Today we want to approach a song that was originally composed by someone different than the band who took it to the top of the charts – the free When I Die piano sheets.
Originally written by Laura Nyro when she was 17 years old, the song was first recorded by the group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966.
When I Die was included in Nyro’s debut album named More Than a New Discovery in 1967, and it was later recorded by Blood Sweat and Tears and included in their album titled the same as the band’s name.
Blood, Sweat & Tears is a jazz-rock music group, originally composed by Al Kooper, Jim Fielder, Fred Lipsius, Jerry Weiss, Steve Katz, Randy Brecker and Bobby Colomby and they sang mainly jazz-rock, but also pop-rock, R&B and psychedelic rock.
The free When I Die piano sheet music was released by Blood, Sweat and Tears in September 1969 through Columbia records.
It was released as a jazz-rock song, with a length of 4:06 minutes in the album version and 3:26 minutes in the single version.
Once on the market under their signature, When I Die reached number 1 in Canada, number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a Gold record.
Looking into the song’s composition, we see that the lyrics tell the story of a positive outlook about death, as the chorus says - And when I die / And when I'm gone / there'll be one child born, in this world / to carry on / to carry on.
When I Die was written by Laura Nyro and composed by James William Guercio, and it was also used in media in movies, TV commercials and TV series.
We strongly encourage you to play this unique jazz song on your piano at home, as it is now available on our website.
