Laura Nyro

Laura Nyro (born Laura Nigro) (October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was born in the The Bronx, New York, of Italian-American and Jewish-American parents.

She was an American composer, lyricist, singer, and pianist, one of the most influential musicians to emerge in the 1960s. Her style was a distinctive hybrid of Brill Building-style New York pop, mixed with elements of jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, and rock. She blazed the trail for – and directly influenced – future composers including Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Donald Fagen, Todd Rundgren, and Rickie Lee Jones, among many others.
Bob Dylan reportedly startled a young Laura Nyro when he approached her at a party and declared "I love your chords!"
Nyro died of ovarian cancer in Danbury, Connecticut on April 8 1997 at the age of 49. The same disease had claimed the life of her mother, Gilda Mirsky Nigro, also 49 at the time of her death.

Her life partner was Maria Desiderio (d. 1999). She is survived by her son Gil Bianchini, her father Louis Nigro, and her brother Jan Nigro.