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 Records after previously recording for Colpix Records and Philips Records. The album was also reissued in 2006 with bonus tracks, and re-packaged in 1991 by RCA/Novus as a 17-track compilation under the title 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.

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
 * 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