Dreams of a Kitten by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Dreams of a Kitten

Page 221

Todd Rundgren has also acknowledged the strong influence of

Nyro's 1960s music on his own songwriting. While a member of the

pop group “Nazz,” his great admiration for Nyro led him to

arrange a meeting with her, which took place shortly after she

had recorded the “Eli and the Thirteenth Confession” LP. Nyro

invited Rundgren to become the musical director of her backing

group, but his commitments to “Nazz” obliged him to decline.

Rundgren's debut solo album “Runt” (1970) includes the strongly

Nyro influenced "Baby Let's Swing" which was written about her

and mentions her by name. Rundgren and Nyro remained friends for

much of her professional career and he subsequently assisted her

with the recording of her album “Mother's Spiritual.”

On April 14, 2012, Laura Nyro was inducted into the Rock and

Roll Hall of Fame. The induction speech was delivered by singer

Bette Midler and the award was accepted by her son, Gil

Bianchini. The song "Stoney End" was performed by singer Sara

Bareilles at the induction ceremony.

A hybrid daylily named for Laura Nyro was introduced in 2000.

The Scottish band Cosmic Rough Riders released a tribute song,

"Laura Nyro," on their 2001 album “Pure Escapism.”

The song "Mean Streets" by the band Tennis is a tribute to Nyro.