Laura Nyro’s solo work never quite hit home with the mainstream. Yet many of her songs hit big via covers by other artists. Interpretations of her idiosyncratic originals cut through the pop clutter in the late 60s and early 70s.
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Meanwhile, Three Dog Night mostly relied on the songwriting of others to make their dent on the public consciousness. Their version of Nyro’s “Eli’s Comin’” became one of the band’s biggest hit singles in 1969.
Nyro’s Knack
Who knows why Laura Nyro’s versions of her wonderfully unique songs didn’t break through to the pop charts? The artists who covered her material often stuck mostly to the arrangements that he used when she did the originals.
Her first two albums contained no less than six hit singles. But none of those hits came courtesy of the versions released by Nyro. What’s even stranger is that she was an utterly compelling vocalist, so it’s not like people were out-singing her. Maybe it was bad timing, or perhaps indifferent promotion.
In any case, Nyro watched as artists like The 5th Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Barbra Streisand rocketed up the charts with songs that she penned. From her 1968 album Eli And The 13th Confession came “Eli’s Comin’”, which, as it turned out, would also scale the pop ladder thanks to a belated cover version.
Eyeing Up “Eli”
Three Dog Night stood out on the rock scene of the era in that they didn’t really focus much on songwriting. Occasionally, one of the band’s members might pen an album track. But when it came to their singles, they would look out for some unsung songwriters with great material that might not be getting its due.
That made them a perfect match for Laura Nyro. Having heard her perform “Eli’s Comin’” live, they were intrigued by the song’s unique format. After starting quietly, it speeds up to a frenetic pace. The band boasted three talented lead singers from whom to choose. They went with Cory Wells on this one.
For the most part, they hewed close to Nyro’s structure on their version. “Eli’s Comin’”, which Nyro wrote while she was still in high school, became another major hit in a string of them for Three Dog Night. The song peaked at No. 10 in 1969 as a single, while also appearing on the album Suitable For Framing.
Behind the Lyrics of “Eli’s Comin’”
“Eli’s Comin’” doesn’t stray too far from a single message: “Eli’s comin’, hide your heart, girl.” We’re not given any information about why this guy is such a threat. What’s interesting is how the different versions change the perspective. When Nyro sang it, you could imagine that the narrator had been a victim of this guy’s dangerous charm.
When Wells sings it for Three Dog Night, it seems like he’s worried that Eli is going to take his beloved away from him. Amidst all the frantic warnings about his arrival, Nyro manages to slip in a bit of mystery into the lyrics with the line “I walked to Apollo by the bay.”
Maybe it’s because Nyro was so young when she wrote it that “Eli’s Comin’” takes on such a one-note vibe, at least lyrically. But the music masterfully builds up the tension and releases it to capture all the drama of the song’s “burnin’ heartache.” Three Dog Night wisely followed Nyro’s lead in their hit take on the track.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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