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Laurie Styvers
Biography Laurie Styvers
Laurie Styvers
may be amongst the lesser-known names within the milieu of 1970s cult singer-songwriters, but anyone who experiences the bewitching innocence on display within her two deeply moving solo albums, Spilt Milk (1971) and The Colorado Kid (1973), will surely fall in love with this enigmatic figure. Born in Texas, Styvers was a student at the American School in London when she joined the legendary 1960s psych-folk outfit Justine, guesting on their eponymous 1970 debut LP before heading back to the US to attend college in Colorado. She soon returned to the UK, embarking upon a solo career after signing with Hush Productions, founded by legendary producers Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who, David Bowie) and Hugh Murphy.
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."
"Although Laurie’s modern echoes are an undeniable delight, it is her reverberations in the music of the early ’70s that proves uncanny. Gemini Girl sets out to broaden Laurie’s fanbase and right her wrongful obfuscation." - Shindig! Magazine
