talent

I got recommended this video by the algorithm and now I have all this music to listen to.

Saw her in Santa Monica ~71. After the first half, she invited out "my girlfriends, Patti, Nona, and Sarah" to join her onstage for the rest. That would be Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash--the voices of LaBelle. They sang all the tunes from "Gonna take a miracle". She called them her "heartbeat music". Damn.

This was done so well, with great reverence of the artist’s music, life and death. CBS covers the story of musical artists better than anyone. They let the music play, or the artist talk if they are interviewed, they don’t make the story about themselves.

Her song Poverty Train has always made the hairs standup on the back of my neck. She was an exceptional story teller and singer who could take us all to church and make us feel the spirit of the Lord and the lightning. Stoned Soul she was RIP Laura Nyro...thank you

the most amazing writer, composer, singer of our generation. she made hits for everyone else but herself. She raised my woman. I listened from 12-now. Long time. Genius.

She's talented especially singing it's gonna take a miracle was amazing. She really showed her strong soulful voice.

I am utterly thrilled to see these comments about Laura! She rests within my heart/soul always. Her fans are/were so grateful! If you didn't appreciate Laura, well... that said way to much about you, back then. I was fortunate to have a husband who loved her music as much as I. Wherever she was singing, he made sure we saw her. I'll never forget driving to New Hampshire to see her at the Iron Horse Cafe. So long a trip; so worth every bloody mile!! The Bottom Line; Carnegie Hall; the Fillmore. If Laura was at your venue you were pretty, pretty, pretty hip. She signed my Constant Comment tea box, at The Iron Horse Cafe. Her lyric "Nothing cures like time and love" was written on the side of the box. It was a teeny club and I asked her manager if he thought it would be alright if I gushed over her -between sets. I told him I went to Woodstock because she was in the original line-up, and I think he realized I was in an altered state: "Not necessarily stoned, but beautiful"... Laura's fans know how important her work was in boosting the respect of female artists trying to be taken seriously. When Miles Davis and Duane Allman play on your tracks... This 2001 program is something I'd never seen. Thank you. Thank you, Laura. "Love is surely gospel..." Forgotten? Not for a minute, indeed. Whew...

I adored her but I went to the Mayfair in santa monica and there were maybe 20 people there. She came out with a bedspread wrapped around her and barefoot but her singing was fabulous---a true original

Even though Laura was a bit before my time, I knew as I got older that she was the Carol King and Joni Mitchell of her time. She will always be a timeless legend !!!

This woman had a voice from God

She was a musician and singer’s songwriter. Tremendously respected by her peers

Anne Clarke: she's in her own class as a songwriter, not in anyone else's class, and I think she was/is recognized as such.

I completely believe that correction about Monterey. I saw her in a sold-out concert at the Berkeley Community Theater in 1969. You couldn't get more "hippie" than that audience, and they loved her.

Those of us who know, those of us who were there, we all recognized the genius of Laura Nyro!! Only critics (who don't matter) are slow to give her the respect she deserves. That is also true for all of the great female singer-songwriters including Joni Mitchell, Roberta Flack, Phoebe Snow, Janis Ian, and others. Only Carole King got decent press largely because she had lucrative hits before she did her watershed LP "Tapestry." It is natural and fitting there should be a musical celebrating her music on Broadway. I've read Laura's LP "Eli And The Thirteenth Confession" was conceived as a musical. Maybe fame from a broader audience eluded her, but she enjoyed the fruits of her passion and had the respect of her peers.

In 1969 when I became a member of the Columbia record club I found Laura Nyro 😊😊👏‼️ I bought her album and never heard it but she intrigued me. I always was a music lover but I’d like to hear from people I had never heard from before, that was her. I was amazed but not surprised, a gift of music and writing that was on her own, yet she wrote so much for so many and she finally decided to sing… Thank God!!!! An underrated songwriter, musician, singer who finally got her just do by going into the rock ‘n’ roll Hall of Fame I think it was 2012. I still listen to her music today… And I still love it just as much. Rest in peace, and know that your music and your songs live on‼️‼️‼️

“I never meant to hurt you I guess I lost my place Please believe the words of a heart A heart that hides its face...”

Her songs break your heart & help put it back together again💔.

I absolutely love this woman her talent her music her ability to grace America culture with her beauty. May Laura live on forever in our hearts.

She was a visionary and her music hasn't gone stale or become trapped in nostalgia or a label like 'classic rock'. It stands the test of time and most of the women/feminist artists and many male artists owe her a big debt of gratitude. One of her high points for me-and she had many of them-was when Duane Allman, another visionary, showed up on 'Beads Of Sweat'. Fire and Ice.

Fell in love with Laura's music when some very good friends first introduced me to it decades ago. Decades later am still feeling the exact same way. My only regret is never having seen her perform live so these RU-vid videos of her are a real treat. Cried listening to the last album, reading about her illness, and thinking this beautiful soulful artist was gone and not nearly as recognized as she should've been. I realize now though, as years go by, that Laura isn't really gone. Like so many of the great ones, she definitely left her mark in this world because here it is 2021 and we're still talking about her and still blown away by her like it was yesterday. I don't do drugs but listening to "Upstairs By A Chinese Lamp", "Smile" or ANY of her music from ANY of her albums always makes me feel like I'm high off the best ones out there.

Loved her then, love her now. I listen to her frequently and every time I do my whole system is lifted up and out. I saw her live in 1969 and she was dynamic.

Laura, Aretha, Nina, Eva Cassidy...so much soul. Now we have....oy... guess I'm showing my age.

Laura's music is simply, one of a kind. I bought her 1st album on Vanguard, back in late '66 , & was just speechless at what I was hearing. To this day, " I Never meant to Hurt You " , still, makes me tear up. she has that effect on me. RIP, Gorgeous Laura Nyro. ----------------------------WolfSky9, 74 y/o

I played her album over and over and over when I was little. I loved her

Laura Nyro was the soundtrack of my youth. Her songs are still in my heart

A truly transcending musical figure. Her soulfulness was breathtaking. It fills you up. One of my favorite artists of any musical genre.

Laura Nyro left too soon, her work was passionate and beautiful, she had a unique style and a moving delivery. RIP Laura.

She was visually stunning as well.

Spellbinding voice.... extremely talented

Can't forget a giant talent like her.

Thanks for posting. I still remember the day I fell in love Laura Nyro’s talent. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in NYC. My wife and I were visiting a friend living in Manhattan who said he wanted us to hear this fantastic album that was just released (it was vinyl of course). He put on Gonna Take A Miracle. Wow!!! It just knocked me out. Her interpretation of soul songs which I had always liked gave me a new appreciation, put them in a new light and made them more real. Laura’s singing has a depth of understanding, of believing in the spirit of the lyrics that few singers have. Needless to say I started listening to all her records and have been a fan ever since. Her music goes straight to my heart, it’s genuine, honest, moving and unique. Laura Nyro was a musical treasure that will never be replaced.

She was absolutely awesome, I could easily make my own major song list from her, nothing like the ones they so often play, she was something else, I miss her.

Gospel soul,beautiful melodies,drama and pop hooks with deep,intimate lyrics: Laura Nyro was a hugely influential and underrated artist,who is finally getting the love and respect she deserves-a timeless talent.

I never heard of her before - but I am glad she was revealed to me - she was deep and profound and I hope to keep her in my memory - she truly left this world 🌎 some very beautiful songs that others were made famous for singing. There were prophetic and philosophical messages in her songs and it was a blessing that she was able to transmit her internal thoughts of love ❤️

From the first time I heard her to the first time I saw her in 1968 she has been my number 1 and still is. She will never be forgotten, by we her loyal fans from the beginning.

at one time in the early '70's, I believe she had three of her songs in the top ten

She was something special

A titan of musicality, whose magic will continue to shine for future generations as much as it did for my own... A true great.

A beautiful and heartfelt report about Laura.

She was very special. A legend as fas as I'm concerned.

A very nice tribute to an amazing artist.Everyone should know who she is.

When I hear her music and her voice on her recordings..I feel a kind of magic.

😔 god bless your beautiful soul, Laura. You will NeVER be forgotten

I wish someone would honor Leon Russell’s Mad Dogs and Englishman in a musical. As for Laura N. Such an amazing genius. I miss her terribly.

Rest in powerful peace Laura Nyro 🙏 18 October 1947 8 April 1997⚘

OMG how I IDOLIZED her!! I met her after one of her concerts in DC Feb 14, 1972

I love Laura nyeo. When I was young, I did a watercolor portrait of her, and sent it to her.

Miss you Laura. Thanks for everything.

She talked about seeing colors while hearing sounds, and even conducting sessions that way. "More yellow." What a lovely spirit & songwriter.

I agree with the gentleman below. New York Tendaberry is my number one album of all time. I have already told my family that when it is my time to go, I want New York Tendaberry played at my memorial service. I can't think of a better way to transition from one life to the next.

Laura Nyro so amazing still. These songs are so recognizable and made other people famous. 💙

Wow, I wrote on another item that worked personal talent's room security when I was doing New England concerts and dealt with Laura at an event. And at the end, as she pack a small bag or two ready to head into the night, she turned an blew me a kiss. Wow, just like the kiss she blew to all of us on this piece on Laura. Brings me back to that very moment! Laura, we still miss you!!!

she was magnificent

I'm putting the lyrics to Laura Nyro's "And When I Die" on my tombstone: "I don't believe in Heaven but I pray to God there ain't no hell, Just bundle up my coffin 'cause it's cold way down there...."

Forgotten? It’s 2023 and I never heard of her until now and I’m in the same generation as her. I do and did love her songs but didn’t know that she wrote them. Maybe it’s because other people had hits with her songs.

she was amazing i have her first 4 albums original first recordings.

She was a "white Bob Dylan" who actually had other-wordly writing ability AND a great voice. She was a creative giant....incredibly gifted.

Thank you for bringing Laura Nyro back to our collective memories. We all remember her hit creations sung by other artists, and I learned about this later. I have her boxed set (yes there is one). Her melodies are what I love, not so much the words. They are strange and wonderful things we've never heard before. I can't understand why anyone would not love any one of her melodies. They are uncommon and delicious.

Great tribute to Laura. For me she could have become the female Cole Porter, had ambition or fate made that possible. I can think of no greater accolade for our beloved Laura.

they broke the mold with this angel. Thank you for making my heart ache..and soar. we'll never forget you Laura.

I have never forgotten Laura, never will.

She's always been my favorite since I was 18, and always will be. Love you always, and forever, Laura. My brother brought one of her albums when he came back from being in the Air Force. I was hooked from the first moment I heard her angelic voice. She is legendary.

I love Laura so much. I'm fake to have found this report. Thankyou for honoring her. ❤❤

Absolutely one of my all time favorites. ✨💖✨ An amazing talent!!!

Laura nyro was a musical genius Every word could make you feel deeply Hope her son is good

“Female bob Dylan” 🙄🙄 major eye roll so tired of hearing that about every female songwriter Laura is Laura 🙇🏻‍♀️ Amén

Laura Nyro, her music will live forever.