by Robert Wilkinson
We begin our musical Sunday with two extraordinary songwriters who had birthdays on October 18. One died too young, Laura Nyro, and the other, Cynthia Weil, gave us some of the greatest tunes of the past 50 years. If you haven't heard of these women, they composed some tunes I knew you've heard!
We'll begin with the great Laura Nyro (October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997). She was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist, and worked with Barbra Streisand, the 5th Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Three dog Night, and Maynard Ferguson, all of whom rode her songs up the charts.
We'll start with some studio stuff. For your enjoyment, here's Laura in some audio-only studio tracks doing "Stoned Soul Picnic,"
There’s very little footage of Laura performing live, so enjoy these few gems!
We'll begin our live footage with Laura's remarkable performance at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival in the 1967 Summer of Love!
"Wedding Bell Blues" and "Poverty Train."
From January 1969 on Kraft Music Hall Presents the Sounds of the Sixties, rare live television footage of Laura singing "He's a Runner" & "Save the Country."
Last year I had her entire 1 hour and 16 show at the Fillmore East in 1970, but this year it’s gone. However, I found these from that show, with Laura at the piano performing “He’s A Runner”
From the Fillmore East in 1971, “Map To The Treasure”
Here’s an audio-only clip of Laura live performing “And When I Die” - Live at the Bottom Line
Despite the camera work, enjoy this rare clip from 1994 of Laura doing “And When I Die”
From the same show, “Oh Yeah Maybe Baby” (No, it’s NOT the Buddy Holly song!)Here’s her historic first album! When the first song is done, the rest will autoload in order of the album.Laura Nyro – More Than A New Discovery
Here’s an 8 minute audio-only interview in 1969 with Laura Nyro by William Kloman on 'Critique', a public television series, set to stills. The Laura Nyro Interview where she speaks about growing through pain and other intimate offerings.
This is how loved she was! Listen to the applause greeting her! Here’s the full 1 hour plus performance of Laura Nyro at Carnegie Hall, 1971
A few videos of other groups who made her tunes into hits. For your enjoyment,
First, the group that had more success with Laura’s tunes than she did. These are some fantastic live performances by one of the most talented groups of the late 60s! We’ll begin in 1968, live on television, of the 5th Dimension doing a tune that went to #3 on the charts, "Stoned Soul Picnic." Very smooth!
They went to #1 on the charts with another of Laura’s hits! Here’s another television performance in 1969 with the 5th Dimension at their peak doing Laura's "Wedding Bell Blues." They really were a fantastic group!
Here’s an interesting video clip of the 5th Dimension lip-synching while riding in a British convertible to a tune they took to #13 in 1968, Laura’s "Sweet Blindness."
Here’s the 5th Dimension’s studio version that went to #21 of Laura’s "Blowing Away," which we’ll follow with a tune they took to #27 in 1970, Laura’s "Save the Country."
And now, from 1970, a very live and rocking performance by Three Dog Night doing "Eli's Coming."
From 1970 in Japan, a video clip of early Blood, Sweat, and Tears performing "And When I die."
We’ll close this birthday tribute with two incredible album cuts by one of the best! Here’s the studio recording by the amazing Barbra Streisand of Laura’s composition “Stoney End,” and from the same 1971 album, Barbra doing Laura’s “Hands Off the Man (Flim Flam Man)"
So today we also send up a heartfelt RIP happy birthday to the great Laura Nyro. You died way too young. Since you left the building, I have no doubt there have been many children “born to carry on, to carry on….”
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This week we also had the birthday of another phenomenally talented songwriter, Cynthia Weil (October 18, 1940). Most have never heard of this amazing woman, but with husband Barry Mann, this Brill Building team cranked out some of the most memorable songs in history, made into huge hits by some of the best! I don’t have time to do a full tribute this year, but to whet your appetite, here are some of her greatest!
Here the New Drifters perform Cynthia’s tune that the originally went to #9, “On Broadway”
Here George Benson gives us a fantastic live performance of “On Broadway”
The great Neil Young gave us this version of his Freedom album of “On Broadway” and though the camera is not up to speed, this 1989 performance is great! “On Broadway”
Here’s the original studio version by the Crystals of their huge 1961 hit, “Uptown”
Live on television in 1973, here are the Ronettes doing Cynthia’s “Walkin’ in the Rain”
From 1963, here’s the studio version by Eydie Gorme of “Blame It On The Bossa Nova”
Paul Revere and the Raiders lip synching to a Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann collaboration that the band took to #4, “Kicks”
You’ve never heard these three covers by others! First, here’s the legendary Del Shannon doing his version of “Kicks,” and then there’s this version by the Flamin’ Groovies which sounds like a punk version of “Kicks.” We’ll close out this trifecta with Todd Rundren’s very psychedelic Nazz version of “Kicks.”
Last year I had a clip of a very impatient Ed Sullivan hustling their lip synch to “Kicks” but it’s disappeared. I also had a blurry video of Paul and the band lip-synching to “Hungry” but it too is gone. So instead here’s the studio version of their #6 smash hit “Hungry”
Here’s the uncensored version Columbia wouldn’t release because of the reference to being stoned. “Hungry”
Here’s a great 15 minute medley that is a perfect example of why Paul Revere used to be called “the Madman of Rock and Roll!” It's really kind of funny! “Hungry,” “Just Like Me,” “Rock Paulinoff”
We’ll finish this pair of hits with Sammy Hagar’s 1977 version from his first album! Classic Hagar cranking out classic “Hungry”
Here the Righteous Brothers perform a Cynthia Weil tune on Shindig, originally produced by Phil Spector. For your enjoyment, the blue eyed Soul monster hit "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling." Here they are again in 1964 with great harmonies done to a backing track! In their classic days, "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."
Live in 1966, here they are doing another Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil tune, “(You're My) Soul And Inspiration." Here’s another live performance on Hullabaloo from 1966 of “(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration.”
From Hullabaloo in 1965, a live performance by Jay and the Americans of a tune Cynthia wrote with Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, a somewhat scathingly satiric commentary on the lack of civil rights at the time, “Only In America”
(As I told you a few weeks ago, it was originally written for the Drifters, and is not the tune "America" from West Side Story. From Songfacts: The song was written at a time before integration, and the lyrics were originally about racism. It had the following chorus: "Only in America, land of opportunity, can they save a seat in the back of the bus just for me. Only in America, Where they preach the Golden Rule, will they start to march when my kids go to school." Atlantic Records had a problem with the lyrics, so the songwriters changed them to be a satiric message of patriotism.)
Here’s Mama Cass solo live at the Hollywood Palace doing Cynthia’s tune she made into a hit "Make Your Own Kind of Music."
From the 1968 movie “Wild in the Streets, the hit song from a legendary cult flick about teenagers taking over the vote and electing an anarchist kid as president! Here Max Frost and the Troopers give us Cynthia and Barry’s hit that went to #22, “Shape of Things to Come”
We’ll close with a great television clip from 1965 of the Animals singing to a backing track of their huge hit written by our birthday girl and Barry Mann, “We Gotta Get Out of this Place” (#2 UK, #13 US)
Our encore is courtesy of Cardiff in 2013, when the Boss showed up with Eric to do a live version of “We Gotta Get Out of this Place.”
Our second encore is the hard rock Oz band the Angels giving us their driving version of “We Gotta Get Out of this Place.”
Thanks, Cynthia, for being a major part of the soundtrack of my life! Your music will live forever!
© Copyright 2023 Robert Wilkinson
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