For my first artist-focused playlist on this blog, I’m choosing on one of the all time greats, Nina Simone. Ever since I wrote about her song ‘Plain Gold Ring’ back in November I have been delving into her back catalogue to put together this time-spanning, genre spanning, language-spanning selection of around 40 of her best songs.

It includes many of her most famous songs, as well as some lesser known gems. I have barely scratched the surface of her repertoire of course, but I hope it makes a compelling case that she is one of the most talented and important singers, songwriters and musicians of the 20th Century.

A few words about some of my very favourite songs on the list follow, and the playlists themselves can be found at the end of the article.

Feeling Good (1965)

It’s not my personal favourite of her songs (although it’s not far off), but it is absolutely the one I would choose to play to someone who has somehow never heard Nina Simone before. She resists the urge to throw everything and the kitchen sink at it, with a beautifully controlled vocal perfectly complementing the orchestral arrangement. I am less dismissive of other people’s musical opinions than I used to be when I was young, but will make an exception for anyone who claims the Muse version of the song is better than Simone’s.

Mississippi Goddam (1964)

Not her first great song, but perhaps the first great song she both wrote and performed. I’m absolutely not of the view that you need to write your own material to be considered great (indeed I think this is a dangerous myth that unfairly elevates certain musicians in certain genres above others), but Simone certainly was a great songwriter as well as performer and interpreter of other people’s songs. Each time I listen to this I am stunned at how bold and brave it is, for any time, but especially the early Sixties. It’s a wonderful song as well of course, not just an important message. Simone hadt the rare knack of making a political song both joyous and timeless. You can and should appreciate Mississippi Goddam even if you know nothing of the 1960s Civil Rights movement.

Erets Zavat Chalav (1964)

Nina’s albums traversed many different styles, almost always successfully. One of my very favourites is the unimaginatively titled ‘Folksy Nina’ from 1964. She tackles traditional folk songs such as ‘Lass of the Low Country’ and ‘The Young Knight’ with aplomb, but the greatest moment on the album is this version of a Hebrew song which she brings a glorious energy to. She shows she can be wonderfully expressive even when singing in another language.

Rich Girl (1978)

The moments where Nina tackled the popular music of the day are not always my favourites in her catalogue, but this version of a Hall and Oates songs is certainly an exception. Perhaps it helps that they’re not a group i’m especially fond of, but to me Simone’s version is far superior to the original.The vast majority of Simone’s best work (recorded work at least) came between 1959 and 1969, but 1978’s Baltimore is an outlier, up there with her very best. It’s arguably the most cohesive album from an artist who often seemed to be more focused on the songs and the performances than on the albums.

The Desperate Ones (1969)

She could do jazz standards, orchestral epics, folk, pop, rock and almost anything else, but somehow one of her very best songs is this minimal, semi spoken version of a Jacques Brel song. Her voice had as much range and power as almost anyone, but this is an example of how she always made the right choices for the song she was performing. Some other technically impressive singers can never resist the opportunity to show off, but Simone knew that what mattered was serving the material in the best possible way.

Plain Gold Ring (1959)

I wrote a whole piece about this already, which you can find here, so I won’t go over it again, but suffice to say this my personal favourite Nina Simone song, and hence one of my favourite songs of all time by anybody.

Apple Music version of the full playlist here.

Spotify version below:

And TuneMyMusic link here – you can use this to convert to any streaming service of your choice