Description
incl. rare pics & new SLEEVE-NOTES
Artist
American singer, songwriter, pianist.
Born: 21 February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA.
Died: 21 April 2003 in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (aged 70).
Nina was giving piano recitals after playing at her local church at an early age. Her childhood piano lessons were funded by her mother's employer and a local fund set up by her music teacher, so impressed were they by her talent.
She moved to Philadelphia aged 17, teaching piano and playing to raise the money for her studies at New York's renowned Juilliard School Of Music. To fund her family she worked in a bar in Atlantic City where she was also required to sing and built up a devoted following.
She recorded Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" which became a US Top 40 hit and transported her to a bigger stage, performing at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival.
Her repertoire went on to embrace numerous Civil Rights anthems, a movement for which she was a passionate and prominent supporter. She left the US in the 1970s, moving first to Barbados, and some other places, including Africa and the Netherlands, before eventually settling in France where she died from cancer in 2003.
Nina's voice drew heavily on other music forms. It was infused with gospel, blues, soul, jazz, R&B, and folk. And it found a wider audience late in her life when "My Baby Just Cares For Me" became an unlikely UK chart hit when it featured in a TV ad campaign.
In fact her music stayed very popular with advertisers as her tracks have been used to promote a multitude of products on TV, including yoghurt ("Ain't Got No (I Got Life)"), Diet Coke ("I Put A Spell On You"), cars ("Sinnerman"), fabric conditioner ("Feeling Good"), and perfume ("Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"), et al.
Tracks
1
My Baby Just Cares For Me
03:37
2
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free
03:08
3
Ain't Got No - I Got Life
02:10
4
Nobody's Fault But Mine
02:59
5
Mr. Bojangles
05:00
6
Here Comes The Sun
03:34
7
To Love Somebody
02:39
8
I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl
02:31
9
Do I Move You
02:45
10
My Man's Gone Now
04:16
11
Backlash Blues
02:29
12
Since I Fell For You
02:50
13
Turn Me On
02:25
14
Compensation
01:36
15
Suzanne
04:19
16
Just Like A Woman
04:51
17
Let It Be Me
03:28
18
In The Morning
02:23
19
Do What You Gotta Do
03:00
20
Save Me
03:24
21
The Look Of Love
02:22
22
Why ? (The King Of Love Is Dead)
05:47
Releases
Labels
BMG UK & Ireland, Sony Bmg South Africa
Countries
South Africa, Europe, UK & Europe