"And When I Die" was written by Laura Nyro, who was 17 when she wrote it. The song was first recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966. She sold the song to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5000. Their version was done in their typical Folk style. Nyro included it on her first album in 1967 "More Than A New Discovery". She included a light brass section, which led to Blood, Sweat & Tears, a nine-man group with a prominent horn section, covering it in 1969, and their version was the hit.
The Laura Nyro connection to Blood, Sweat & Tears: she was dating their bass player Jimmy Fielder. In an interview with David Clayton-Thomas, who was the group's lead singer, he explained: "Laura used to come to our rehearsals and hang out. Sometimes she'd bring a pizza to the rehearsal place - we were just all pals, and we knew Laura's songs. Even before she got her recording career launched, she was one of the inner circle of people we hung out with."
"And When I Die" was written by Laura Nyro, who was 17 when she wrote it. The song was first recorded by [Peter, Paul and Mary](https://hooktube.com/watch?v=lSY_IsYHaRg) in 1966. She sold the song to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5000. Their version was done in their typical Folk style. [Nyro included it](https://hooktube.com/watch?v=XCvwDjgKPoc) on her first album in 1967 "More Than A New Discovery". She included a light brass section, which led to Blood, Sweat & Tears, a nine-man group with a prominent horn section, covering it in 1969, and their version was the hit.
The Laura Nyro connection to Blood, Sweat & Tears: she was dating their bass player Jimmy Fielder. In an interview with David Clayton-Thomas, who was the group's lead singer, he explained: "Laura used to come to our rehearsals and hang out. Sometimes she'd bring a pizza to the rehearsal place - we were just all pals, and we knew Laura's songs. Even before she got her recording career launched, she was one of the inner circle of people we hung out with."
"And When I Die" was written by Laura Nyro, who was 17 when she wrote it. The song was first recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966. She sold the song to Peter, Paul and Mary for $5000. Their version was done in their typical Folk style. Nyro included it on her first album in 1967 "More Than A New Discovery". She included a light brass section, which led to Blood, Sweat & Tears, a nine-man group with a prominent horn section, covering it in 1969, and their version was the hit.
The Laura Nyro connection to Blood, Sweat & Tears: she was dating their bass player Jimmy Fielder. In an interview with David Clayton-Thomas, who was the group's lead singer, he explained: "Laura used to come to our rehearsals and hang out. Sometimes she'd bring a pizza to the rehearsal place - we were just all pals, and we knew Laura's songs. Even before she got her recording career launched, she was one of the inner circle of people we hung out with."