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Sep 27, 2023 · Little Girl Blue is a powerful and emotionally charged song recorded by the legendary jazz singer, Nina Simone. Released in 1958, it has become one of her signature songs, captivating listeners with its haunting melodies and deeply evocative lyrics.
- The Meaning Behind The Song: Plain Gold Ring by Nina Simone
Plain Gold Ring, one of Nina Simone’s most iconic songs, is...
- The Meaning Behind The Song: To Be Young; Gifted and Black by ...
The song became one of Nina Simone’s signature tunes,...
- The Meaning Behind The Song: Plain Gold Ring by Nina Simone
- ‘I Love(S) You Porgy’
- ‘Mississippi Goddam’
- ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’
- ‘I Put A Spell on You’
- ‘Feeling Good’
- ‘Four Women’
- ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas, Don’T Leave Me’
- ‘I Ain’T Got No / I’ve Got Life’
- ‘Mr. Bojangles’
- ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’
The song was originally from the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess, sung as a duet, penned by Ira Gershwin and music by George Gershwin. In the lyrics, Bess who is a black woman from a poor neighbourhood, asks Porgy to convince her not to go and see her abusive lover Crown. Although a brilliant composition, the song has been rightly accused of linguistic s...
This song marks Simone’s direct involvement with the Civil Rights Movement. One of the few songs written by Simone, it was released in her 1964 album Nina Simone in Concert, a compilation of three concerts that she gave at Carnegie Hall earlier that year. Simone was triggered when she heard about the arrest of the torchbearer of the Civil Rights Mo...
A jazz standard, it was originally co-written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn for the 1930 film version of the musical comedy Whoopee! The song became a signature tune of the American singer, actor, comedian Eddie Cantour who lent his voice to the movie track. Almost three decades later, Nina Simone covered the song by rendering a much-stylised ve...
Once again, a brilliant cover song that was originally composed and sung by Jalacy Hawkins aka Screamin’ Jay in 1956. Hawkins intended it to be “a refined love song, a blues ballad” at the beginning but the plans were thrown straight into the dustbin when the producer Arnold Maxin “brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk.” The result wa...
This song is synonymous with Simone’s name. The song was originally written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd in 1964. The song was covered by many artists like Michael Bublé, George Michael, John Coltrane, Eden, Sammy Davis Jr., Sophie B. Hawkins, and Avicii since then. But n...
Written and composed by Simone herself, the song featured in her 1966 album Wild Is The Wind. As the title suggests, the song is about four women who represent stereotypical African-American females. The first one is ‘Aunt Sarah’ who symbolises African-American enslavement and is described with phrases such as “strong enough to take the pain” and “...
The song belongs to the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel and was released in 1959. A very popular tune, it has been adapted in several languages such as Arabian, Dutch, Hebrew, Russian and Spanish apart from French. Rod McKuen’s English adaptation ‘If You Go Away’ became as popular as the original song. Simone lived a short while in Paris in ...
It is a medley of two songs ‘I Ain’t Got No’ and ‘I’ve Got Life’ from the musical Hair, that featured in Simone’s album ‘Nuff Said in 1968 and was released as a single. Originally the lyrics of the songs were written by James Rado and Gerome Ragni while Galt MacDermot composed them. Simone consciously paired the two songs and rewrote them into a si...
Originally a country song written and performed by Jerry Jeff Walker in 1968, it was inspired by an encounter with a street performer in the New Orleans jail. Mr Bojangles, a name made up by Walker to conceal the true identity of that person, was arrested by the police like many, following a high-profile murder. Walker met him in 1965 during his sh...
A discussion about Simone’s greatest songs would be incomplete without the inclusion of a gospel. ‘It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ was a gospel-blues that was first recorded by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927. Johnson performed the song with a slide guitar originally, making the song a favourite among many musicians for generations to come. Although Sim...
- Eric Kamau
- Feeling Good. Number one on the top 10 Nina Simone songs is the hit “Feeling Good” from her album I Put a Spell on You. “Feeling Good” is an exhilarating hit regarded by many as Nina Simone’s anthem of liberation.
- My Baby Just Cares for Me. “My Baby Just Cares for Me” is a catchy song from Nina Simone’s album Little Girl Blue. The song is a jazz standard written by Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn for the 1930 film Whoopee!
- Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood. Sol Marcus, Bennie Benjamin, and Gloria Caldwell collaborated in penning the song “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” for Nina Simone’s 1964 album Broadway-Blues-Ballads.
- I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free. “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” is one of the best Nina Simone songs from her album Silk & Soul.
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Jun 26, 2015 · “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” The playwright Lorraine Hansberry, a close friend of Simone’s, died an untimely death at 34. Her ex-husband, Robert Nemiroff, staged this play...
Later featured in a variety of cinematic and commerical soundtracks, “Feeling Good” arguably became Simone’s signature song, its pure optimism and soulful vocals blessing the ears of ...
