Margo Guryan
Margo Guryan (born in Far Rockaway, New York City) is a singer/songwriter who blends elements of pop, folk, and jazz. She is best known for her 1968 album Take A Picture. Her songs were recorded by Cass Elliot, Glen Campbell and Astrud Gilberto, among others. She is also notable for her stint as a designer in the early 1960s with the Impulse Records label, for whom she designed the label's original logo, an iconic design in black, orange and white with a trademark inverted exclamation point at the end.
Margo Guryan grew up in the suburbs of New York City, and took an interest in music from an early age. At Boston University, she studied classical and jazz piano, idolizing musicians such as Max Roach and Bill Evans. She was primarily a jazz musician until a friend made her listen to the song "God Only Knows" from the album Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys. According to Guryan,
"I thought it was just gorgeous. I bought the record and played it a million times, then sat down and wrote 'Think of Rain.' That's really how I started writing that way. I just decided it was better than what was happening in jazz."
Her song "Sunday Morning" was recorded by Spanky and Our Gang. It released December, 1967 and reached #19. In 1968, she released the album Take A Picture, an album full of light, jazz-tinged pop melodies. Due to Guryan's refusal to tour, the album was underpromoted and failed to make an impact. Resigned with this, Guryan withdrew from the professional scene and became a music teacher.
Take A Picture was reissued in 2000 by Franklin Castle Records. A collection of demos entitled 25 Demos has also been made available. In 2006, the song "Take A Picture" was used in a TV advert for mobile camera phones. Guryan's song "Lonely Woman" was covered by singer Chris Connor in 1962 then in 1966 by Finnish jazz singer Carola Standertskjöld.
