“The minute they say I’m a blues singer, I change. I’m like the wind…”
- Nina Simone, 1967
There’s no easy way to define Nina Simone or the effect she had on American culture. She was an extremely gifted jazz pianist, a soul-stirring interpreter of modern song and a passionate champion of the Civil Rights Movement. She was also, at times, an extremely volatile and contentious personality. She’d often reprimand her audiences if she suspected a lack of consideration, and she had a reputation for brutal honesty with interviewers and critics. It was this honesty that allowed her to infuse almost any song she performed with a depth of meaning few other singers could match.
Nina was born in 1933 in the small town of Tryon, North Carolina. Daughter of a strict Methodist minister, she was raised on the music of her family’s church. She taught herself to play piano at age three and spent most of her childhood learning classical music. After studying two years on a scholarship to Juilliard, she applied to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Denied admission, she was convinced that the school refused to accept her because of racial bias. In order to make ends meet she began playing nights at a jazz bar in Atlantic City. Her discovery by a scout from independent jazz label Bethlehem, and her early regional radio success with I Loves You, Porgy started an astonishing 30 year career with over 40 original albums.
Nina’s most famous original composition, To Be Young, Gifted and Black, was written for an unfinished play by her close friend Lorraine Hansberry. The song’s co-writer, great jazz keyboardist Weldon Invine Jr., was Nina’s bandleader and organist throughout the 60’s. Nina was deeply honored when the song was named the “Official Anthem of Black America” by Chicago’s C.O.R.E. (the Congress of Racial Equality) in 1966. It’s been covered by many significant artists, with noteworthy versions by Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway.
Four Women is arguably her strongest original composition. It describes four different stereotypes of black women, and makes no judgment. It’s left to the listener to decide the truth. Nina sings each of the song’s characters in a different voice, acting the parts masterfully.
In addition to her best originals, Nina’s interpretations of several iconic EMI copyrights are compiled below. Perhaps the best known is her cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You. This is a prime example of her ability to reinvent and own a song she chooses to cover. She slows it down, stretches out the rhythm and adds beautiful, eerie scat vocal sections. Her cover of I Ain’t Got No/I Got Life was remixed by the UK’s Groovefinder and is experiencing new life in an ad campaign for Müller in Europe.
Some fabulous EMI copyrights are less famous but equally amazing. Her version of an obscure Jimmy Webb song shows just how well Nina could sing soul. Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter is a slinky, dark masterpiece that’s been a hit on the UK’s rare groove circuit of late. The swinging Go to Hell shows the humorous side of her repertoire. In 2007, Sony BMG's Legacy division released Remixed and Reimagined which offered some of Nina's best recordings to the hottest remixers in the business.Noteworthy EMIMP copyrights that Nina has written and/or performed include:
Originals:
TO BE YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK
(Nina Simone/Weldon Irvine Jr.) **
FOUR WOMEN (Nina Simone) *
REVOLUTION (Nina Simone/Weldon Irvine Jr.) **
DO I MOVE YOU (Nina Simone) **
THE BACKLASH BLUES (Nina Simone/Langston Hughes) **
COME YE (Nina Simone) *
REAL REAL (Nina Simone) *
TAKE ME TO THE WATER (Traditional, Arranged by Nina Simone) *
Covers:
I PUT A SPELL ON YOU (Jalacy Hawkins) *
I AIN’T GOT NO/I GOT LIFE
(Gerome Ragni/James Rado/Galt McDermott) **
EXACTLY LIKE YOU (Dorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh) ***
MOOD INDIGO (Duke Ellington/Barney Bigard/Irving Mills) *
OOH CHILD (Stan Vincent) **
NEW WORLD COMING (Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil) **
CHERISH (Terry Kirkman) **
Gems:
DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO (Jimmy Webb) **
FUNKIER THAN A MOSQUITO’S TWEETER (Aillene Bullock) **
GO TO HELL (Morris Bailey Jr.) **
TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS (Andy Stroud) *
GIMME SOME (Andy Stroud) *
SOME SAY (Charles Reuben) **
JULY TREE (Irma Jurist/Eve Merriam) *
I’M GOING BACK HOME (Rudy Stevenson) *
THE HUMAN TOUCH (Charles Reuben) **
EITHER WAY I LOSE (Van McCoy) *
AIN’T NO USE (Rudy Stephenson) *
Remixes:
I AIN’T GOT NO/I GOT LIFE – Groovefinder Remix
(Gerome Ragni/James Rado/Galt McDermott) **
FUNKIER THAN A MOSQUITO’S TWEETER -
Jazzeem’s All Styles Remix (Aillene Bullock) **
GO TO HELL - Mowo Remix (Morris Bailey Jr.) **
THE LOOK OF LOVE - Madison Park vs. Lenny B Remix
(Burt Bacharach/Hal David) **
OOH CHILD - Nickodemus Remix (Stan Vincent) **
OBEAH WOMAN - DJ Logic Remix (Tony McKay) **
*UNI Master
**Sony/BMG Master
*** Warner Master
Please note: These profiles are primarily based on songs controlled by EMI in the U.S. Control of certain copyrights varies by territory. Make sure to check rights locally. Biography courtesy of Keith D'Arcy
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