Nina Simone in Concert is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. It was her first album for the record label Philips and was made up of three live recordings in Carnegie Hall, New York City in March and April 1964 (previously, she had recorded Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall in 1963 for Colpix Records). This album marks the beginning of "Nina Simone, the Civil Rights singer" in her recording career (she had already incorporated the civil rights message in her performances). Included on the album are politically laden songs, most notably the self-written "Mississippi Goddam", released as a single at the time. But also "Old Jim Crow", "Go Limp" and the haunting "Pirate Jenny" contributed to the message in a covert or methaporical way.
Information about songs on this album
- Nina originally recorded "I Loves You Porgy", "Plain Gold Ring" and "Don't Smoke in Bed" on her debut album Little Girl Blue (1958).
- "Pirate Jenny" was originally from Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht's The Threepenny Opera . Simone used the story within the song as a metaphor for the civil rights situation at that time. She performed it only rarely, even though the theatrical piece became one of her signature tunes. It took her too much energy, stating once that one time after singing it, she had to recover from the performance for about seven years.
- "Old Jim Crow", a protest song against the Jim Crow Laws.
- "Go Limp", a humoristic Folk song about a girl who is warned by her mother not to join the NAACP because it would cost her virginity. Halfway through the song Nina forgets the lyrics and makes up some in return, giving her a standing ovation by the crowd at the end.
- "Mississippi Goddam", a self-written protest song. Nina states a minute into the song after a chorus, a verse and a chorus:
This is a showtune but the show hasn't been written for it yet...
While laughing, the primarily white audience realize that it is far from a happy showtune, but a cynical Civil Rights protest song talking about the death of Medgar Evers and the killing of four schoolgirls at the Alabama Church Bombing in 1963 .
Track listing
- "I Loves You Porgy" - 2:30
- "Plain Gold Ring" - 6:21
- "Pirate Jenny" - 6:37
- "Old Jim Crow" - 2:38
- "Don't Smoke in Bed" - 5:28
- "Go Limp" - 7:04
- "Mississippi Goddam" - 4:54
Personnel
- Nina Simone – piano, vocals, arranger
- Bobby Hamilton – drums
- Lisle Atkinson – bass
- Rudy Stevenson – guitar
References
- ^ Hampton. Break Down And Let It All Out . pp. 196–197.
- ^ full lyrics of "Mississippi Goddam"
YouTube - Nina Simone -To Love Somebody + Lyrics
Nina Simone -To Love Somebody + Lyrics There' a light A certain kind of light It's never shown on me I want my whole life to be Lived with you Lived with you There's a way ...
Nina Simone Lyrics, Lyrics to Nina Simone - LyricsFreak ...
Nina Simone Lyrics - Find all lyrics for songs such as Feeling Good, Sinnerman, I Put A Spell On You at LyricsFreak.com
Nina Simone Lyrics - LyricWiki - Music lyrics from ...
Because of the limitations of some web browsers to edit pages that are larger than 32kb, the extensive song catalog of Nina Simone has been split into sub-categories.
Nina Simone - Mississippi goddam! Lyrics
Nina Simone - Mississippi goddam! Lyrics, Soundtrack Lyrics
Sinnerman Lyrics, Nina Simone Sinnerman Lyrics ...
Sinnerman Lyrics - Oh Sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Sinnerman, where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run...
Nina Simone - Baltimore Lyrics
Nina Simone - Baltimore Lyrics, Soundtrack Lyrics
Nina Simone:Nobody Lyrics - LyricWiki - Music lyrics ...
This song is performed by Nina Simone and appears on the album Broadway-Blues-Ballads (1964), on the compilation album After Hours (1995) and on the compilation album Four ...
Ain't Got No/I Got Life Lyrics by Nina Simone
Ain't Got No/I Got Life Lyrics by Nina Simone at the Lyrics Depot
Feeling Good Lyrics by Nina Simone
Feeling Good Lyrics by Nina Simone at the Lyrics Depot
Nina Simone - Baltimore LYRICS
Nina Simone LYRICS,Baltimore ,Nina Simone Baltimore Lyrics, Nina Simone Baltimore Song Lyrics