Nina Simone was a singular figure in American music, whose sound defied easy description. She used the piano not just as accompaniment but as a lead voice, often playing Bach-inspired counterpoint beneath her earthy, versatile contralto to land somewhere between jazz and soul. Simone’s repertoire was quite broad: Spanning jazz standards, protest songs, blues and pop, she could move from a whisper to a roar within a phrase, making her performances emotionally charged and unpredictable.
Simone was born Eunice Waymon in Tryon, N.C., and grew up in a tight-knit Black community, where her musical gifts were recognized early. By age 3, she was playing piano by ear, and her church performances led to formal lessons in classical music. Her brilliance at the keyboard won her local support to study at the Juilliard School in New York, before applying to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She wasn’t accepted at Curtis, and felt that racism was the reason; two days before her death in 2003, the school gave her an honorary degree.
Curtis’s rejection proved pivotal. To support herself, the pianist started performing in bars and nightclubs, adopting the stage name “Nina Simone” to shield her identity from her religious family. Though she had intended to be a classical pianist, the demands of nightclub audiences nudged her into singing. This mix of classical rigor, jazz improvisation, gospel fervor and folk storytelling became her hallmark.
Simone was also fiercely committed to truth-telling. Blending raw honesty and political urgency, her music became a staple of the civil rights movement. Her music endures as a testament to personal and collective endurance. Read on for favorite Simone tracks recommended by a selection of D.J.s, writers and musicians, and listen to the playlists included with the article. And don’t hesitate to leave your own choices in the comments.
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‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’
Kandace Springs, singer and pianist
When I was young, and just starting to play piano and explore music, my dad played me “Ne Me Quitte Pas.” I had never heard Nina before, and I didn’t (and still don’t) understand any French, but it just hit me so hard, right where I live. It’s just pure emotion and hard to categorize. It’s not really jazz or soul, it’s actually a French pop song — but like she does with everything, Nina brings jazz and soul to it. Hearing this record at that early age made me want to sing as well as play piano, so in a way it’s responsible for a lot of what I do today. That’s why I think it’s one of the best songs to introduce people to Nina with. You might not know what she’s saying, but in a deeper way, you absolutely do.
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‘Everything Must Change’
Daria Simone Harper, writer
The most profound prophets I’ve encountered align around one enduring truth that brings me everlasting comfort: The only thing we can count on in this life is change. Nina Simone’s 1978 rendition of “Everything Must Change” spreads this gospel as she speaks of change as something like a life force. As sacred and blissfully mundane. Ancient, end all, be all. In her voice, hope and quiet sorrow and peace swim together, carrying with them all the beauty and terror that humanity is capable of. Her reflection on rain, sun and hummingbird wings ignites my own songs of gratitude for the slivers of sameness that nature extends to us — those few patterns that we can trace across time with feelings of pseudo-certainty. This nearly four-minute track exemplifies Simone’s status as a masterful musician, performer and orator, but also as a shaman, a mirror to the masses, and a worker of the spirit.
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‘Isn’t It a Pity’
Annahstasia, multidisciplinary artist
When I think of Nina Simone, I think of the way she hooks you into a narrative and keeps you there hanging on every word. In terms of a gospel delivered, this song contains one of my favorites from her: the sad but salient truth that though we have endless capacity to love and care for each other, we for some reason … don’t. “Isn’t It a Pity” consolidates the grief I often feel looking at a world broken by human hands. Ultimately time will consume us, but of course it is a bit sad that we needed to do it this way. There are few people on this earth throughout time that could sing that song and make you feel its weight, enough that you might change the course of your life to be more in service to others. If I were to introduce anyone to Nina Simone’s work for the first time, this would be where I would start them. It encapsulates everything I love deeply about her legacy and artistry.
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‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black’
Kadhja Bonet, singer, writer and producer
“To Be Young, Gifted and Black” was inspired by the writings of Simone’s close friend Lorraine Hansberry. In her memoir, Simone said of Hansberry, “We never talked about men or clothes, it was always Marx, Lenin and revolution — real girls’ talk.” Simone’s own songs were letters to her community, never appeasing white audiences, despite her endangered success. Compare this song to Simone’s “Blackbird,” from 1966, and you will observe incredible spiritual growth. “Blackbird” is a song of despair that names internalized messages of pain. But “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” was an offering of power. It cast hope and confidence in places society would rather it not be. Written in collaboration with Weldon Irvine in 1969, it rang out the civil rights era, inspiring covers by Donny Hathaway and Aretha Franklin. Its odd metering and triumphant melody is as distinctive as it is self-assured. And that’s Simone’s career: defiantly brave, forging her own way at every impasse. We could use more of that today.
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‘Sinnerman’
Phoebe Robinson, comedian and actress
“Sinnerman” is a timeless masterpiece. There is no refuting that. There is, quite honestly, no need to explain it as it is self-evident the moment you hear the song. It’s just one of those moments in music where upon listening to the song, everything sort of focuses in place. She captures a feeling and distills it into a 10-minute epic rich with piano plucking, her primal singing and scatting, impeccable instrumentation, and an unmatched ability to interpret lyrics that are just as relevant then as they are now. (The song is about a man running from God, seeking forgiveness, but he cannot escape his fate.) When music unifies artistry, heart and technical prowess like “Sinnerman” does, you just hold on for dear life and thank the universe that you’re alive during a time to experience it.
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‘I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (Live at Montreux 1976)’
Cleo Reed, multidisciplinary artist, performer and composer
On this record, Nina plays a stride-like piano that pulls from a melody that is hauntingly jovial. We can see Nina’s sharp skill for transmuting the daily struggle into an authentic musical offering. More important, her live version of this song shows us her gift for gathering those who may share her views or seek to observe the state of the world in the way she does. Seeing such a political piece of music performed at an elite Swiss jazz festival is what makes this particular version so timely and important.
This record was originally composed as an instrumental by Billy Taylor in 1964, with lyrics later added by Dick Dallas. It found its home with Nina on her popular album “Silk & Soul” in 1967, and quickly became a staple in the social justice song canon. I chose this live version because Nina is always better in person.
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‘I Loves You, Porgy’
Liv.e, singer, songwriter and producer
Nina has always been an elegant expresser of, of course, joyful Black pride, but also the pain of being a woman. As a woman who has experienced a similar longing, I always found her perspective on this song very inspirational. Being that we’re generations apart, I always thought it was so interesting to hear that this experience is relatable throughout time: loving someone, then loving someone else who may not see you as clearly as the previous. Being in a sticky love situation and wanting to be rescued by the person you feel understood you the most is definitely something that is a unifier of a lot of feminine perspectives, including mine. Nina has always done an excellent job with finding a way to lull you with that painful experience — making it sonically and emotionally available to all, and leaving room for you to relate in your own bluesy circumstances.
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‘Wild Is the Wind’
Tara Duvivier, D.J.
Nina knew love was imperative. She explored all its forms through her music and activism and did not hold back. The piano on this song is beautiful, with arpeggios that almost sound exuberant, while her voice expresses so much vulnerability. She sounds like she is near tears at some points, and it isn’t clear if her love is reciprocated or unrequited. Her “hmm” before singing “Don’t you know you’re life itself?” lets us know that she knows what it is to surrender to love, for better or worse. This song captures how masterful Nina was in creating a balance of beauty and pain that connects with us on a basic human level. Johnny Mathis originally recorded this song, and it has been covered by several artists. Nina’s version, to me, is the most genuine and she truly made the song her own.
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‘I Put a Spell on You’
Kalia Vandever, trombonist and composer
Nina is a force and heroine whose voice overtakes you and leaves you yearning for more. As someone who is deeply influenced by vocalists, Nina is an example of an artist who is unabashedly herself. From her first entrance on “I Put a Spell on You,” she reels you in and holds you there until the next phrase. I’m really captivated by vocalists who embody the meaning of the song in their performance and Nina is one of those musicians. She captures the enchanting and seductive ethos of the song, whisking you away with every passing word. I think about sound and timbre a lot, so I’m especially drawn to the way that Nina’s voice envelops you. Every note is nuanced and every phrase has its own character. Her sound possesses so much power and you can hear it in this recording. I’m grateful for the music and life Nina gave us and find myself continually inspired every time I listen to her.
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‘Tomorrow Is My Turn’
Demae, singer-songwriter
Nina Simone’s version of “Tomorrow Is My Turn” captures everything that makes her truly “one of one.” I recently learned that this song was originally in French, but Nina has such a way of transforming something that was, into something that was so clearly made for her. It feels personal once she adds her stamp to it. This always resonates with me. What could have been just another standard becomes so fresh. I’ve always loved how much experience Nina’s voice holds. It always feels familiar, like a relative giving me wisdom and hope. Both comforting and haunting at the same time. Nina’s phrasing, the way she bends her notes, makes you feel the words so much more.
I chose this song because it’s so fitting to the time and the space I’m personally in right now. It feels like a testimony: “Tomorrow is my turn, no more doubts, no more fears”; “Make life worth living / now it’s my life I’m living.” In a world of uncertainty, Nina Simone stood on empowering the people, and I will always cherish this.
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‘That’s All I Ask’
Sam Taylor, D.J.
Pure romance, devotion and pleading ooze from this simple, underrated Nina Simone track from her sixth studio album, “Wild Is the Wind” (1966). This song found me during a period of pulsating hot love and crushing heartbreak, when your cry for a lost lover pines for ears already too far gone to hear and the message is returned to sender. Nina sings of practical acts of love compared to metaphysical requests she claims to be uninterested in, but the quiver in her voice tells us otherwise. The building jazz instrumentation supports the climbing desire for her love language to be reciprocated; she calls to her lover, “Do you hear me talking to you? … Just believe me …” The haunting love spell hangs in the air as the music and her voice fade away. It’s a reminder of how deeply and desperately we can yearn for romantic love, sung in classic Simone style.
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The post 5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Nina Simone appeared first on New York Times.
