Laura Nyro was an American songwriter and singer. 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. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous, while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. She was praised for her strong emotive vocal style and 3-octave mezzo-soprano vocal range.
Vincent John Cusano, better known by his stage name Vinnie Vincent, is an American guitarist. He is a former member of the rock band Kiss from 1982 until mid-1984 during the band's transition out of their 1973–1983 makeup period. Vincent was the last member to wear a unique makeup/costume configuration, as the character of The Ankh Warrior, until he and the band were first shown without the makeup during an interview on MTV in September 1983. He founded his own band, Vinnie Vincent Invasion, which had minor hits in the hair metal genre.
Portrait is the fifth album by American pop group The 5th Dimension, released in 1970. This is the group's first album for Bell Records, having switched from the Soul City Records label. The cover features an impressionistic portrait by famous artist LeRoy Neiman.
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1968.
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat is the fourth album by New York-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. The album was released on the Columbia Records label in November 1970 after Nyro had recorded it in the early summer with producers Felix Cavaliere and Arif Mardin. Whilst Nyro had handed over production reins, she was still in control of the project and co-arranged her compositions.
Felix Cavaliere is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the co-lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals.
Gonna Take a Miracle is the fifth album by New York City-born singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro, with assistance by vocal trio Labelle. It was released on Columbia Records in November 1971, one year after its predecessor Christmas and the Beads of Sweat. The album is Nyro's only all-covers album, and she interprets mainly 1950s and 1960s soul and R&B standards, using Labelle as a traditional back-up vocal group.
Smile is the sixth album by New York singer, songwriter and pianist Laura Nyro. It was released in early 1976, following a four-year hiatus from the music industry during which time she both married and divorced, and lived away from the spotlight. She dedicated the album to her mother.
Season of Lights... Laura Nyro in Concert is the first live album by American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro.
More Than a New Discovery is the debut album by Bronx-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro. It was recorded during 1966 and released early in the following year on the Verve Folkways imprint of the Verve Records label.
Mother's Spiritual is the eighth studio album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro and her ninth original album in total, including the 1977 live album Season of Lights.
Laura: Live at the Bottom Line is the second live album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro and her tenth original album in total, including the 1977 live album Season of Lights.
Elliott Randall is an American guitarist, best known for being a session musician and performing with popular music artists. Randall played the well-known guitar solos on Steely Dan's song "Reelin' in the Years" and Irene Cara's song "Fame". The former solo was ranked as the 40th best guitar solo of all time by the readers of Guitar World magazine and the eighth best guitar solo by Q4 Music.
Barbra Joan Streisand is the thirteenth studio album by American singer Barbra Streisand, released in August 1971 on Columbia Records. It was her second consecutive album produced by Richard Perry and features backing work by members of the female band Fanny. Like the two previous studio albums, the singer continued to opt for a more contemporary repertoire, this time choosing three songs by Carole King, two by John Lennon, two by Burt Bacharach and Hal David in medley form, and one each by Laura Nyro and the trio Michel LeGrand, Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman.
Tonin' is the sixteenth studio album by The Manhattan Transfer. It was released in 1995 on Atlantic Records. The expression "tonin'" is associated with the vocal groups of the 1950s and 1960s. The songs on this album are favorites of the band's from that era. Singer-songwriter Laura Nyro makes one of her last performances on this recording.
Born to Laugh at Tornadoes is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was. Rolling Stone declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release. Despite the glowing reviews, Tornadoes made little commercial impact in a year dominated by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince's 1999.
"Stoned Soul Picnic" is a 1968 song by Laura Nyro. The best-known version of the song was recorded by the 5th Dimension, and was the first single released from their album of the same title. It was the most successful single from that album, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Pop chart and No. 2 on the Billboard R&B chart. It became a platinum record.
Melody Fair is an album recorded by Lulu in 1970 for a release on Atco Records. She had recorded her first album for Atco, New Routes, in the fall of 1969 under the production auspices of top Atlantic Records execs Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin. Although New Routes had been a commercial disappointment, Wexler, Dowd and Mardin had Lulu record tracks for a follow-up album in March 1970 with virtually the same session personnel who had played on New Routes, although the latter album had been recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and the 1970 sessions were recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami.
Angel in the Dark is a 2001 album from American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro, released after her death and made up of recordings from 1994 and 1995.
American Dreamer is a 2021 box set of reissues from American singer-songwriter Laura Nyro released by Madfish. It has received positive critical reception.
