Born Laura Nigro on October 18, 1947, in The Bronx, New York, influential
singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro was one of the most successful
songwriters of the late 1960s, although she never achieved huge commercial
success as an artist during her lifetime. She became a musical inspiration for
many artists including Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Kate Bush, Elton John,
Jackson Brown, Todd Rundgren, Cyndi Lauper, and many others. As a teenager, she
sang with friends in subways and on street corners, writing songs in her spare
time. During this time, she changed her surname sev...