Nina Simone Strange Fruit

This release compiles a collection of rare tracks from the early stages of Nina Simone's career. It is presented here for the first time ever on a single set. Among the treasures are her seldom heard earliest recordings, made in Atlantic City in 1956, as well as four seldom heard singles waxed for Colpix, and various live recordings from the same period. The first five tracks were recorded live at a club somewhere in Atlantic City. These were among the first Nina Simone recordings ever made. However, they were taped and issued without her knowledge or consent, as she recalled in her memoirs, I Put a Spell on You: “I went ahead with the club dates, which were just the same as ever except forhe fact that one night, without my knowing it, somebody recorded one of my sets. That night I sang ‘I Loves You Porgy’, ‘Since My Lover Has Gone’, ‘Black Is the Color’, ‘Lovin' Woman’ and ‘Baubles, Bangles and Beads’, and the recording appeared years later [1964] as a pirate album called Starring Nina Simone. I had to take the record label to court in 1965 to stop them selling it. So the first album I ever made was a pirate that I never got paid for and knew nothing about.”