Dreams of a Kitten by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Dreams of a Kitten

Page 214

By the late 1980s, Nyro had become an animal rights activist and

vegetarian, and began to offer literature on the subject at her

concerts.

In late 1996, Nyro, just like her mother, was diagnosed with

ovarian cancer. After the diagnosis, “Columbia Records,” with

Nyro's involvement, prepared a two CD retrospective of material

from her years at the label. She lived to see the release of

“Stoned Soul Picnic: The Best of Laura Nyro” in 1997.

She died of ovarian cancer in Danbury, Connecticut, on April 8,

1997, at 49, the same age at which her mother died. Her ashes

were scattered beneath a maple tree on the grounds of her house

in Danbury.

Nyro's posthumous releases include “Angel In The Dark” (2001),

which includes her final studio recordings made in 1994 and

1995, and “The Loom's Desire” (2002), a set of live recordings

with solo piano and harmony singers from “The Bottom Line”

Christmas shows of 1993 and 1994.

Nyro's influence on popular musicians has also been acknowledged

by such artists as Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Tori Amos, Patti

Smith, Kate Bush, Suzanne Vega, Diamanda Galas, Bette Midler,

Rickie Lee Jones, Elton John, Jackson Browne, Alice Cooper,