Late, great songwriter unknown but not unsung

Rediscovered Laura Nyro still strikes a chord

Laura Nyro: Her best-known songs were written while she was in her early 20s. Three of her albums are now being released on CD for the first time.

(CNN) -- For a time in the late '60s and early '70s, Laura Nyro was probably the most successful songwriter in the world.

The late singer's songs -- "Eli's Comin'," "And When I Die," "Stoned Soul Picnic," "Stoney End" -- were all over the radio, covered by artists ranging from Blood, Sweat and Tears to Barbra Streisand. The Fifth Dimension, in particular, built a good part of its career on covering Nyro's soul-gospel creations, taking one of them -- "Wedding Bell Blues" -- to No. 1 in 1969.

On her own, Nyro didn't fare quite as well commercially, but still had the respect of the music business. Her albums -- "Eli and the Thirteenth Confession," "New York Tendaberry," "Christmas and the Beads of Sweat," and "Gonna Take a Miracle" -- sold erratically, but were critically praised for their innovative arrangements and Nyro's songwriting versatility.

And then, in 1972, she gave it all up.

She got married, moved to New England, divorced, had a child from a short-lived relationship. In the late 1970s, she put out three more albums, but reaction was lukewarm. Not that the shy Nyro minded too much; for the rest of her career, until her death from ovarian cancer in 1997, she was happy to remain behind the scenes, putting out a couple more albums and playing occasionally.

Now, with a recent biography of the singer -- Michele Kort's "Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro" (St. Martin's Press) -- and the re-release by Sony Legacy of "Eli," "Tendaberry" and "Miracle" in CD deluxe editions on CD, a new generation is learning about Laura Nyro.

"Laura Nyro is an artist central to what we're doing," says Rita Houston, music director of New York's WFUV-FM, a station that plays roots and independent rock, blues and folk music. "She set the stage for so many who have followed." The station has a Laura Nyro Day in April, on the anniversary of her death.

Poetry on slips of paper

AUDIO 'Stoned Soul Picnic' 640K / 30 sec WAV sound 'New York Tendaberry' 552K / 26 sec WAV sound 'Jimmy Mack' 652K / 30 sec WAV sound

Nyro got off to a fast, if rocky, start. In 1966, when she was just 19, the Bronx native released "More Than a New Discovery," an album of mostly self-penned piano-based tunes, including "And When I Die" and "Stoney End." A year later, she played the Monterey Pop Festival, launching pad for artists as diverse as Jimi Hendrix and the Steve Miller Band.

Though Nyro's unusual performance was greeted poorly, she gained a fan in rising agent David Geffen, who became her manager. Geffen was becoming better connected all the time, and he lined up both a record deal with Columbia and placed several of her songs with noted artists.

Lee Houskeeper, who become Nyro's road manager and a close friend, remembers meeting the singer in a friend's apartment the day after her Monterey appearance -- "She sat in the corner. ... I was convinced the way I looked scared her to death," Houskeeper, who had shaved off all his hair to beat the draft, recalls -- and says she played a role in getting Crosby, Stills and Nash signed with Geffen, which helped the agent gain a major foothold in Southern California rock.

"David [Geffen] thought the [signing] was a done deal until Crosby looked at the record collection Geffen had rented," Houskeeper says, adding that the titles included MOR anti-rockers such as Mitch Miller. In a panic, Geffen sent Houskeeper to get Nyro, indicating to Crosby that the manager was truly on the group's wavelength. Nyro played the piano for them at Geffen's Central Park South headquarters and "won Crosby's heart."

The group signed a contract with Geffen and soon with Atlantic Records. Geffen and CSN took off for Los Angeles; Houskeeper stayed behind in New York and followed Nyro on tour.

Those days on the road, watching her play and write her songs, were magical, Houskeeper says. "I'd carry the piano seat, and places [that had been booked] thought we were a concert attraction. Imagine when they found out," he chuckles. Nyro opened for Sly and the Family Stone on one occasion and was inspired by everything, writing her songs on slips of paper.

"She'd file them away in a filing system that God only knows how it was organized," says Houskeeper.

Miles Davis, gospel, soul, Elvis

But when she found what she was looking for, she made some unique music.

Nyro was the daughter of a jazz trumpeter and grew up listening to Miles Davis and John Coltrane. But she was also influenced by Motown, Philadelphia soul, and "in her early days, she was an Elvis freak," says Houskeeper.

"For me, she was the kind of artist not tied to a particular music," adds Houston. "And I can't say that about a lot of artists."

All those influences were put together in her music. "Eli" was equal parts jazz, gospel and soul, sometimes with innovative string arrangements, other times just Nyro and her piano. "Tendaberry," her most personal work, took months to record -- forever in those days -- and was written with Davis in mind.

When the great, mercurial trumpeter showed up at the studio one day, Nyro was beside herself with joy and nervousness. Davis took one listen to the music, turned to her, and said, "You've said it all."

"She was thrilled," says Houskeeper.

"Gonna Take a Miracle" was a collection of pop and soul songs with backing by Labelle, virtually unknown four years before their No. 1 hit "Lady Marmalade." It was produced by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, on the rise with their streak of soul hits.

Nyro was one of the first in a line of female singer-songwriters, but far more inventive than many of her contemporaries, save perhaps Joni Mitchell. Today, echoes of her music can be heard in singers ranging from Stevie Nicks to Tori Amos to Ani DeFranco.

But despite her impact, Houskeeper believes Nyro didn't regret leaving the strains of the music industry behind.

"I don't think she ever liked the business," he says. "The most fun she had was with Labelle." An extremely private person, "at times it took everything for her to get on stage," he adds. "But the show always went on."

Houston hopes the re-releases boost Nyro's profile.

"A person who created music without boundaries [deserves an audience]," she says. "I hope they strike a chord."