We want to hear your stories loud and clear. What is your favorite Nina track, and why? What did she mean to you? Do tell…..
What’s Your Favorite Song?
The Legacy of Nina
She was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century, an icon of American music. She was the consummate musical storyteller, a griot.
As she would come to learn, who used her remarkable talent to create a legacy of liberation, empowerment, passion, and love through a magnificent body of works. She earned the moniker ‘High Priestess of Soul’ for she could weave a spell so seductive and hypnotic that the listener lost track of time and space as they became absorbed in the moment. She was who the world would come to know as Nina Simone.
Many Faces of Simone
Ledisi on Nina’s Influence
I remember the first time I heard a Nina Simone song on the radio. It was on a public radio station in the Bay area and the song was "Trouble in Mind." It was a beautiful Sunday and I was sitting in my white rocking chair on my porch.
Her Naked Truth Shocked Me
“When I was an aspiring young artist searching for my voice, purpose, and direction, my early teachers took note of the fire burning in my belly, and they individually fanned the flame into passion, by introducing me to great Black women artists who presented their artistry with clarity and unrestrained courage.
One of those great women was the unmistakable, Ms. Nina Simone. I am eternally grateful to my teachers for this particular introduction."
~Diane Reeves
I love so many of her songs. I love her interpretation of Porgy and Bess, In the Morning, and I wish I knew how it will feel to be free. I can’t narrow it done. My choice depends on what I am experiencing at the time. She has a song for every mood every change in my life !
Hi, I live in Sweden and I just want to tell you that I´m now att home from my work beacuase I have a cold. Sat down with my computer and listened to the radio and suddenly Nina Simone sang Here comes the sun. Jesus…I was hooked…
She is my favorite now!!!
Hope you all can read my english…???
Love to you from a cold and rainy Malmo Sweden
Ninnie
So many favourites…
i love her version of baubles,bangles and beads. Also Wild as the wind and I loves you Porgy, it might as well be spring, i got it bad and that ain’t good….
My favorite song of Nina Simone is To Be Young, Gifted, and Black.
One of my earliest memories of her was when I was around 11 years old, in Forest City, NC. My brother and I went down to spend the Summer with my Grandmother and Great-Grandmother, Alma (Irving). At the time, we were over at my Great-Great Aunt’s house, Aunt Kate, when Nina walked over and said to me, “you are sure going to be cute when you get older…” I laugh to myself at remembering those times. She was an incredible person, whose music was poineering of her time. Her voice, her talent…Wow!!!!!! She is truly missed. God bless you.
Young, Gifted & Black is my favorite also. Once I was older and listened to the profound words of Nina Simone..I realized how my mother who named me after her favorite singer planted seeds of hope and inspiration in my life as a result of the name. & those are the seeds that I impart to the youth that I work with! “That’s where it’s at & that’s a fact”!
To Love Somebody
Who played bass on this Track?
A great bass player!
I’m going to look for that one.
My favorite song is Ne Me Quitte Pas. This is the song that introduced me to Nina Simone. I first heard about the song in Eric Jerome Dickey’s book, Cheaters. I looked up the song and instantly fell in love with her voice. And it’s been an wonderful journey of discovery ever since.
I love Nina Simone’s rendition of “I Put A Spell On You”. It’s so raw; I love it!
TO BE YOUNG GIFTED AND BLACK is my favorite Nina Simone song. When it came out, it gave me the feeling that someone cared that we had thoughts and ideas that were valuable to the world and our people. The youth of today need that song too.
Wow!!! It is not easy to narrow it down to one song, so I won’t limit myself:
HERE COMES THE SUN (actually one of my favorite albums, too!)
MY MAN’S GONE NOW
WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES
MOOD INDIGO
DAMBALA
MUSIC FOR LOVERS
MOOD INDIGO
I THINK IT’S GOING TO RAIN TODAY
OLD JIM CROW
PIRATE JENNY
WHY THE KING OF LOVE IS DEAD
FUNKIER THAN A MOSQUITO’S TWEETER
COMPENSATION
NOBODY’S FAULT BUT MINE
just to name a few hahaha
I love them all…
I was first introduced to Nina Simone in the film ‘Point Of No Return’. The song ‘Feeling Good’ featured in the film is one of my best track from her. Her version of ‘My Way’, ‘Black Is The Colour…’, ‘Baltimore’ are some great tunes I love so much. In actual fact I LOVE them all & I have all her albums!
I also saw her in London concert just a year before she left us all…
She is one true star. See my music collection site if you wish… http://www.nikaramlimusic.com
Liliac Wine was the first song that literally put a spell on me. I truly love all of them so it’s too hard to narrow down just one, it would really depend on the mood I’m in. As I sit here listening to Sunday Morning in Savannah it reminds how we have lost such good music.
I like almost all her records. But one of my favourite songs is “Let it be Me”, “I love you Porgy” too and “Why, The King of Love is dead”, her tribute to Martin Luther King.
I have a doubt about Let it Be me. I think all the sites all over Internet published a lyrics with mistakes. When Nina started the song, it seems she sings. “God bless the day I found you…and not “I bless the day I found you” like in all the sites published. Another thing in the same song, it seems she sings “Don´t ever leave me lonely/said that you’ll love me only” and not “So never leave me lonely/tell me you’ll love me only”. Am I correct? Thanks for your feedback
The one that I can never shake and never gets old to me is Four Women. It’s so haunting and yet lovely.
Such a hard question! I have so many favorites today, but I will always go back to 1958-1959, when I first heard Nina sing Little Girl Blue. My best friend had this album and we must have listened to it 100 times AT LEAST!
We were both 18 years old and very emotional, and Nina just filled us up.
I will never forger that day…
I have long since lost track of my teenage best friend with her album, but now have almost all Nina’s music of my own in albums and downloads and she still fills me up…
Jane
Even if I don’t hear all of her songs, doesn’t matter, I know I would like them. The way she express herself, the way she moves, she sings, she looks…she’s brilliant. It’s more important the personality and how she feels when she’s singing. I can see her soul just watching one video. She inspires me how to live this life
I was watch’n blacc gurls rock, an 4 beautiful blacc women came an hit the stage 2 sing a song, that the fabulous well renouned nina simone,penned,I was n total shear amazement of the story that was told,,,, it was a history lesson,that took only 3 mins.,2 tell. I was fasinated!!! They assemble the rite combination of nonselfish singer,which r all powerful singer song writer n their on rite!!! The song is call ( what do they call me) ft. Ledisi, jill scott, kelly price, marsha ambrosuosia. My hat 2 ms nina simone 4 this 1, u rock!!
Pirate Jenny
This song still makes me stop whatever I’m doing, quiet all conversation, and listen. It still gives me goose bumps, and often brings me near tears and this despite the fact that I have been listening to it since my mother introduced me to Ms. Simone about 35 years ago. So many of her songs are masterpieces. This song expresses like no other I know the blood-chilling, bone-deep rage that nutured, from a long history of horrible tragedy, a legacy of beautiful music.
Fo those who love the song “Four Women”, I strongly recommend listening to the wonderful ‘conscious’ hip-hop artist Talib Kweli song of the same name. It may require a few listens from us older fogies, but it is an extremely moving tribute to Nina Simone, and demonstrates her ongoing relevance!
Love me or leave me, I loves you porgy, I sing just to know that I’m alive
Love me or leave me, I loves you porgy,young gifted and black
Nina Simone has so many beautiful songs that it is truly difficult to narrow it down to one. However, if I must try to name a few that I really love…here it goes:
Gin Blues
The Look of Love
Young, Gifted & Black
Well I discovered Nina about around the anniversary of her birth this year. And without me realizing it til a little later “met” her on the anniversary of her death through her book(as a gift to me)& other biographies, video,& of course all the music of hers I’ve been able to get my hands on. This is no coincidence. I had lost myself and found myself through her. And now I’m “Feeling Good”. So that’s a fav but I can’t separate myself from any of the songs I have heard so far. Just a few are:
The Other Woman, I loves You Porgy, How it Feels to be Free, Four Women.
I was 12 years old in detroit, during the riots. I had been sexually abused and abusive. But, to be young, gifted, and black with short hair and dark skin, and dreams and visions of what i knew life COULD be helped me to get over myself and others 30 years later.
THANK YOU MOTHER SIMONE
‘Feeling Good’
No other vocal performance I can think of musters such raw emotion. A lifetime of experience in that single last note.
Choosing one song is beyond difficult but, there is one that I keep coming back to. The incredible “You Can Have Him (I dont want him)” is a cover sung by Nina but the emotion & the depth of sadness that she portrays in this song make it her own. Maybe thats partly because the first time I heard the song it was Nina’s rendition but, it will forever (in my eyes) be her song. Listening to this song makes me want to audibly say “liar” because you can FEEL how she loves & wants this man but, for whatever reason, she is saying she doesn’t. Her take on this song is remarkable.
My mums fave was Baltimore & is mine too, apart from mississipi godamm & sinnerman (as well, especially) but we played please don’t let me be misunderstood at her funeral. Always enjoy funkier than a mosquitoes tweeter too.. *S* thanks for this lovely website. It’s a share! x
“You Can Have Him (I dont want him)” is one of my all time favorite songs the late great Nina Simone ever did. It always evokes such strong emotions for me.
“My Baby Just Cares For Me,” as much for the witty and rollicking piano as for the vocals. It’s just plain fun!
I love all of Nina’s work but my favorites are “I put a spell on you” and her version of “Don’t let me be misunderstood”.
‘Suzanne’ makes me wistful for a lover.
‘Wild is the Wind’ brings me to my knees with sadness.
‘The Other Woman’ reminds me not to judge others.
‘Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair’ stops me cold.
Endless, endless choices but these come to mind straight away.
Very thankful for the site. If there is a video recording of her rendition of Wild is the Wind….I may black out!
The first time I heard Nina’s beautifully enigmatic voice and her lyrical expressions entwined with her music I was about 15 & my spirit embraced her soul. I was forever “hooked”!!! Her heart wrenching, tell it like it was(& still is, in many facets) rendition of “Strange Fruit” could make the coldest of hearts weep & maybe even comprehend the evils of human-unkind. “The End of the Line” expresses lost love in one of the most poignant goodbyes I’ve ever heard….(little did I know how many times I’d be weeping in my wine singing that very song & knowing someone else truly digested those feelings.)RIP, dearest Nina,you were & are a brush that gave color to the darkness & rhythm to the flow of life’s rivers. I LOVE YOU with gratitude, until we meet again. xo LORILEE
My favorite — Pirate Jenny! Your mom sure could tell a story with her music. Under the Lowest comes next. Still storytelling WITHOUT words!
She had so many great songs .. she was simply marvelous .. but I must say that her version of “I Don’t Want Him” will never be topped. Even she, as you can tell from her exclamation of delight when it is over, was thrilled that she’d done every note, every phrase, every pause, every soul-clench, absolutely perfectly … and this in front of a live audience.
My favourites Love me or leave me, My baby just cares for me, Sinnerman, Here comes the sun, Ne Me Quitte Pas
Thank you for this site and Nina Radio!
I just heard for the first time “The Look of Love”. I remember the song sung by people like Andy Williams, and it never really got to me. I purchased a CD two weeks ago and I just keep playing it over and over again. Nina Simone Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
‘ne me quitte pas’. that song introduced me to her. then, as i go along, i have learned to love a few more, or perhaps a lot more. at the moment, my favourite is ‘tomorrow is my turn’. check out my tribute to her on youtube.
I was introduced to Nina Simone by my brother-in-law and I thank you, Bobby, for that awakening.
It’s virtually impossible to pick a favourite when all of Nina’s songs are so powerful and beautiful, but the two that always bring me to tears, for very personal reasons, are:
- No Me Quitte Pas
- If You Knew
Funkier than a Mosquito’s Tweeter is in the top 5 classic funk/soul tracks of all time
I Put a Spell On You” is my favorite Nina Simone song. She was truly a gift to the world. You can’t help but be mesmerized with her and her craft. Back in professional school, the recipe for a mellow evening was a stiff gin martini, a comfy chaise lounge in a dimly lit room, preferably blue light, and any Nina album. I was in heaven many nights…!
Four women is one of my favourites. As she sings about the human degradation of these women, this angry flame rises in you, because with her words and sound you can feel what they are going through. Then just as that anger feels as though it could consume the person next to you, you hear this da daa da daaa, da da daa, that takes you back down to rational thinking. Ya, I don’t know any other artist that can take you on such an emotional roller coaster, and bring the story to life in your face like that.
She as songs for every mood, and for every time of my life, but definitely her interpretation of Just Like a Women … amazing
Mine is “Since I Fell For You”.
I was totally destroyed (in the best possible way) when I first heard it. When I am asked to put together a jazz compilation for anyone looking to get into the music, it is a staple.
My favorite Nina Simone song is Seems I’m Never Tired Lovin’ You from the Nina Simone and Piano album. I love it because it’s just a full on unashamed love song. Nina’s voice is filled with so much emotion, soul and unconditional love. It melts my heart everytime I hear it. It makes me wish she was singing about/to me.
Her music has always had that affect on me. She pulls me in with her voice and holds me tightly.
Feeling good is nature, lovely and pure, it is my favorite. I love her voice full of new life.
thank you, Nina
There are soo many this should be an illegal question! No, but seriously I can try to narrow it down to a few.
1. Children go where I send you (Live version). This song just wow!!
2. Love me or Leave me. – Played this song every morning waking up for a month straight! That piano solo is just wonderful.
3. Cotton Eyed Joe
4. Mood indigo
I have listened to so many of her songs and I keep falling in love with new ones.
I could go on and on! but I’ll stop here!!!! Go! Listen to them!
oh my! Mississippi Goddam! proved that protest songs can be so goddam honest, real, ironic, and most of all, so goddam musically genius!
love nina…! and thanks simone for sharing her with us!
the legend lives on!
There are so many but “You Can Have Him” is my absolute favorite, along with “Four Women” and “Willow Weep for Me.”
My two favourite lines are your soul’s intact and I got life.And thats a fact!
I wish there was a song Like Young Gifted and Black that could empower children of all color like that song does.So for me its Aint got no and Young Gifted and Black.
one artist/many qs
Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions.
Pick Your Artist:
Nina “She Moan” Simone
Are you male or female?
“Baubles, Bangles and Beads”
Describe yourself:
“Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter” “I Put a Spell on You”
How do you feel about yourself?
“House of the Rising Sun”
Describe where you currently live:
“Children Go Where I Send You”
If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free”
Your best friend is:
“Four Women” “Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair”
Your favorite color is:
“Mood Indigo”
You know that:
“Ain’t Got No — I Got Life” “The Times, They Are A-Changin’”
What’s the weather like:
“It Might As Well Be Spring”
If your life was a tv show, what would it be called?
“Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)”
What is life to you?
“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”
What is the best advice you have to give?
“Revolution” ”To Love Somebody” “You’ll Never Walk Alone”
If you could change your name, what would it be?
“Lilac Wine”
Your favorite food is:
“Strange Fruit”
Wow!!! Do I have enough space to tell you what my favorite Nina songs are? It would take all the space that you have on this site, so I’ll just tell you a few of them:
You’ve Got to Learn (#1 favorite)
For Myself
Either Way I Lose
Blues for Porgy
Seems I’m Never Tired Loving You
He Ain’t Coming Home No More
Tomorrow is My Turn
Who Knows Where the Time Goes
What More Can I Say?
Can’t Get Out of This Mood
Gin House Blues
If I Should Lose You
I Don’t Like Blues
Just Say I Love Him
That’s Him Over There
I Love to Love
Since My Love is Gone
Another Spring
Don’t Take All Night
What More Can I Say
That’s All I Ask
Why Keep on Breaking My Heart
Lilac Wine
Our Love Will See Us Through
He Was Too Good to Me
Will I Find My Love Today
How Can I Help But Love You?
My Way
You Must Have Another Lover
Little Girl Blue
Good Bait
Nobody’s Fault But MIne
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
Suzanne
Pirate Jenny
Backlash Blues
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To
Bye, Bye Blackbird
Turning Point
I Hold No Grudge
Brown Baby
Don’t You Pay Them No Mind
I Shall Be Released
I Put a Spell on You
I could go on, but I am getting tired of typing:-))) I LOVE Nina.
I was 11 years old when a friend of my parents introduced me to the music of the great Nina Simone. The album was Little Girl Blue. I listened to the first cut on it, Mood Indigo, and said, “WOW, I like her”!!! But when I got down to the title song, Little Girl Blue, my mouth fell wide open. I was sitting there in disbelief. I kept playing the song over and over again trying to figure out how she was doing what she was doing, playing one song and singing another at the same time. I was 11 years old and knew nothing about music, but even for me that seemed like something totally extraordinary and utterly brilliant. I continued to listen to the album and heard her play Love Me or Leave Me with all of its counterpoint (not knowing then what counterpoint was) thinking that this sounded like something that Bach would write( Thank you Leonard Bernstein and the Young People’s Concerts). That counterpoint would lead right into a jazz riff and she NEVER missed a beat. I was totally blown away. I continued to listen in amazement. When she got to Good Bait, I WAS HOOKED!!! I realized that what she was doing had to be a gift from God because no human could possibly do the things that she was doing unless God had His hands on hers. I BEGGED my daddy to give me $1.50 so that I could buy my own copy of that album. I was in seventh Heaven when he did because I now owned my own Nina Simone album. In 1963, my first dream came true. I attended my first Nina concert. I felt like I had died and gone to Heaven. I even got her autograph at that concert. She was definitely my idol. I ate, slept and dreamed Nina Simone. In 1964, my second dream came true. I attended my second Nina concert. This time I not only got her autograph again, but she took the time to stop and talk to me. Thank you, God!!! She had just released her Broadway, Blues, Ballads album a week before. At that point, I had all of her albums except that one. When I told her that I had all of her albums, she asked about that one. When I told her no, she said that she was sure that I would enjoy it and that it was the first one that she had recorded with full orchestra. Needless to say, I went out the next day and purchased it. Oh, yes, I did get her autograph again. My only regret about that meeting is that I did not own a camera and was never able to have my picture taken with her. I have attended 12 Nina concerts and was never able to have a picture taken with her
(( I do, however, have some very wonderful memories of her concerts. My favorite Nina concert was in 1978 at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC. She once talked about being free and spontaneous and just going with the groove. Well, I saw witnessed that freedom that night. She gave two shows. I hesitantly chose the second show at 11:00p.m., hoping that the audience would not upset her and she would be in a good mood:-) Well, they must have been on the money, because she came out and did 3 songs and left the stage. I said, “Oh Lord, they must have pissed her off during that first show”. The audience started yelling “Nina, Nina”. Nina came back on stage and PERFORMED like I had NEVER seen her perform. She was in such rare form that the audience was on its feet and had moved into the orchestra pit and grooving with her. Everyone was taking pictures galore, including yours truly and Nina was encouraging everyone to have a good time. She was so free that night that at 2:00 a.m. someone from her entourage came on stage and took her off and beleive me when I tell you that she was NOT ready to go. There was a PARTAY in the Warner that night. She was freer than I have ever seen her. The last two times that I saw her was in 2001 and 2002 at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. By this time her health was failing her, but she was she in rare form. She was waving that fan of hers around after every song which blew the audience away. Her voice was lower, but her piano facility was still there and her interpretation of a song was still spot-on. In other words, she was still NINA. Little did I know that this was the last time that I would get to see my idol perform. I did however, go down to Tryon for the dedication of her statue on her 77th birthday. What a trill to sit next to her statue and visit her childhood home. Little did I know that years after meeting Nina, I would be meeting her daughter, Simone and sharing some of my memories of her mother with her. That, too, has been a pleasure. Nina is still my idol. I still love her and still miss her terribly.