Friday, February 24, 2012

Nina Simone - Ain't Got No/I Got Life - Music Video

by Dick Mac

The 79th anniversary of Nina Simone's birth was this past Tuesday, February 21st. I had the good fortune of seeing Simone perform at Symphony Hall, in Boston, in the mid-1980s. It was a remarkable show.

Then, in 2002, I was taken by surprise when she appeared on the Rainforest Benefit line-up at Carnegie Hall. That night I cried. Yup! There I was in the front row of the Dress Circle, in my tuxedo, watching and listening to an elderly, almost frail, Nina Simone sing George Harrison's "Here Comes The Sun"!

I couldn't stop the tears. She was so powerful and her rendition of the song so moving that I couldn't control myself.

She died almost exactly one year later, on April 21, 2003. She was 70.

She recorded and performed a number of George Harrison songs throughout her career.

The medley "Ain't Got No/I Got Life" is from the musical "Hair." It appeared on Simone's album "'Nuff Said" in 1968.



A belated happy birthday, Nina Simone.

No comments: