Laurie Styvers

70s American Folk-Pop Singer-Songwriter

Laurette Stivers, known as Laurie Styvers, was a British-based, American singer-songwriter, born in Texas 3 August 1951. In 1966 Laurie and her family moved to London and she attended the American School In London, during which time she answered an ad to join the folk-psych outfit Justine. Though she participated in the group's recordings sessions for Dot and Uni, Styvers left to attend college in Colorado before Justine's eponymous LP was released in May 1970. She returned to re-join the group in late 1970, only for Justine to split up shortly thereafter. Justine's producer Hugh Murphy subsequently signed Styvers to a recording contract with Hush Productions, the production/management entity founded by Murphy and Shel Talmy. Her debut solo album "Spilt Milk" was recorded over the spring of 1971 with British session musicians led by arranger Tom Parker. Talmy shopped the completed record and it was issued in the US on Warner Brothers that October. Styvers made some brief promotional appearances on behalf of the release in the United States but soon returned to college in Denver. "Spilt Milk" had a delayed release in the UK on Chrysalis in May 1972, accompanied by a single of 'Beat The Reaper', which enjoyed airplay on Radio 1. Styvers returned to the UK once more to record with Murphy. This second album was entitled "The Colorado Kid" and was released the following year in the UK and other territories, but not the US. Despite the airplay and good reviews, Styvers ended her music career and returned to the United States for good. She eventually moved back to Texas and started an animal rescue center with her father. She sadly died as a result of hepatitis on February 18, 1998. "Gemini Girl", a Laurie Styvers retrospective containing both of her albums and additional unreleased material was released by High Moon in February 2023. Reviewing the set for Pitchfork, Grayson Currin describes Styvers music as "a piano-driven wonderland that invoked the buoyant pop side of Laurel Canyon vogue to frame a complicated internal portrait."