Maps of Music

Nina Simone Sings Ellington (1962)

Where the lyrics of Nina Simone Sings Ellington take you, and where it was really made.

The cover shows only Nina Simone's head because she was pregnant with her daughter when the photo was taken and the full-length shot was dropped.

Key places

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album was recorded in New York City in 1961, with no studio named. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Nina Simone Sings Ellington is the fourth studio album by American singer and pianist Nina Simone
Released 1962; the French article names Colpix Records as the label
The Italian article gives October 1962 as the release month
Features songs recorded by Duke Ellington
Most songs were composed or cowritten by Ellington, some with longtime collaborators Irving Mills and Billy Strayhorn
Eleven tracks in total, with lyricists and co-composers credited
Simone sang, played piano and arranged the performances
The Malcolm Dodds Singers accompany her on the album

Songs include Hey, Buddy Bolden, Something to Live For, Solitude, Satin Doll and It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
The album is built around Ellington's songbook, with Simone as singer, pianist and arranger

The cover photo features Simone's head in full color
In her 1992 autobiography, I Put a Spell on You, Simone wrote that the original photo was a full-sized picture of her body
She was pregnant with her daughter Lisa at the time, so the photographer tried various positions to hide her stomach
The attempt most probably failed, which is why only her head appears on the cover
A leftover shot from the same session, a pose from the chest up, was later used on the 1966 album Nina Simone with Strings

1	Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me	2:52
2	I Got It Bad	4:09
3	Hey, Buddy Bolden	2:29
4	Merry Mending	2:38
5	Something to Live For	2:58
6	You Better Know It	2:27
7	I Like the Sunrise	3:03
8	Solitude	3:48
9	The Gal From Joe’s	2:15
10	Satin Doll	3:40
11	It Don’t Mean a Thing	2:36

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina; the sixth of eight children.
Began playing piano at age three or four and gave a classical debut recital at age 12.
Failed to gain admission to the Curtis Institute of Music, which she attributed to racism.
Played piano at a nightclub in Atlantic City and adopted the stage name "Nina Simone" in 1954, after which she began singing as well.

Debut album Little Girl Blue (1958) included "I Loves You, Porgy", her only Billboard top 20 single in the US.
Recorded more than 40 albums up to 1974; her 1960s protest songs such as "Mississippi Goddam" tied her to the civil rights movement.
Left the US in 1970 and settled in Europe, later living in Liberia, Barbados, the Netherlands, and France.
Autobiography I Put a Spell on You was published in 1991; she continued performing until her death on April 21, 2003.
Known as the "High Priestess of Soul"; Rolling Stone ranked her No. 21 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Solo artist; she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Fleming and guitarist Al Schackman throughout most of her career.

Released in 1962 on Colpix Records, according to the French article
The Italian article gives October 1962 as the release month
The fourth studio album by Nina Simone
Eleven tracks, all composed by Duke Ellington, with lyricists and co-composers credited
Songs include Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me, I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good), Solitude and Satin Doll
Simone sang, played piano and arranged the performances
The Malcolm Dodds Singers provided vocal accompaniment
The album was recorded in New York City in 1961

In her 1992 autobiography, Simone wrote that the cover photo was once a full-sized picture of her body
Her pregnancy with daughter Lisa led the photographer to hide her stomach, which mostly failed
A leftover shot from the cover session, showing her chest up, later appeared on the 1966 album Nina Simone with Strings
Ralph Burns is listed as the orchestra conductor, with the Ralph Burns Orchestra
The track list runs eleven songs, all by Duke Ellington with lyricists and co-composers credited