Nina Simone Sings the Blues

Sings the Blues is an album by singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. This was Simone's first album for RCA Victor after previously recording for Colpix Records and Philips Records. The album was also reissued in 2006 with bonus tracks, and reissued in 1991 by RCA/Novus as a 17-track compilation under the title The Blues.

Nina Simone Sings the Blues
Studio album by Nina Simone
Released	June 1967 (1967-06)[a]
Recorded	December 19, 1966 – January 5, 1967
Studio	RCA Victor, New York City, New York
Genre	Blues, soul, jazz, pop, folk
Length	32:35
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Danny Davis
Nina Simone chronology
High Priestess of Soul (1967) Nina Simone Sings the Blues (1967) Silk & Soul (1967)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
All About Jazz	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	A–[3]
PopMatters	7/10[4]
Tom Hull	B[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[6]

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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do I Move You?"	Nina Simone	2:46
2.	"Day and Night"	Rudy Stevenson	2:35
3.	"In the Dark"	Lil Green	2:57
4.	"Real Real"	Nina Simone	2:21
5.	"My Man's Gone Now"	George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward	4:16
6.	"Backlash Blues"	Langston Hughes, Nina Simone	2:31
7.	"I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl"	Nina Simone	2:32
8.	"Buck"	Andy Stroud	1:52
9.	"Since I Fell for You"	Buddy Johnson	2:52
10.	"The House of the Rising Sun"	Traditional	3:53
11.	"Blues for Mama"	Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln	4:00

Bonus tracks on 2006 reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Do I Move You?" (Second version)	Nina Simone	2:17
13.	"Whatever I Am"	Willie Dixon	2:35

Additional tracks on The Blues (1991)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"The Pusher" (from It Is Finished)	Hoyt Axton	4:50
13.	"Turn Me On" (from Silk & Soul)	John D. Loudermilk	2:24
14.	"It's Nobody's Fault But Mine" (from Nina Simone and Piano)	Blind Willie Johnson	2:59
15.	"Go to Hell" (from Silk & Soul)	Morris Bailey, Jr.	2:46
16.	"I Shall Be Released" (from To Love Somebody)	Bob Dylan	3:51
17.	"Gin House Blues" (from 'Nuff Said!)	Fletcher Henderson, Henry Troy	3:08

Personnel

Tracks 1–12

• 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

Track 13

• Nina Simone - vocals, piano
• Eric Gale - guitar
• Everett Barksdale - guitar
• Weldon Irvine - organ
• Richard Tee - organ
• Jerry Jemmott - bass
• probably Bernard Purdie - drums
• Specs 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

Charts

Chart (1967)	Peak position
US Hot R&B LPs	29[7]
Chart (2006)	Peak position
US Jazz Albums	37[8]

Notes

1. Some sources date the release to it releasing sometime in June , 1967. Because it was in 1967 that Nina got signed to RCA Victor. Many Nina Simone discographies and biographies also do often cite June as its release month based on archival research and record company documents