Nina Simone Sings the Blues
{{Infobox album
| name = Nina Simone Sings the Blues
| type = studio
| artist = Nina Simone
| cover = Ninasimonesingstheblues.jpg
| alt =
| released = January?, 1967
| recorded = December 19, 1966 - January 5, 1967
| venue =
| studio = RCA Victor, New York City, New York
| genre = Blues, soul, jazz, pop, folk
| length =32:35
| label = RCA Victor
| producer = Danny Davis
| prev_title = High Priestess of Soul
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = Silk & Soul
| next_year = 1967
}}
{{Album reviews
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/nina-simone-sings-the-blues-mw0000768895|title=Nina Simone Sings the Blues - Nina Simone | Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=30 December 2021}}
|rev2 = All About Jazz
|rev3 = Entertainment Weekly
|rev3score = A–{{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/01/27/we-review-four-nina-simone-albums/|last=Browne|first=David|author-link=David Browne (journalist)|date=January 27, 2006|title=We review four Nina Simone albums|work=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=April 24, 2024}}
|rev4 = PopMatters
|rev5 = Tom Hull
|rev6 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev6Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}
}}
Sings the Blues is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. This was Simone's first album for RCA Victor after previously recording for Colpix Records and Philips Records. The album was also reissued in 2006 with bonus tracks, and reissued in 1991 by RCA/Novus as a 17-track compilation under the title The Blues.
Song information
- "My Man's Gone Now," from the opera Porgy & Bess by George Gershwin.
- "Backlash Blues," one of Simone's civil rights songs. The lyrics were written by her friend and poet Langston Hughes.
- "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl," based on a song by Simone's great example, Bessie Smith, but with somewhat different lyrics.
- "The House of the Rising Sun" was previously recorded live by Simone in 1962 on Nina at the Village Gate. After its cover by The Animals became a hit, she recorded it in studio. The fast-paced version on this album is very different from the slow, intimate version on Nina at the Village Gate.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| title1 = Do I Move You?
| writer1 = Nina Simone
| length1 = 2:46
| title2 = Day and Night
| writer2 = Rudy Stevenson
| length2 = 2:35
| title3 = In the Dark
| writer3 = Lil Green
| length3 = 2:57
| title4 = Real Real
| writer4 = Nina Simone
| length4 = 2:21
| title5 = My Man's Gone Now
| writer5 = George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward
| length5 = 4:16
| title6 = Backlash Blues
| writer6 = Langston Hughes, Nina Simone
| length6 = 2:31
| title7 = I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl
| writer7 = Nina Simone
| length7 = 2:32
| title8 = Buck
| writer8 = Andy Stroud
| length8 = 1:52
| title9 = Since I Fell for You
| writer9 = Buddy Johnson
| length9 = 2:52
| title10 = The House of the Rising Sun
| writer10 = Traditional
| length10 = 3:53
| title11 = Blues for Mama
| writer11 = Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln
| length11 = 4:00
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Bonus tracks on 2006 reissue
| title12 = Do I Move You?
| note12 = Second version
| writer12 = Nina Simone
| length12 = 2:17
| title13 = Whatever I Am
| writer13 = Willie Dixon
| length13 = 2:35
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Additional tracks on The Blues (1991)
| title12 = The Pusher
| writer12 = Hoyt Axton
| length12 = 4:50
| note12 = from It Is Finished
| title13 = Turn Me On
| writer13 = John D. Loudermilk
| length13 = 2:24
| note13 = from Silk & Soul
| title14 = It's Nobody's Fault But Mine
| writer14 = Blind Willie Johnson
| length14 = 2:59
| note14 = from Nina Simone and Piano
| title15 = Go to Hell
| writer15 = Morris Bailey, Jr.
| length15 = 2:46
| note15 = from Silk & Soul
| title16 = I Shall Be Released
| writer16 = Bob Dylan
| length16 = 3:51
| note16 = from To Love Somebody
| title17 = Gin House Blues
| writer17 = Fletcher Henderson, Henry Troy
| length17 = 3:08
| note17 = from 'Nuff Said!
}}
Personnel
Tracks 1-12
- Nina Simone - vocals, piano
- Eric Gale - guitar
- Rudy Stevenson - guitar
- Ernie Hayes - organ
- Bob Bushnell - bass
- Bernard Purdie - drums, timpani
- Buddy Lucas - harmonica, tenor saxophone
Track 13
- Nina Simone - vocals, piano
- Eric Gale - guitar
- Everett Barksdale - guitar
- Weldon Irvine - organ
- Richard Tee - organ
- Jerry Jemmott - bass
- probably Bernard Purdie - drums
- Specs Powell - vibes, percussion
- Montego Joe - percussion
- George Devens - percussion
- Joe Shepley, Jimmy Nottingham, Harold Johnson, Wilbur Bascomb - trumpets
- Jimmy Cleveland, Richard Harris - trombones
- Seldon Powell, George Coleman, Norris Turney, Haywood Henry - saxophones
- Ralph H. Fields, Eileen Gilbert, Jerome Graff, Milt Grayson, Hilda Harris, Noah Hopkins, Maeretha Stewart, Barbara Webb - vocals
- Arranged and conducted by Weldon Irvine
Charts
| class="wikitable" |
| Chart (1967)
! Peak position |
|---|
| US Hot R&B LPs
| style="text-align:center;"|29{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/nina-simone/chart-history/blp/|title=Nina Simone - Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop albums)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 14, 2021}} |
| Chart (2006)
! Peak position |
| US Jazz Albums
| style="text-align:center;"|37{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/nina-simone/chart-history/jls/|title=Nina Simone - Chart History (Jazz Albums)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 14, 2021}} |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Nina Simone}}
External links
- {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r26260|label=11-track edition (1967)}}
- {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r814841|label=13-track reissue (2006)}}
- {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r24324|label=17-track compilation (1991)}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Albums conducted by Weldon Irvine