Nina Simone Sings the Blues
| Nina Simone Sings the Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Nina Simone | ||||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Recorded | RCA Victor's studio B | |||
| Genre |
Vocal Blues Soul Jazz Pop Folk Hip hop | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Danny Davis | |||
| Nina Simone chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  [1] |
| All About Jazz | (Highly favorable)[2] |
| Pop Matters | (Favorable)[3] |
Sings the Blues (1967) is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. This was Simone's first album for RCA Records after previously recording for Colpix Records and Philips Records. The album was also reissued in 2006 with bonus tracks, and re-packaged 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", previously recorded by Simone in 1962 on Nina At The Village Gate. After its cover by The Animals became a hit she re-recorded it. The fast-paced version on this album is completely different from the slow, intimate version Simone recorded earlier on Nina at the Village Gate (1962).
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Do I Move You?" | Nina Simone | 2:46 | |
| 2. | "Day and Night" | Rudy Stevenson | 2:35 | |
| 3. | "In the Dark" | Lil Green | 2:57 | |
| 4. | "Real Real" | Nina Simone | 2:21 | |
| 5. | "My Man's Gone Now" | George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward | 4:16 | |
| 6. | "Backlash Blues" | Langston Hughes, Nina Simone | 2:31 | |
| 7. | "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl" | Nina Simone | 2:32 | |
| 8. | "Buck" | Andy Stroud | 1:52 | |
| 9. | "Since I Fell for You" | Buddy Johnson | 2:52 | |
| 10. | "The House of the Rising Sun" | Traditional | 3:53 | |
| 11. | "Blues for Mama" | Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln | 4:00 |
| Bonus tracks on 2006 reissue | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Do I Move You? [Second Version]" | Nina Simone | 2:46 | |||||||
| 13. | "Whatever I Am" | Willie Dixon | 2:35 | |||||||
| Additional tracks on The Blues (1991) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "The Pusher" | Hoyt Axton | 4:50 | |||||||
| 13. | "Turn Me On" | John D. Loudermilk | 2:24 | |||||||
| 14. | "It's Nobody's Fault But Mine" | Blind Willie Johnson | 2:59 | |||||||
| 15. | "Go to Hell" | Morris Bailey, Jr. | 2:46 | |||||||
| 16. | "I Shall Be Released" | Bob Dylan | 3:51 | |||||||
| 17. | "Gin House Blues" | Fletcher Henderson, Henry Troy | 3:08 | |||||||
Personnel
Tracks 1-12
- Nina Simone: vocal, piano
- Eric Gale: guitar
- Rudy Stevenson: guitar
- Ernie Hayes: organ
- Bob Bushnell: bass
- Bernard Purdie: drums, timpani
- Buddy Lucas : harmonica, tenor sax
Track 13
- Nina Simone: vocal, piano
- Eric Gale: guitar
- Everett Barksdale: guitar
- Weldon Irvine: organ
- Richard Tee: organ
- Jerry Jemmott: bass
- probably Bernard Purdie: drums
- Gordon 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
