Maps of Music

The Amazing Nina Simone (1959)

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

This album came out only months after Little Girl Blue, a debut whose tracks had been recorded back in late 1957.

Key places

Recording session at Van Gelder Studio (1959)

Recording site Van Gelder Studio — Discogs lists the recording session for this album at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1959. The pin marks the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Beltone Studios (1959)

Recording site Beltone Studios — The album's Wikipedia page lists Beltone Studios in New York City as a recording location. The pin marks the studio's listed location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Amazing Nina Simone: second studio album by Nina Simone
• Released July 1959 on Colpix Records
• Her second album and her first recording for Colpix
• Mixes jazz, gospel, and folk songs
• Compared with her debut, the piano is played down in favor of string arrangements
• Original release contains twelve tracks
• Personnel: Nina Simone on vocals and piano; Bob Mersey on arrangement and conducting
• Hecky Krasnow credited as producer

Background

• Debut Little Girl Blue released by Bethlehem Records in February 1959
• Its tracks had been recorded in late 1957
• Simone was dissatisfied with the long delay before release and with the label's weak promotion of her
• Soon after that debut came out, she was talking to Colpix Records about a new contract
• At Bethlehem her contract was approaching its option
• New owner Syd Nathan, who ran King Records and had recently bailed out the ailing Bethlehem, did not want to renew
• Joyce Selznick, niece of producer David O. Selznick and East Coast talent scout for Columbia Pictures, wanted Simone at Colpix, Columbia's record division
• Selznick arranged an audition, and Simone was signed immediately
• Nadine Cohodas describes these two parallel tracks in Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone (2010)

Recording

• Recorded in April 1959, according to Cohodas
• Cohodas reports 14 tracks were cut, while the album contains 12
• Discogs lists the recording session at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1959

Cover

• Photography credited to Herb Snitzer
• Liner notes credited to Roger Caras

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• 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.

Career

• 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.

Members

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

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Cash Box review dated 25 July 1959 described Simone as one of the bright new singing talents of the year
• The review noted that she makes her Colpix LP debut with this album
• The reviewer praised her deep-toned expressive voice as a listening delight
• The reviewer also praised her exquisite phrasing
• The review closed by calling the album outstanding
• Cash Box was described as the premier American music industry trade magazine of the time

Records

• Released on Colpix in 1959
• Catalog number CP 407 / SCP 407
• Second studio album by Simone and first Colpix LP
• Original release carries twelve tracks
• Cash Box review appeared within weeks of the July 1959 release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Trivia

• Cohodas notes that Simone's Bethlehem contract was approaching its option, and new owner Syd Nathan did not want to renew it.
• Joyce Selznick's audition led to Simone being signed immediately.
• Simone's debut had a piano-forward sound, while this album pushes the piano back for string arrangements.
• The recording session produced 14 tracks, but only 12 made it onto the album.
• Cash Box singled out her deep-toned voice and phrasing in its review.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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