Nina Simone Sings 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

Personnel

• 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

• Nina Simone - vocals, 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