Now it's getting really exciting - Christmas Eve is a few hours away! If we all put our excitement, sense of wonder and hopes for the future out into the world at the same time, who knows what might happen? :)
Penultimate Laura Nyro song of the advent countdown! Laura sings these slow-jam soul numbers sooooo well - this is a beautiful cover taken from The Loom's Desire live album, recorded at Christmastime in NYC in 1994
The snowy pic is from a rare photoshoot that I think Laura did (I'm piecing things together here from different sources) at Buffy Sainte-Marie's house in Maine in the winter of 1969. Laura was there as part of a week-long writing retreat (Buffy Sainte-Marie wasn't there, though the two were friends). The photos from the shoot are really beautiful, and very different to other photos of Laura at the time, which are often indoors, in the studio or perhaps her apartment. The white snow and Laura's black are so striking. Later on, Laura would move to similarly natural surroundings in Connecticut, but at this point, she was still very much a New York City songwriter.
Bonus extra piece of research! Laura's reach is so wide and deep - here's a little piece from the website of Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the songs for Godspell and Wicked amongst other musicals. Apparently in the original score of Godspell, the song 'Bless the Lord' has the direction 'a la Laura Nyro'; though when I looked it up, newer editions say simply 'Swingy' or 'Gospel Swing':
That's it! One day to go! See you on Christmas Eve!
Taken moments ago and sent to me from NYC:
Have I heard Ooh, baby before ? I always need to hear songs lots before they sink in... although snippets catch my attention.
The natural aspect of the photo,both of the landscape and her outdoor clothes is a nice combination .
Who knows what might happen? Let’s find out! :)
Before I heard her sing it, I thought the only words were ooh, baby. I didn’t know she and Buffy were friends. That makes sense. Lots of b&w in the color photo is interesting. Alex Lacamoire of Hamilton fame is in the Godspell pic. I saw Godspell at dinner theater at St. Mary’s High School in Gaylord, Michigan, home of the Alpenfest, at a table with a bunch of priests. The conversation is burned into my brain—another one for a different forum. Jingle jingle :)