| Nina's Choice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 1963 | |||
| Recorded | various dates, New York City (the studio recordings) | |||
| Genre | Vocal, jazz, blues, folk | |||
| Label | Colpix | |||
| Producer | various | |||
| Nina Simone chronology | ||||
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Nina's Choice is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. It is a compilation of singles from previous albums at Colpix Records hand-picked by Simone. [1]
Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop.
"Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black Americans with lyrics that compare the victims to the fruit of trees. Such lynchings had reached a peak in the Southern United States at the turn of the 20th century and the great majority of victims were black. The song has been called "a declaration" and "the beginning of the civil rights movement".
"Just Say I Love Her" is a popular song, adapted from the Neapolitan song "Dicitencello vuje". The original music was written by Neapolitan composer Rodolfo Falvo in 1930; and was arranged in the United States by Jack Val and Jimmy Dale; the original Neapolitan lyrics by Enzo Fusco, and English lyrics by Martin Kalmanoff and Sam Ward.
"Wild Is the Wind" is a song written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington for the 1957 film Wild Is the Wind. Johnny Mathis recorded the song for the film and released it as a single in November 1957. Mathis' version reached No. 22 on the Billboard chart. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song in 1958, but lost to "All the Way" by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn from The Joker is Wild.
"Sinner Man" or "Sinnerman" is an African American traditional spiritual song that has been recorded by a number of performers and has been incorporated in many other media and arts. The lyrics describe a sinner attempting to hide from divine justice on Judgment Day. It was recorded in the 1950s by Les Baxter, the Swan Silvertones, the Weavers and others, before Nina Simone recorded an extended version in 1965.
At Newport or Live at Newport could refer to a number of live albums recorded at the Newport Folk Festival or the Newport Jazz Festival:
High Priestess of Soul is a studio album by jazz singer, pianist and songwriter Nina Simone. The songs are accompanied by a large band directed and arranged by Hal Mooney. The album contains pop songs and African American gospel and folk related songs written by Simone herself. After this album title –an attempt to broaden her appeal by management execs– Nina Simone was sometimes titled “the high priestess of soul”, although she completely rejected the title herself because it placed a label on her as an artist. However, according to her daughter, Lisa, she never hated that moniker.
Nina Simone at Town Hall is the first live album by Nina Simone, released in December 1959. It was her third album of that year, her second album for Colpix Records, and her first live album. The basis for the record was Simone's performance at the Town Hall, New York, on 12 September 1959. All of the songs performed at the concert are on the album; however, three of the tracks are studio versions cut the following month.
Nina Simone at Newport is a live album by jazz singer and musician Nina Simone. It was released in August 1960; the recording taken from a concert held at the Newport Jazz Festival earlier in the year, on 30 June 1960. The album was her fourth overall, and her third for Colpix; it was also her second live album, following on from Nina Simone at Town Hall (1959) released at the end of the previous year. All arrangements on Nina Simone at Newport were written by Simone, and it was produced by Stu Phillips.
Forbidden Fruit is the third studio album by Nina Simone. It was her second studio album for Colpix. The rhythm section accompanying her is the same trio as on both live albums before and after this release.
Nina Simone at the Village Gate is a live album by singer / pianist / songwriter Nina Simone. Released in early 1962, it was her third live album for Colpix. The album was recorded at The Village Gate, a nightclub in Greenwich Village, New York in late March 1961, nearly a year before it saw release. The original release featured eight of the twelve songs performed at the gig. In 2005, an extended version of the album was released with the four remaining tracks.
Little Girl Blue: Jazz as Played in an Exclusive Side Street Club is the debut studio album by Nina Simone. Recorded in late 1957, it was eventually released by Bethlehem Records in February 1959. Due to the length of time the album had taken to be released and the lack of any promotional single either immediately before or alongside the album, Simone would become disillusioned with Bethlehem and sign with Colpix Records in April 1959. She recorded the tracks for her second album - what would become The Amazing Nina Simone - the same month. However, in May Bethlehem finally released a single, "I Loves You, Porgy" and gave Simone her first hit later that year, peaking at number 18 on the pop charts, and number 2 on the R&B charts. Helped by the profile of the single, the album too went on to become a chart success.
'Nuff Said! is an album by jazz singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. It was recorded—excluding tracks 1, 8, and 11—at Westbury Music Fair, April 7, 1968, three days after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. The whole program that night was dedicated to his memory. The album received an Emmy nomination and featured one of Simone's biggest hits in Europe, "Ain't Got No, I Got Life".
Forbidden fruit is a phrase that originates from the Book of Genesis concerning Adam and Eve.
"You Can Have Him" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1949 musical Miss Liberty, where it was introduced by Allyn McLerie and Mary McCarty.
"Just in Time" is a popular song with the melody written by Jule Styne and the lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It was introduced by Judy Holliday and Sydney Chaplin in the musical Bells Are Ringing in 1956. Judy Holliday and Dean Martin sang the song in the 1960 film of Bells Are Ringing. Martin then recorded it for his 1960 album, This Time I'm Swingin'!. Tony Bennett recorded the song in 1956 and continued performing it until his retirement, at Radio City Music Hall, in 2021 at the age of 95.
"You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" is a popular song written by Cole Porter for the 1943 film Something to Shout About, where it was introduced by Janet Blair and Don Ameche. The song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943 but lost to "You'll Never Know".
"Trouble in Mind" is a vaudeville blues-style song written by jazz pianist Richard M. Jones. Singer Thelma La Vizzo with Jones on piano first recorded it in 1924 and in 1926, Bertha "Chippie" Hill popularized the tune with her recording with Jones and trumpeter Louis Armstrong. The song became an early blues standard, with numerous renditions by a variety of musicians in a variety of styles.
"Don't Smoke in Bed" is a jazz song originally composed and recorded by Willard Robison and later associated with a recording by Nina Simone released on her 1958 debut album Little Girl Blue.
Gifted & Black is an unofficial studio album from jazz singer, pianist, and songwriter Nina Simone. It was originally released in 1970 by Canyon Records. However, it is thought to be a demo tape made by Simone in the spring of 1957 some months before the recording of Little Girl Blue, her first official album, in December of the same year. For the release in 1970, the original recording had strings added.
