“And When I Die” (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

Yesterday’s classic song of the day was the 5th Dimension’s “Wedding Bell Blues,” written by the extremely talented Laura Nyro. Today’s classic song of the day is another Laura Nyro song, “And When I Die” by Blood, Sweat & Tears. Released at the end of September in 1969, this one was a huge hit for BS&T, rocketing all the way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100

“And When I Die” was purportedly the first song that Laura Nyro ever wrote, when she was just 17 years old. She included it on her debut album in 1967, More Than a New Discovery. It’s a hell of song, even more so when you consider it was her first. How do you top something like that?

The first recording of “And When I Die,” however, was by the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary. They released their version in 1966. They paid Ms. Nyro $5000 for the song and included it on their sixth studio album, The Peter, Paul and Mary Album.

Blood, Sweat & Tears picked up “And When I Die” a few years later, recording it for their self-titled second album. This was the first album with singer David Clayton-Thomas, who was brought in to replace founding member Al Kooper, who was kicked to the curb by the other band members after their critically acclaimed but low-selling debut album. As important as Kooper’s contribution was, it was DCT who made BS&T into a mainstream powerhouse. That and the songs they chose to record, of course, including this gem by Laura Nyro.

By the way, Ms. Nyro almost became the lead singer for BS&T after Al Kooper left and before they auditioned David Clayton-Thomas. She was dating Jim Fielder, the group’s bassist, when the band was looking for a replacement singer and the opportunity presented itself; David Geffen, her manager at the time, apparently talked her out of it. As it is, the group got to record several of her songs, including “And When I Die” and “He’s a Runner.”

Back when I was in junior high school, “And When I Die” turned me on not only to Laura Nyro and her songwriting prowess but also to Blood, Sweat & Tears and the jazz-rock sound at the turn of the decade. I became a huge BS&T fan and remain so today. I love listening to horn rock, I love playing horn rock, I love arranging horn rock. It’s just a fun genre with all the intricacies of jazz and all the drive of rock and roll. And, for me, it started with this single.

About the song. Not only did “And When I Die” have that unique Laura Nyro sound, it also featured some really heavy lyrics. This was a top 40 song talking about death. Really? Yeah, just listen to the words:

I’m not scared of dying and I don’t really care.
If it’s peace you find in dying, well, then let the time be near.
If it’s peace you find in dying, when dying time is here,
just bundle up my coffin cause it’s cold way down there,
I hear that’s it’s cold way down there, yeah, crazy cold way down there.
And when I die and when I’m gone,
there’ll be one child born and a world to carry on, to carry on.

By the way, BS&T changed one word in the chorus that kind of altered the song’s meaning. Ms. Nyro wrote “one child born AND a world to carry on,” while David Clayton-Thomas sang “one child born IN this world to carry on.” Subtle but different. I think I prefer Laura’s original—but that shouldn’t surprise anybody.

As much as I loved all the different versions of her songs done by artists like the 5th Dimension, Three Dog Night, Barbra Streisand, and BS&T, Laura Nyro’s originals are the gold standard. She was a quirky, quite original performer, her style perfectly suited to her slightly off-kilter songs. Her first album generated six, count ’em, six hits for different artists, but I still prefer those raw originals she recorded when she was just 17 years old, accompanying herself on piano. Laura Nyro was a true original and her songs stood out from everything else on the radio back then. She is missed.

And for your extra special bonus video of the day, here’s a young Laura Nyro performing her songs “He’s a Runner” (also recorded by Blood, Sweat & Tears) and “Save the Country” (recorded by the 5th Dimension) on NBC’s Kraft Music Hall: The Sounds of the Sixties on January 22, 1969. Damn, this is fine. Who else sounded like that back then—or today, for that matter?