No one sang like Nina Simone.
Would it have killed her to lip-synch?
Between 1958 and 1993, the singer (who died in 2003) captured scores of amazing performances.
Credit: David Redfern/Getty Images
Her amber vibrato communicates equal parts eros and need.
Suzanne
Simone performed a total tear-down on Leonard Cohens touchstone.
Her sense of remorse puts redemption crushingly out of reach.
Her final trills have an Olympic grandeur.
To Love Somebody
The most soulful song The Bee Gees ever wrote brings out Simones deepest ache.
The Other Woman
Simones version inspired Jeff Buckleys divine take.
But while his emphasized rejection, her wry reading stresses the delicious revenge delivered in the final verse.
Feeling Good
No one nailed the sassiness of this song with more confidence than Simone.
She seemed to be singing not just of sexual openness but of personal liberation.
- Who Knows Where The Times Goes
Judy Collins cut the best known version of the Sandy Denny classic.
But Simones slowed-down take captures both the pain of morality and the enigma of eternity.
It could well serve as her sonic eulogy.
