Commemorating a milestone year for one of music’s most revered trailblazers, today Verve Records/UMe/Universal Music Canada announce a yearlong celebration of Nina Simone on what would have been her 90th birthday. The “Happy Birthday, Miss Simone” campaign invites the world to celebrate Simone’s renowned career and lasting impact across music, fashion, and more. Highlights of the campaign include the first-ever official video for her timeless classic, “I Put a Spell on You,” a new greatest hits album, stunning, immersive Dolby Atmos mixes of her entire UMG catalog, an audiophile grade vinyl pressing of Wild Is The Wind, and much more to be announced throughout 2023.
“Happy Birthday, Miss Simone” launches with the release of Great Women of Song: Nina Simone, a collection of Simone’s most beloved hits. From “Feeling Good” to “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” the 12-track album features the very best of Simone’s catalog, and is an essential curation for both her newest fans and most devoted listeners. The set is the first release of Verve’s “Great Women of Song” series, which will highlight the works of storied musicians in Verve’s catalog including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and more. Great Women of Song: Nina Simone is now available digitally and on CD and will be released on vinyl May 12.
Accompanying the campaign launch is the first official music video for Simone’s classic “I Put A Spell on You.” Throughout her career, the pioneer utilized fashion as a tool of self expression, favoring bold looks for both the stage and her everyday life. Celebrating some of the culturally significant looks worn by Miss Simone, the video serves as a visual reminder that her personal style was as fearless and uncompromising as her music.
This June, Verve/Universal will release You’ve Got to Learn, a previously unreleased live album recorded at the 1966 Newport Jazz Festival. Across a six-song set, including the title song and “Mississippi Goddam,” Simone leaves the listener as entranced as the festival audience, whose fervent applause was rewarded with a show-stopping encore. The Newport Jazz Festival was a special place for Simone, and this previously-unknown recording is a tremendous showcase of her commanding power onstage.
The “Happy Birthday, Miss Simone” campaign will allow listeners to experience Simone’s work like never before. Beginning today, Simone’s entire UMG catalog is available to stream in immersive Dolby Atmos spatial audio. For the superfan, a Mastercut Edition of I Put a Spell on You is now available, in a very limited run. In August, Verve/UMe/Universal Music Canada’s acclaimed audiophile vinyl reissues series, Acoustic Sounds, will celebrate Simone’s 90th with an audiophile grade pressing of her 1966 studio album, Wild Is The Wind. One of the most exceptional albums of her career, Wild is The Wind, like all Acoustic Sounds titles, will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl and mastered from the original analog tapes.
In October, all seven of Simone’s 1960’s Philips albums will be brought together in one LP collection. Four Women: The Nina Simone Complete Recordings 1964-1967 includes the seven albums Simone recorded for the Philips label between 1964 and 1967 in one of the most significant periods of her career.
Great Women of Song: Nina Simone
Feeling Good
I Put A Spell On You
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
Ne Me Quitte Pas
Tell Me More and More and Then Some
Lilac Wine
Take Care of Business
See-Line Woman
Four Women
Wild Is The Wind
I Loves You, Porgy
Mississippi Goddam
Wild is the Wind (Acoustic Sounds)
I Love Your Lovin’ Ways
Four Women
What More Can I Say
Lilac Wine
That’s All I Ask
Break Down and Let It All Out
Why Keep on Breakin’ My Heart
Wild Is The Wind
Black Is The Color of my True Love’s Hair
If I Should Lose You
Either Way I Lose
