
^ "Songs of Black Lives Matter: Nina Simone, "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" ". " 'Summer of Soul' Review: Questlove's Directorial Debut Captures the Legacy of Forgotten 'Black Woodstock' ". "Sundance 2021: Questlove takes us to forgotten 'Black Woodstock' in joyous concert doc 'Summer of Soul' ". The name of Mathematically Gifted & Black was partially inspired by the song. The song has also become a popular sample amongst various modern R&B/hip-hop pieces, including Rah Digga's 2003 unreleased record "On the Move", Faith Evans' 2014 single " I Deserve It", featuring Missy Elliott and Sharaya J, and on the title track of Rapsody's 2017 album Laila's Wisdom. Michael Kiwanuka recorded a version in 2021 for an episode of Small Axe (anthology). American singer Meshell Ndegeocello included a version on her 2012 tribute album Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone. Intended to be released as a low-budget sound-alike version of the original, it was reissued in 1994 on the compilation album Covers as Sung by Elton John. Elton John recorded a version of "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" in 1970, before his solo success. Jamaican rocksteady/ reggae trio the Heptones recorded a version for Coxsone Dodd's Studio One label in 1970. Bob and Marcia (whose 1970 recording reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart and number 15 in Ireland). Aretha Franklin (on her 1972 album Young, Gifted and Black). Donny Hathaway (on his 1970 album Everything Is Everything),.
Notable cover versions of the song were recorded by: JSTOR ( October 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification. "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" was written in memory of Simone's late friend Lorraine Hansberry, author of the play A Raisin in the Sun, who had died in 1965 aged 34. The song is considered an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The title of the song comes from Lorraine Hansberry's autobiographical play, To Be Young, Gifted and Black. A cover version by Jamaican duo Bob and Marcia reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in 1970.
Released as a single, it peaked at number 8 on the R&B chart and number 76 on the Hot 100 in January 1970. Two months later, she recorded the song as part of her concert at Philharmonic Hall, a performance that resulted in her live album Black Gold (1970). She introduced the song on August 17, 1969, to a crowd of 50,000 at the Harlem Cultural Festival, captured on broadcast video tape and released in 2021 as the documentary film Summer of Soul. " To Be Young, Gifted and Black" is a song by Nina Simone with lyrics by Weldon Irvine. "Nina Simone - To Be Young, Gifted and Black (Audio)" on YouTube 1970 song by Nina Simone "To Be Young, Gifted and Black"