The Whole Nine Yards Ep 288 2.8.26: Laura Nyro – a life in 23 songs with Roy Stannard on Mid Sussex Radio 103.8FM

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The Whole Nine Yards Ep 288 

With Roy Stannard

On Mid Sussex Radio 103.8FM

Sunday 2 August 2026  3-5pm

www.midsussexradio.co.uk/listen

Laura Nyro – A Life in 23 Songs

Laura Nyro (born Laura Nigro, 1947, The Bronx) grew up absorbing jazz, soul, gospel, girl‑group pop, classical music, and poetry — influences she fused into a style so distinctive that the mainstream often struggled to contain it. She wrote her first songs at eight, taught herself piano, and by her early 20s had become one of the most important American songwriters of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her own albums — Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969) — earned critical acclaim, while other artists turned her compositions into major hits. Her life was marked by bursts of creativity, periods of retreat, fierce independence, and a deep commitment to artistic authenticity.

Below, her story unfolds chronologically through 24 songs that shaped her career and legacy.

Hour One

Laura Nyro – And When I Die (More Than a New Discovery, 1967)

Fifth Dimension – Wedding Bell Blues (Age of Aquarius 1969)

Laura Nyro – Stoney End (More Than a New Discovery, 1967)

Barbra Streisand – Hands off the Man (Flim Flam Man) (Stoney End, 1971)

Three Dog Night – Eli’s Comin’ (Suitable for Framing, 1969)

Fifth Dimension – Stoned Soul Picnic (Stoned Soul Picnic, 1968)

Fifth Dimension ft Frank Sinatra – Sweet Blindness (live) (Frank and Friends TV show 1968)

Laura Nyro – Emmie (Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, 1968)

Renee Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma & Billy Childs – New York Tendaberry (Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro 2014)

Laura Nyro – Beads of Sweat (Christmas and the Beads of Sweat, 1970)

Hour Two

Laura Nyro – Up on the Roof (Christmas and the Beads of Sweat, 1970)

Laura Nyro – Save the Country (New York Tendaberry, 1969)

Laura Nyro & Labelle – I Met Him on a Sunday (Gonna Take a Miracle, 1971)

Laura Nyro – To a Child (Mother’s Spiritual, 1984)

Laura Nyro – Lite a Flame (Walk the Dog and Light the Light, 1993)

Laura Nyro – Broken Rainbow (Walk the Dog and Light the Light, 1993

Becca Stevens & Billy Childs – The Confession (Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro 2014)

Blood, Sweat & Tears – And When I Die (Blood, Sweat & Tears, 1969)

Laura Nyro – Walk on By (live) (Angel in the Dark 2001)

Jane Siberry – When I think of Jane Siberry (Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro 1997)

Tennis – Mean Streets (Ritual on Repeat 2014)

Elton John & Brandi Carlile – The Rose of Laura Nyro (Who Believes in Laura Nyro 2025)

Published by Roy Stannard

I'm someone who doesn't like parameters, barriers or fences. I'll try and climb over them, burrow under them or just pretend they don't exist - until they don't. Sometimes I'll write about the mind in a poetic way, or poetry with neural undertones, or I'll proselytise endlessly about my favourite new band - or one of the old ones. My Blog will give you the keys to the kingdom. A kingdom with no borders, no expectations and, therefore, no failure.. Because I am endlessly empathetic with people, their motivation, their behaviour,their problems and their quest for knowledge, I work with the pioneering Brighton-based homeless, vulnerable women and disempowered school students charity Off The Fence Trust that has tried to redress the equality deficit for over two decades. I produce, host and promote two radio shows a week: The Whole Nine Yards Sundays 3-5pm on Mid Sussex Radio 103.8FM (www.midsussexradio.co.uk/listen) - and Lost Immortals on Mid Sussex Radio 103.8FM on Sundays 5-7pm.

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